Naseem Banu

Naseem Banu (4 July 1916 – 18 June 2002) was an Indian actress. Starting her acting career in the mid-1930s, she continued to act till the mid-1950s. Her first film was Khoon Ka Khoon (Hamlet) with Sohrab Modi under whose Minerva Movietone banner she acted for several years. The high point of her acting career came with Modi's Pukar (1939) in which she played the role of Empress Nur Jahan. According to composer Naushad she got the sobriquet Pari-Chehra (fairy face) Naseem through the publicity advertisements of her films. She was the mother of actress Saira Banu and mother-in-law to the actor Dilip Kumar.

Early years Naseem Banu was born as Roshan Ara Begum in Old Delhi, India, into a community of performers and entertainers. Her mother, Chamiyan Bai (also known as Shamshad Begum, not to be confused with the playback singer who had the same name), was a famous and well-earning singer and tawaif of those days. Years later, when Naseem was in her prime, and earning a salary of 3,500, she stated that her mother was, even at that time in her old age, earning more than she was.

Naseem studied at Queen Mary's High School, Delhi; her mother Shamshad Begum wanted her to become a doctor. Naseem was keen on films and admired the actress Sulochana (Ruby Myers), ever since she had seen a film of hers, but her mother was against the idea of films. One of her songs, "Zindagi Ka Saaz Bhi Kya Saaz Hai" became popular with the audiences. The publicity of the film dealt on her beauty calling her Beauty Queen and Pari Chehra a name that was to endure over the years before passing on to her daughter Saira Banu. and made several films like Ujala (1942), Begum (1945), Mulaqat (1947), Chandni Raat (1949) and Ajeeb Ladki (1942) under the home banner. The last two were also directed by her husband, Mohammed Ehsan. However she did a couple of action and fantasy films ("low-grade films") like Sinbad Jahazi (1952) and Baghi (1953), in which she was not accepted by the audiences. She acted in Minerva's Nausherwan-E-Adil (1957) in a small role and then quit acting. and a son, Sultan Ahmed (1939 - 2016). Naseem's husband opted to leave India and settle in Pakistan following Partition. Naseem stayed back in India with her children. Ehsan took the negatives of her films releasing the films in Pakistan where she had a following because of it. Naseem moved to England and stayed there for some time with both her son and daughter studying there for a while. However, in the Stardust interview Naseem stated that she was surprised at the two getting married as she thought that Dilip Kumar was a "confirmed bachelor" though she had noted the interest Kumar was taking in Saira Banu.

Naseem died on 18 June 2002 in Mumbai at the age of 85.

Her great-granddaughter is Sayyesha through Sultan Ahmed.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1935 Khoon Ka Khoon Ophelia 1937 Khan Bahadur 1938 Meetha Zahar 1938 Talaq Roopa 1938 Vasanti Vasanti 1939 Pukar Nur Jahan 1940 Main Hari Naseem 1942 Ujala 1944 Chal Chal Re Naujawan Sumitra 1944 Begum 1946 Jeevan Swapna 1946 Door Chalen 1947 Mulaqat Saeeda 1948 Anokhi Ada Kamini 1949 Chandni Raat 1950 Sheesh Mahal Ranjana 1951 Shabistan 1952 Ajeeb Ladki 1952 Betaab 1952 Sinbad Jahazi 1953 Baghi 1957 Nausherwan-E-Adil Malika-E-Iran 1966 Chaddian Di Doli Punjabi film