Saira Banu: “I don’t miss having a child because Saab is like a child”
They are the ideal couple. As a very close family friend Lata Mangeshkar said, “Every breath that Sairaji takes is for Yusuf Saab. I have’t seen a more devoted wife in my entire life.”
As the Golden Couple Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu celebrate 50 years of wedded bliss Sairaji smiles, “Waqt kaise guzra pataa hi nahin chala(we never knew how time flew).”
Sighs the still besotted wife, “Looking after Saab, his life and his home now comes naturally to me. Saab never asked me to give up my career. In fact, he encouraged me to continue acting after marriage. But, after a while, my heart was not in my career. I just wanted to take care of Saab.”
And no regrets about no children “Our marriage is the most important thing in my life. I don’t miss having a child because Saab is like a child at heart.”
In his 50-year-old marriage with yesteryears’ beauty queen Saira Banu, the mighty thespian Dilip Kumar has strayed only once. This was in the early 1980s. Before their marriage there were innumerable link-ups with timeless beauties Madhubala, Waheeda Rehman and Vyjanthimala among others. The movie industry was shocked into silence when the 22-year-old beauty Saira Banu grabbed the privilege of marrying the mighty Yusuf Khan. In their long and scandal-free marriage, only once did the marriage hit shaky ground when Yusuf Saab was apparently “trapped” into marrying a fan named Asma. Saira bore the humiliation stoically. She knew her ‘Saab’ would come to his senses. He did.
Said Saira, “For me, it was always Saab, no one else. I was his fan from the time I can remember. While still a teenager, I wanted to be his wife. I am very headstrong and once I made up my mind, there was no stopping me. I knew many beautiful women wanted to marry Saab, but he chose me. It was my dream come true and that’s what my marriage has been — a perfect dream.”
Said Saira, “For me, it was always Saab, no one else. I was his fan from the time I can remember. While still a teenager, I wanted to be his wife. I am very headstrong and once I made up my mind, there was no stopping me. I knew many beautiful women wanted to marry Saab, but he chose me. It was my dream come true and that’s what my marriage has been — a perfect dream.”
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