Meet the Indian Cricketer who Married the Former Queen of Bollywood

New Delhi: Among the numerous power couples in the cricket-bollywood world, one iconic duo that stands out is that of former Indian Cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore. Their love story blossomed in the 90s and captured the hearts of many. After dating for several years, the couple tied the knot on 27th December 1968 in a lavish royal wedding ceremony, which quickly became one of India's most talked-about events of the time.

Talking about the marriage, the marriage of the Bengal beauty, who was also one of Bollywood’s most glamorous movie stars at the time, and the Indian cricket team’s youngest captain was not that conventional back then, but their magical chemistry brought them together. So, move over #Virushka, because we have a magical tale to tell about the long-running love relationship between Bollywood and cricket.

How did they first meet?

In 1965, the two successful stars in their respective fields met at an after-match party in Delhi, where they were introduced by a mutual friend. Tiger and his team were in town at the time, and Sharmila had come to see the match. Sharmila admitted in multiple interviews that she didn’t know much about cricket, and Pataudi confessed that he hadn’t seen many of Sharmila’s films. However, this didn’t stop them from falling for each other.

Sharmila Tagore revealed, “I met him in around 1965 at somebody’s party. There we got to talk to each other. He had a very British accent and nobody would laugh at his jokes since they didn’t understand them. So, he used to laugh at his jokes himself.”

The Bollywood actress was drawn to Mansoor Pataudi because of his sense of humour. She was certain at the time that he would never intentionally hurt her. She trusted him and found him to be a true gentleman from the start.

However, the road to love was not easy. To impress the Bengali beauty, the Nawab of Pataudi had to do a lot of wooing. He even sent her refrigerators to impress her, but what finally worked for their love were the roses and letters, which were sent over a four-year period, that finally made Sharmila say ‘yes.’

The couple welcomed son, actor Saif Ali Khan, in 1970, daughter Saba, who is now a jewellery designer, in 1976 and actress-author Soha Ali Khan in 1978. Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi died after battling a lung infection at the age of 70 in 2011.

Sharmila Tagore, who was launched by the iconic filmmaker Satyajit Ray in the 1959 Bengali film Apur Sansar, stepped into Bollywood with the 1964 film Kashmir Ki Kali. She has worked in many successful Bollywood films like Aradhana, Chupke Chupke and Amar Prem among others.