Sharmila Tagore was married to Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (known as Tiger Pataudi) for 43 years, before his death in 2011. Their interfaith marriage in 1968 created a sensation as it was not normal in those times.
So much so that Tagore’s parents received death threats and many also warned her against her decision. In an interview, the ‘Aradhna’ actress spoke about her marriage to Tiger Pataudi and revealed that they lived together before marriage. “We lived together before marriage because it was more convenient,” she said in an interview with Barkha Dutt. “Tiger would often go to the Indian Cricket Club to take a bath because I was a bad housekeeper.
Nothing was working right in the house.Sharmila laughed at the memory and admitted that running a household was not her forte at that time. “I was a bad housekeeper. I learned that over the years. Now I’m very proud of the house.”At a time when interfaith marriage was much less accepted, Sharmila and Tiger’s relationship became the subject of widespread public debate. While the couple remained busy with their careers, she noted that it was their families who faced the most pressure.
“We didn’t really feel it because I was working and Tiger was playing cricket. But Tiger’s mum and dad felt pressured because there was so much being said.
The media wasn’t giving our marriage more than 15 months. “They expected it would be a disaster.”Sharmila also recalled that director Yash Chopra expressed his concern before the wedding. “These MPs are very suspicious people, so you have to be very careful,” Yash Chopra told me.
“He was a good friend and really cared.”She also revealed that the family received death threats before the ceremony. “My parents received telegrams saying: ‘Bullet must speak.’ They decided to hold the wedding at Fort William because they thought it would be the safest place. There was something wrong with the guest list and permission was withdrawn. We had to quickly move the wedding to the ambassador’s residence,” the actress said. Sharmila had previously spoken about these threats during an interaction with her
Twinkle Khanna
to India tabletRecalling how she sent telegrams warning that “the bullets will speak” because she was married to a Muslim man. Despite the hostility surrounding the wedding, the ceremony took place peacefully without any untoward incident.Reflecting on married life, Sharmila said that some of her biggest life lessons came from simply watching how Tiger carries himself.“I was very temperamental in those days, but I learned a lot from Tiger. He was a very nice person. He always said, ‘With dogs, staff and children, you should never raise your voice.'”She added that Tiger never tried to change her through criticism. “He never scolded me or put me down. Just by being there, he taught me patience and understanding.”She added: “Words can be very evil. Once you speak them, you can’t take them back. You can get angry, you can disagree, but you shouldn’t say things that hurt each other, because those words last forever.”
