Cinemaazi remembers Kumari Naaz/Baby Naaz/Salma Baig on her birth anniversary
20 Aug 1944
Kumari Naaz, born as Salma Baig and also credited as Baby Naaz, on 20 August 1944, started performing on stage when she was four. By the age of 10, she had become a staple in Hindi films and had even received international acclaim for her performance as an orphan who is forced to beg on the streets with her brother in Boot Polish(1954). After powerful supporting roles in films like Bimal Roy’s Devdas (1955), Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Musafir (1957), Lajwanti (1958) and Guru Dutt’s Kagaz Ke Phool(1959), the child artist seemed headed towards stardom but ended up doing supporting roles.
Naaz held her greedy and unprofessional mother responsible for her inability to sustain her fame in the film industry. Naaz had a tragic childhood. In the second phase of her career she became a dubbing artist, lending her voice to several new actresses, most famously Sridevi.
Naaz held her greedy and unprofessional mother responsible for her inability to sustain her fame in the film industry. Naaz had a tragic childhood. In the second phase of her career she became a dubbing artist, lending her voice to several new actresses, most famously Sridevi.
