Sunil Dutt ‘would feed and clean’ Nargis: Daughter Namrata Dutt recalls how the family fought cancer together

Legendary actor Nargis put up a tough fight against cancer before succumbing to it on May 3, 1981. In a heart-touching note, her elder daughter and second-born Namrata Dutt opened up about how Nargis Dutt and father Sunil Dutt had a marital life full of laughter and tears, and always had each other’s back even.
In an essay on Pinkvilla, Namrata Dutt recalled the time when her family had to temporarily move to the US during Nargis’ treatment. “Dad was with her every single day from morning to night. He would feed her, clean her. We sers too would take turns in looking after her. I’m sure he cried secretly but Dad never let us know what he was going through,” Namrata said.

Nargis with Sunil Dutt and Rajendra Kumar in a still from Mother India. (Photo: Express Archives)
Nargis and Sunil Dutt met on the sets of the cult film Mother India, in which he played Nargis’ onscreen son. It is well-known how Dutt’s heroic act of rescuing Nargis from a fire on the set changed the course of their lives, drawing them close and eventually leading to their marriage.
According to Namrata, Nargis was content with her marital life after quitting acting. She had three kids, including son Sanjay Dutt and her second daughter Priya Dutt. But, things turned upside down when Nargis contracted cancer. Namrata said her father would “watch her with binoculars (from their rented apartment), Mom’s (hospital) room being on the opposite side.”
“I was around 16. Priya was 10. We didn’t know how to cook. So, we’d call Mom on the landline in her room and ask her how to prepare simple dishes for my father. That’s how Priya and I picked up Indian cooking,” she added.
Nargis tied the knot with Sunil Dutt in 1958. (Photo: Express Archives)

Post the removal of her pancreas, Nargis slipped into coma. “Coma patients can’t react but they apparently reger everything. So, we would read out the news to her, talk to her about what’s happening in Bombay, as though she was very much there,” Namrata said. Recalling Nargis’ strong will the day she stood with a walker after waking up from the coma, Namrata said that people at the hospital clapped for her and called her “Miracle Lady”. “It was truly a touching moment.”
Namrata also recalled the day when Nargis broke down after seeing herself in the mirror. It was a day when the family had planned to take Nargis out for shopping. “While getting ready, she happened to see her reflection in the mirror after months. Her skin had turned dark with chemotherapy. She had lost hair. She couldn’t believe what she saw and broke down.” Namrata Dutt shared that upon her return to India after being declared cancer free, Nargis once told her daughter how she wishes to see one of her kids getting married. “I want to see you getting married Anju! I should see at least one child of mine getting settled.”
Sunil Dutt and Nargis with their kids Sanjay, Namrata and Priya. (Photo: Express Archives)

Nargis Dutt passed away on May 3, 1981 after developing a urinary infection. Since the accident on the set of Mother India, the actor had a fear of fire. So, as per her wish, Nargis was buried in her wedding attire–a red and green saree.
Sanjay Dutt was just about to make his Bollywood debut around that time. As a mark of respect for Nargis, a chair was left vacant between Sunil Dutt and Sanjay at the premiere of Rocky on May 7, 1981.