Sharmila Tagore married to: Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (known as Tiger Pataudi) for 43 years, before his death in 2011. Their interfaith marriage in 1968 created a lot of trouble because it was not normal in those times. That is why Tagore’s parents received death threats and many also warned him against his decision. In an interview, the ‘Aaradhna’ actress opened up about her marriage to Tiger Pataudi and revealed that they lived together before getting married. He said in an interview with Barkha Dutt, “We lived together before marriage because it was more convenient. Tiger used to go to the Cricket Club of India to take a bath because I was a terrible housekeeper. Nothing works right at home. “Laughing at the memory, Sharmila admits that managing a household was not her forte back then. “I’m a terrible housekeeper. I’ve learned over the years. Now I’m very proud of the house.”At a time when interfaith marriages were not widely accepted, Sharmila and Tiger’s relationship became the subject of widespread public discussion. While the couple remains busy with their careers, she remembers that their families face the most 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 so much was said. The media didn’t give our marriage more than 15 months. They predicted it would be a disaster. “Sharmila also remembers the filmmaker Yash Chopra expressed concern before the wedding. “Yash Chopra told me, ‘These Nawabs are very suspicious people, so you have to be careful.’ He is a good friend and genuinely concerned. “He further disclosed that the family received death threats before the ceremony. “My parents got telegrams saying, ‘Bullets talk.’ They decided to organize the wedding in Fort William because they thought it was the safest place. There was some issue with the guest list and permission was revoked. 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 in Indiarecalls how telegrams were sent warning that “bullets will talk” because she was married to a Muslim man. Despite the furore surrounding the wedding, the ceremony was conducted peacefully without any untoward incident.Reflecting on married life, Sharmila said some of her biggest lessons in life came simply from watching how Tiger handled himself.“I was quite temperamental at the time, but I learned a lot from Tiger. He was a very kind man. He always said, ‘With dogs, with sticks and with children, you should never raise your voice.'”He added that Tiger never tried to change him through criticism. “He never teased me or humiliated me. As long as he was around, 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 should not say things that hurt each other because those words stay forever,” he added.
