Nawab Mohammad Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, popularly known as Tiger Pataudi was the youngest captain of the Indian cricket team. Son of Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, the last ruler of the princely state of Pataudi, Mansoor had impressed the cricket fans with his strokes and moves. The handsome cricketer fell head-over-heels in love with the Bong beauty, Sharmila Tagore.
Sharmila Tagore was the leading Bollywood actress of her time, and she met Tiger Pataudi through their common friends. Despite being attracted to the handsome cricketer, Sharmila had taken four years to say 'yes' to Mansoor. The duo tied the knot on December 27, 1969. Mansoor and Sharmila are blessed with three children, Saif Ali Khan, Saba Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan.
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During a conversation with Diya Jaiswal for her show, Safar: The Journey, Sharmila Tagore revealed how like every cricket wife, she too was blamed for Tiger’s performance on the field. Revealing an incident where her father yelled at her when Tiger dropped a catch, Sharmila recalled:
“Most certainly. Those days we used to sit with the crowd. With the crowd in Bengal, I never feel threatened. I still feel Calcutta is my place and I think people like me there. But my father when Tiger dropped a catch or something, screamed saying, “You shouldn’t have kept him up all night.””
In the 60s and 70s, there was a notion that marriage with someone from a filmy or cricketing background would not last long. And in Mansoor and Sharmila’s case, religion also played a major hurdle as she belonged to a Bengali family, and he was a Muslim. But to marry the Nawab, Sharmila had converted to Islam and changed her name to Ayesha Sultana. People were certain that their marriage would not last long. However, the two defied all the odds and stayed together.
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Sharmila Tagore and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi's wedding was the most talked about affair in the country. However, did you know that before tying the knot, Sharmila had put forward a special condition to marry Mansoor? Yes, according to media reports, Sharmila had asked Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi to hit a hat-trick of sixes in a match to which the legendary cricketer had agreed. And rest, as they say, is history!
In a throwback interview with Filmfare, Sharmila Tagore once revealed that her life had changed completely after the demise of her husband, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Recalling the time she had met him for the first time, Sharmila had shared:
"Life has completely changed after Tiger’s demise. We were together for 47 years out of which we were married for 43. December 27, 2012 was our 43rd wedding anniversary. I remember I met him a few weeks before my 21st birthday. My family was crazy about cricket and that’s how I met Tiger."
Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi bid adieu to the world on September 22, 2011.
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