If not in cinema, I would have been a painter: Sharmila Tagore

Hyderabad: If not in the field of cinema veteran actress Sharmila Tagore would have turned painter.

"I wanted to go to Shantiniketan. I wanted to be a painter," she said, speaking at an interactive session organised by the Young FICCI Ladies Organisation (YFLO) with her and her daughter, Bollywood actress Soha Ali Khan.

The 70-year-old actress, who began her acting career with Satyajit Ray's film "Apur Sansar" in 1959 at the age of 14, however, said acting is a wonderful profession that lets the actors to be close to the people.

Recalling her career, Sharmila said she did roles like playing mother to Rajesh Khanna as she wanted to essay performances that are remembered for long.

"I wanted to change my image. That's why I did 'Aradhana'.

If you get into their (audience's) hearts, you live longer," she added.

Talking about her late husband and former Indian Cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, she said he taught her punctuality and composure.

Asked if she would have liked to be an actor today than in the 1960s and 1970s, Sharmila said she had no regrets.
"We had our time. No regrets," she said.

Replying to a query, Soha said she and her siblings, including Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, had a "quite normal, non-starry" upbringing which kept them level-headed.