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'My problem is that I get too involved
with whatever I am doing'

Aan was a big hit and Nadira received rave reviews on her debut performance. Success brought her a coterie of male admirers. Mehboob Khan flirted with her. An Urdu poet Naqshab wooed her with couplets, and Nadira ended up marrying him. Her mother was furious.

And Nadira was miserable. She starred in Naqshab's productions, Nagma and Raftaar, and was forced to promote the films by posing for sexy posters. Yet, at home, she was compelled to wear the purdah. Naqshab insisted she cancel her three-year contract with Mehboob Khan. He even announced that they were not married. Disgusted, Nadira walked out, leaving behind all her earnings.

Resuming her career was not easy. Her features were 'foreign'. The industry found her too thin, quite unlike the buxom heroines it patronised. Nadira tried different diets; she even drank beer in an effort to put on weight. Fortunately, she had been negotiating with Raj Kapoor for a role in Shri 420. Kapoor made it clear it was not a heroine's role. She would have to play a vamp, smouldering cigarette in one hand, a glass of whisky in the other, dancing and trying to seduce the hero.

When Shri 420 was released, Nadira's performance matched those of Nargis and Kapoor. In a movie filled with melodious numbers, it was her Mud mud ke na dekh that brought the crowds to their feet.

Her success was her undoing. Producers offered her huge amounts to wear sarees below the navel, smoke, drink and play the vamp. "I did not want that," declared Nadira. "But now, I feel that if I had been selective, or if I had received some good advice, I would not have rejected so many of those roles."

If I had been selective, or if I had received some good advice, I would not have rejected so many roles

At around this time, Nadira married again. Her husband was an Arab who promised her the moon and boasted he owned a kingdom which he would lay down at her feet. Within hours of the marriage, though, Nadira learnt she had been duped -- her husband did not have a penny. The marriage lasted a week.

It was one of the worst periods in her life. "I was emotionally torn and often cried bitterly. At times, I would report on the sets of Shri 420 with eyes which were red and puffy. Raj and Nargis comforted me and asked me if I could return to my husband. That was the one thing I could not do."

She longed for marriage, for motherhood and for respectability. When she did not get it, she began to concentrating on her career. She accepted negative roles -- she was the cruel mother-in-law, the greedy madam, the scheming kothawali. Her performances in films like Ek Nazar, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi, Pakheeza and Hanste Zakam won her laurels. Her role as a Christian mother in Julie was a landmark performance which fetched her 15 awards.

And, in 1956, when she told the late JRD Tata at a party that she would like to own his Mercedes Benz which was parked at the gate, he had it delivered to her the next morning!

But personal happiness eluded her. For years, she had to look after her sick parents who, though divorced, lived under her roof. Relatives she did not know existed sought her help; at one time, she had 14 of the them living with her! Yet, today, Nadira has no one who will care for her. Her brother is in Israel and her step-brother stays in London. "I brought them up like sons," she moans, "but they don't even keep in touch with me."

So the 60-something actress, with more than 250 films to her credit, carries on single-handedly. Nadira is reluctant to probe into the reasons being the non-existent film career. "I have always dressed well, lived well. Maybe, producers felt I was too well off to bother about doing character roles," she muses.

Television, despite its lack of organisation, has been a source of succour. "My problem is that I get too involved with whatever I am doing," Nadira explained. "I wish serial producers are more professional. But, despite everything, I give my best."

Her spare time is devoted to her few friends and to her outstanding library -- which includes works by Plato, Winston Churchill, Vivekananda and Will Durant. Briefly, we discuss Richard Nixon. Watergate or no Watergate, I consider him the greatest US president," declares Nadira.

Didn't I tell you she was unique?