When Sharmila Tagore opened up about converting her religion to marry Tiger Pataudi

New Delhi: Sharmila Tagore and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi tied the knot on December 27, 1968, and their love story wasn’t an easy one. The couple faced several hurdles and became subject to media attention. Before the wedding, Sharmila converted to Islam and adopted the name Ayesha.

A few years back, Sharmila opened up about changing her religion for marriage with Mansoor Ali Khan and how she embraced Islam. She also recalled in one of her old interviews how her family and the Pataudi family received death threats just before their wedding. Let’s delve into more details!

When Sharmila Tagore recalled converting to Islam

In a conversation with Simi Garewal, she opened up about converting to Islam a few years back. Sharing her thoughts, she said that neither it was “easy” nor “it was difficult” because it had to be “faced and understood”. She expressed that you couldn’t be “very flippant about it”. However, she admitted she wasn’t particularly religious before the conversion and now, she knows more about Hinduism and Islam.

She also recalled her first encounter with her mother-in-law Nawab Begum Sajida Sultan of Bhopal, with whom she went on to build a “very healthy mutual respect” bond. When she first met her, the actress was “very nervous”. She asked her about her intentions with her son and the actress replied, “I don’t know yet; I just met him. I am very fond of him, and at this point, you have known him for longer.”

In another interview with Barkha Dutt on Mojo Story, Sharmila Tagore recalled the tension around her wedding in Kolkata as her parents were getting Telegram saying, “Bullets shall speak” and similarly Pataudi family was also receiving such threats. However, despite the tension, their wedding and reception went smoothly.

In the era when Sharmila Tagore and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi got married, interfaith marriages were not easy. The couple were married for 43 years until the Indian cricketer’s death in 2011.