The 1946 born SHARMILA TAGORE or Madame Rinku as she is better known in Bollywood is indeed a true blue achiever long before she consented to wed the Nawab of Pataudi-Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi(Jr) when she was at the very peak of her career.Even after marriage she refused to get cowed down or pretend to be a coy or demure bride.She knew what she was all about and she refused to change for the world.

Even though she had a legacy to live up to-don't forget she was actually the great grand-daughter of the Nobel Laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore yet she refused to get cowed down and that fiercely independent streak is what made her stand out even during the conservate late 50's so as to get noticed by Satyajit Ray(no less) who not only gave her her break in 'Apur Sansar' in 1959 but also repeated her in some truly memorable films for which she shall always be remembered not just in Indian Cinema where she is already an icon but even in World Cinema.

It was in 1964 that Shakti Samanta noticed SHORMILA THAKUR and scooped her out of Calcutta and presented her to Hindi Cinema when he launched her in 'Kashmir Ki Kali' opposite the then heart-throb of the nation Shammi Kapoor.The stupendous success of this film paved the way for a very fruitful professional relationship between Shakti Samanta and SHARMILA TAGORE.

Close on the heels of the success of 'Kashmir Ki Kali' came the evergreen 'An Evening In Paris' in 1967 where Rinku left everyone gaping as she flaunted her swell figure in an absolutely revealing bikini that virtually left the nation aghast back then in the mid-60's.None the less the film was a run-away hit all said and done.The year 1969 was truly memorable for SHARMILA TAGORE as she was paired with a virtually unknown struggler called Jatin Khanna who was yet to transform into RAJESH KHANNA the superstar with the relase of  'Aradhana'.

In more ways than one SHARMILA TAGORE reinvented her career post Aradhana as she put her older heroes like Shammi Kapoor, Dharmender& Shashi Kapoor on the shelf as she went on to pair with Rajesh Khanna in a series of super hit films in a row thus giving her a fresh lease as she stood upto the best of heroines and made her presence felt. In more ways than one Rinku's super-hits were more or less with Rajesh Khanna be it Safar, Amar Prem, Daag or  Aavishkar.Not that she was averse to coming up with hits with other heroes like Dharamender with whom she gave gems like Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka,Mere Humdum Mere Dost or Chupke Chupke. She was equally popular with Sanjeev Kumar with whom she offered her fans the classic 'Mausam' along with the laugh riot Namkeen and Faraar.

With Shashi Kapoor too she gave memorable films like Waqt,Aa Gale Lag Ja, Aamne Saamne.Call it irony if you may but while Sharmila Tagore gave hits with most of her co-stars the rare exception to the rule was Amitabh Bachchan with whom she made a flop pair as not a single film together cud turn into a hit as she did with her other co-stars.Agreed Faraar was a brilliant film but it ran thanks to Sanjeev Kumar being in it and everyone knew the magic of Haribhai and Rinku really worked.

In a career that  has spanned almost 50 years SHARMILA TAGORE has been applauded not just by her fans alone but also been bestowed with the highest of Honors be it the National Awards or the Filmfare & Screen Awards(before they could be bought). She has also been lauded with the Life Time Achievement Award for her contribution to Indian Cinema for almost over five decades.

With her son Saif Ali Khan a top ranking hero and daughter Soha Ali Khan rising swiftly on the Bollywood charts SHARMILA TAGORE is content to be the Big Boss of the Censor Board in India as also the UNICEF Good Will Ambassador