Meet actress who was called ugly child, then took her mother to court, her husband was burnt alive, then...; her name is...

Nutan Samarth Bahl was a famous Indian actress who worked in Hindi films for almost 40 years. She acted in more than 80 movies and won five Filmfare Awards for Best Actress.

In 1974, she received the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest award, for her great work in films.

Nutan once filed a case against her mother, Shobhana Samarth, accusing her of mishandling her money. Because of this, Nutan stayed away from the Samarth family for almost 20 years.

In an interview with photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha, she spoke about how painful the decision was. She said, "It was a very hard decision for me to take. Yes, I had expected the reaction, ‘How can a daughter take her mother to the court?’ But that didn’t make the conflict any easier to bear. Yet, I had to do it to protect the future of everyone concerned."

Even though Nutan was married to Naval Lt Commander Rajnish Bahl since 1959, rumors began to spread about her having an affair. While working on the film Devi, Nutan reportedly slapped actor Sanjeev Kumar after reading about their alleged relationship in a magazine—something her husband was said to be worried about.

Later, Nutan opened up about the incident in an interview, saying, "My slapping Sanjeev Kumar became a much-talked about incident. He made a very careless, irresponsible statement about having an affair. That made me furious… I had to put him in his place. After I said what I had to, I cooled down and said, ‘let’s finish the love scene’."

Nutan married Indian Navy Lieutenant Commander Rajnish Bahl on October 11, 1959. The couple had a son, Mohnish Bahl, who later became a popular actor in both television and films. Sadly, Rajnish Bahl passed away in 2004 after a fire broke out in his apartment.

In 1990, Nutan was diagnosed with breast cancer. While shooting for the films Garajna and Insaniyat in February 1991, her health worsened, and she was taken to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. Sadly, she passed away on February 21, 1991.