Remembering 1950s Actress Nimmi: Bollywood’s Popular ‘No Kiss Girl’

Bhubaneswar: Born as Nawab Banoo, the doe-eyed 1950s actress got her screen name ‘Nimmi’ from filmmaker Raj Kapoor.

Kapoor spotted Nimmi on the sets of ‘Andaz’ and signed her for the second lead role in 1949s ‘Barsaat’. After the success of Barsaat, there was no looking back for Nimmi.

At the London premiere of her 1952s movie ‘Aan’, Hollywood’s legendary actor Errol Flynn tried to kiss her hand, but Nimmi quickly withdrew her hand stating that Indian girls don’t accept kisses. Since then, Nimmi became popular as Bollywood’s ‘No Kiss Girl’.

Here’s a list of some notable Hindi films in which Nimmi starred:

1. Barsaat– The film revolves around two love stories- Raj Kapoor and Nargis, and Prem Nath and Nimmi. ‘Barsaat’ had three popular songs namely ‘Barsaat me hamse mile tum’, ‘Hawa me udta jaye’ and ‘Meri Patli qamar hai’, which were picturised on Nimmi.

2. Deedar – Directed by Nitin Bose, starring Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Nargis and Nimmi in lead roles. It is a story of unfulfilled love, where the hero’s childhood love is separated from him due to class differences.

3. Daag- The film produced and directed by Amiya Chakravarty stars Dilip Kumar, Nimmi and Lalita Pawar in lead roles. In this film, Nimmi plays the love interest of Dilip Kumar.

4. Aan- The film produced and directed by Mehboob Khan was India’s first technicolour film, as it was shot in 16mm Gevacolour and was blown up in Technicolour. It stars Dilip Kumar, Premnath, and Nimmi, and marked the debut of Nadira. The movie was released as ‘The Savage Princess’ in the United Kingdom and the United States.

4. Kundan- The film was produced and directed by Sohrab Modi for Minerva Movietone. Nimmi’s dual role in the film as mother and daughter was acclaimed critically.

5. Basant Bahar- Directed by Raja Nawathe, the film stars Bharat Bhushan and Nimmi. When Bharat loses his voice, his new friend Nimmi, who is a dancer in the movie, helps him regain his voice.

Nimmi, the doe-eyed actress of 1950s and 60s, died after prolonged illness at the age of 88 on Wednesday.