PM Modi meets Saira Banu, says her pioneering work in cinema admired across generations

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning met veteran actor Saira Banu, during which the two discussed a wide range of subjects.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), PM Modi shared pictures featuring Saira Banu from their meeting. Sharing the pictures, he wrote, “It was wonderful to meet Saira Banu Ji. Her pioneering work in the world of cinema is admired across generations. We had a great conversation on a wide range of subjects”.

Banu, the wife of the late legendary actor Dilip Kumar, made her acting debut in 1961 with ‘Junglee’ opposite Shammi Kapoor for which she received the Filmfare Award for Best Actress nomination. She received three more Best Actress nominations for ‘Shagird’ (1967), ‘Diwana’ (1967) and ‘Sagina’ (1974). Banu went on to work in a number of movies including ‘Bluff Master’ (1963), ‘Ayee Milan Ki Bela’ (1964), ‘Jhuk Gaya Aasman’ (1968), ‘Padosan’ (1968), ‘Victoria No. 203’ (1972), ‘Hera Pheri’ (1976) and ‘Bairaag’ (1976).

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi finds his name in the list of Grammy nominations. At the 2024 Grammy Awards, a song ‘Abundance in Millets’ featuring PM Modi, has been nominated in the best global music performance category.

PM Modi and Indian-American singer Falguni Shah, along with her husband, Gaurav Shah, collaborated on this special song. The song features a speech written and delivered by PM Modi. The special song was created to raise awareness of the supergrain as another potential key to minimizing world hunger, read the statement on Falu’s website.

Other nominees for the Best Global Music Performance category are Shadow Forces by Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, and Shahzad Ismaily; Alone by Burna Boy, Feel by Davido, Milagro Y Disastre by Silvana Estrada, Pashto by Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussain featuring Rakesh Chaurasia and Todo Colores by Ibrahim Maalouf featuring Cimafunk and Tank and the Bangas. (ANI)