Which Indian Actress Was Known As The ‘Unkissed Girl Of India?’

Who doesn’t remember the yesteryear actress Nimmi? She was a rage in the B&W films of the 1950s and 60s. Born on February 18, 1933, in Agra, Nimmi or Nawab Bano, was also referred to as the “sacrificing queen of the silver screen” for the kind of characters she played in her films.

Raj Kapoor who gave her the first break in ‘Barsaat’ also gave her the screen name Nimmi. Born Nawab Bano, she died on March 25, 2020. It’s her birth anniversary today.

Nimmi’s fans included actors like Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar. Apart from acting, Nimmi was a brilliant singer too. Some of her hit films include Kundan, Udan Khatola, Bhai Bhai and Basant Bahar.

Here’s an interesting anecdote from her life. Nimmi’s film ‘Aan’ premiered in Rialto Theatre in London, in 1952, where director Mehboob Khan with his wife and Nimmi were present. The invitees also included foreign stars like Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn.

As per his tradition, Errol tried to kiss Nimmi’s hand.

However, Nimmi quickly backed off and said that she was an Indian girl and it wasn’t her culture. The next day’s newspapers carried several headlines, but the one that became famous was, “The Unkissed girl of India”.