Meet Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna’s heroine who started working at 5 to support family, was slapped by director for…

Many Bollywood stars started working at an early age and debuted as child artists in the industry and went on to create big names for themselves. Another such actress who started acting just to support her family financially became one of the top actresses in the industry. 

The actress debuted at the age of 5 and later wanted to be a communicator, however, she started acting to support her family in the financial crisis. She is none other than Tanuja. 

Tanuja made her debut at the age of 5 in the 1950 film Hamari Beti where her mother Shobna Samarth wanted her to play the role of a young Nutan. The actress, however, after seeing the first rushes of the film told her mother, “Abhi merko kaam nahi karna hai, meri awaaz ek dum chuhiya jaisi hai.” However, her mother promised her a glass of lemonade and made her do the rest of the film. 

The actress went to study in an English school in Switzerland, however, she was called back home soon after her family started facing a financial crisis. Talking about the same, Tanuja said in an interview, “When I finished school in 1960 and came home on holiday, I found that financial conditions were a little strained in the family. My sister had already got married, so it would not have been fair to sort of expect her to look after the family, and as I came next in line, it was on me to look after the family. That’s why I started work. I had a younger brother and sister, who were still in school and my mother wasn’t well. So, I just came into the profession, not by choice, but because of financial reasons.” 

Tanuja was finally noticed in the 1961 film Humari Yaad Aayegi. The film was directed by Kidar Sharma, and the actress credits him for teaching her how to speak Hindi and face the camera. She also recalled an incident about the director slapping her because she kept laughing continuously when she had to cry and told the director, “I am not in the mood to cry today.” 

The director got upset and angry with her tantrums and slapped Tanuja which made her burst into tears immediately. Later, when Tanuja narrated the incident to her mother, her mother slapped her again and took her crying to the set and told the director, “Now she is crying. You can resume the shoot.” Some of her hit movies include Memdidi, Chand Aur Suraj, Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi, Paisa Ya Pyaar, Jewel Thief, Nai Roshni, Jeene Ki Raah, Anubhav, Mere Jeevan Saathi which also starred Rajesh Khanna, Haathi Mere Saathi and Do Chor. 

The actress was married to filmmaker Shomu Mukherjee with whom she has two daughters Kajol and Tanisha both of whom are actresses in Bollywood. Her elder daughter Kajol is a popular actress known for films like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Fanaa, and Baazigar along with others, and is married to Ajay Devgn, who is a superstar in Bollywood and has given a number of blockbusters.