Married at 19, Naseeruddin Shah was ‘obnoxious’ to first wife; ‘absent dad’ to daughter Heeba | Bollywood News
Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah are often regarded as one of Bollywood’s most enduring couples, admired for their honesty, mutual respect and decades-long companionship. But years before marrying Ratna in 1982, Naseeruddin went through a deeply troubled first marriage with Purveen Murad aka Manara Sikri (the sister of actor Surekha Sikri), with whom he had a daughter, Heeba. In his autobiography And Then One Day, the veteran actor looks back on that phase with remarkable candour, admitting he was an emotionally immature husband and an absent father in his early twenties. The story dates back to the late 1960s, when a 19-year-old Naseeruddin Shah, then studying at Aligarh Muslim University, had fallen in love with theatre. While his family strongly opposed his acting ambitions, he found unwavering support in Purveen Murad, a 34-year-old medical intern at the same university. Encouraged by the only person who truly believed in his dream, Naseer fell deeply in love with her despite their 15-year age gap, and the two eventually got married. Film star Naseeruddin Shah in film …
