Happy birthday, Saira Banu: Lesser known facts about the veteran actress

Saira Banu may not have had a very long Bollywood career but she sure had a prolific one. Having made her film debut in 1960, she went on to work in Bollywood films till 1988. On the veteran actress's 77th birthday today, here are a few unknown facts about her:

Before making her debut in Hindi films in 1960, Saira Banu had studied at London's elite Queen's House. During an interview with a news portal, the actress revealed that her mother Naseem Bano, had taken her to London after she saw her taking a fancy to her ghaghra and lipstick, and dance to the tunes of her film songs.

Saira ji also revealed that for the first 12 years of her life, she used to think of herself as a boy as she used to hang out with boys and took part in games with them.

The veteran actress always wanted to be a singer, and was very close to her grandmother who used to teach her singing.

In one of her interviews, Saira Banu also revealed that she saw Dilip Kumar when she was 12 years old in the film 'Aan' and instantly fell in love with him.

Saira Banu had two dreams: one to become a successful actress and second, to marry the man of her dreams Dilip Kumar.

She was 16 when she made her debut with the 1961 Hindi film ‘Junglee’ starring alongside Shammi Kapoor. Surprisingly, when she decided to end her career as a heroine, her last movie was with Shammi Kapoor too.

Back in the '60s, Saira Banu was also the third highest-paid actress of Hindi cinema and was also the fourth highest-paid actress from 1971 to 1976.

Dilip Kumar consciously avoided working with the actress because of the age gap between them but she persisted and finally, he relented. When they met during a party at her house, sparks flew. She acted in three films with Dilip saab - 'Gopi', 'Sagina', and 'Bairaag'.

Saira Banu regrets not working with Rajesh Khanna. "I was supposed to work with him in Choti Bahu (1971), but I could not because I was ill. I shot with him for two days and found that he was very charming, humble and a shy person," she had revealed to a news portal.