Sharmila Tagore was married to Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (fondly called Tiger Pataudi) for 43 years, before he passed away in 2011. Their interfaith marriage in 1968 created a huge stir because it wasn’t so normal in those times. So much so that Tagore’s parents got death threats and many also warned her against her decision. In an interview, the ‘Aaradhna’ actress opened up on her marriage with Tiger Pataudi and revealed that they lived together before getting married. She said in an interview with Barkha Dutt, “We lived together before getting married because it was more convenient. Tiger would often go to the Cricket Club of India to shower because I was a terrible housekeeper. Nothing worked properly at home.”Laughing at the memory, Sharmila admitted that running a household wasn’t her forte back then. “I was a terrible housekeeper. I’ve learnt over the years. Now I’m very house-proud.”At a time when interfaith marriages were far less accepted, Sharmila and Tiger’s relationship became the subject of widespread public discussion. While the couple remained occupied with their careers, she recalled that it was their families who faced the greatest pressure. “We didn’t really feel it because I was working and Tiger was playing cricket. But my parents and Tiger’s mother felt the pressure because there was so much being said. The media wasn’t giving our marriage more than 15 months. They predicted it would be a disaster.”Sharmila also recalled filmmaker Yash Chopra expressing concern before the wedding. “Yash Chopra told me, ‘These Nawabs are very doubtful people, so you have to be very careful.’ He was a good friend and genuinely concerned.”She further revealed that the family had even received death threats ahead of the ceremony. “My parents received telegrams saying, ‘Bullets shall speak.’ They decided to organise the wedding at Fort William because they thought it would be the safest place. There was some issue with the guest list and permission was withdrawn. We had to quickly shift the wedding to an ambassador’s residence,” said the actress. Sharmila had previously spoken about these threats during an interaction with Twinkle Khanna for Tweak India, recalling how telegrams warning that “bullets shall speak” were sent because she was marrying a Muslim man. Despite the hostility surrounding the wedding, the ceremony was conducted peacefully without any untoward incident.Reflecting on married life, Sharmila said some of her biggest life lessons came simply from watching how Tiger conducted himself.“I was quite temperamental in those days, but I learnt a lot from Tiger. He was an extremely kind person. He would always say, ‘With dogs, with staff and with children, you must never raise your voice.’”She added that Tiger never attempted to change her through criticism. “He never really scolded me or put me down. Just by being there, he taught me patience and understanding.”“Words can be very vicious. Once spoken, you can’t take them back. You can be angry, you can disagree, but you shouldn’t say things that hurt each other because those words stay forever,” she added.
