Nostalgic Nuggets: She paired with Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Amitabh

Middle-aged heroes and young heroines are regular features in Indian cinema. Things may have changed in the last decade with heroines today acting with heroes many years younger to them. Yet, in the 1970s, there was one classic actress – Nutan – whose 84th birth anniversary it is today – who acted with the then upcoming hero Amitabh Bachchan in a film ' Saudagar'. The year was 1973, when she was 37 and her hero just 31.

Beginning her career in the 1950s with the then popular heroes like Ashok Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor, Nutan kept working till death snatched her in 1991 at a relatively young age of 54. Her understated but assertive performances were noted and appreciated for years together. Interestingly, in her final phase of life, she was seen alongside Dilip Kumar in ' Karma' (1986), a big hit for the first ever time. Her son Mohnish Bahl and granddaughter Pranutan too are in the movie industry.