Editing Nargis (section)

=== 1935 - 1948: Film debut and breakthrough ===
Fatima made her first film appearance in the 1935 film ''[[Talashe Haq]]'' when she was six years old, credited as Baby Nargis. Nargis ({{lang|ur|نرگس}} {{IPA|hns|ˈnərɡɪs|}}) is a [[Persian language|Persian]] word meaning [[Narcissus (plant)|Narcissus]], the [[daffodil]] flower. She was subsequently credited as Nargis in all of her films.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 June 2015 |title=Nargis Dutt's 86th Birth Anniversary: 10 things you would want to know about beautiful Nargis |url=https://www.india.com/education/nargis-dutts-86th-birth-anniversary-10-things-you-would-want-to-know-about-beautiful-nargis-1582385/ |access-date=8 August 2020 |website=India.com}}</ref><ref name="mint">{{cite news |title=Nargis |url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/VxGxrl4DUCCYWK6MtEjw1O/Nargis.html |work=[[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]] |date=4 May 2013}}</ref>

Nargis appeared in numerous films after her debut. In 1943 at the age of 14, she appeared in [[Mehboob Khan]]'s ''[[Taqdeer (1943 film)|Taqdeer]],'' opposite Motilal.<ref name="nw">{{cite web |url=http://nrcw.nic.in/shared/sublinkimages/142.htm |title=NARGIS DUTT (1929--1981) |access-date=17 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210101745/http://nrcw.nic.in/shared/sublinkimages/142.htm |archive-date=10 February 2007}}</ref> The film was a box office success, and she was extensively praised for her performance. ''[[Filmindia]]'' referred to it as "an excellent debut".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.citwf.com/film343283.htm |title= film Taqdeer (1943)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006064717/http://www.citwf.com/film343283.htm|url-status=dead|website=Complete Index To World Film (C.I.T.W.F.) website|archive-date=6 October 2015|access-date=10 February 2023}}</ref> Following ''Taqdeer,'' Nargis starred in the 1944 film [[Anban (film)|Anban]]. Nargis next starred in the 1945 period drama ''[[Humayun (film)|Humayun]],'' opposite the leading actor of those times, [[Ashok Kumar]] and the mythological film ''[[Ramayani]].'' In 1946 she starred in [[Nargis (film)|Nargis]]. These films were moderately successful.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ashish Rajadhyaksha|author2=Paul Willemen|author3=Professor of Critical Studies Paul Willemen|title=Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SLkABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA82|access-date=8 October 2014|date=10 July 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-94318-9|pages=82–}}</ref>

In 1948, she made her first collaboration with [[Raj Kapoor]], the drama [[Aag (1948 film)|Aag]], in which she portrays a homeless woman who becomes an actress. The film was not a major success and did average business at the box office. However this marked the first of more than a dozen films in which Raj Kapoor and Nargis appeared together. She also starred in highly successful tragedy film [[Mela (1948 film)|Mela]], the editor of ''[[Filmindia]]'', [[Baburao Patel]] praised her performance, but in her role of mother found her "unconvincing" and "synthetic", The reported box office gross for the film according to IBOS was ₹50 [[lakhs]] in 1948. The adjusted gross as of 2015 is roughly estimated at ₹340.44 [[crores]]. Her last film of the year was ''[[Anokha Pyar]],'' which was not a success.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nargis movies, filmography, biography and songs |url=https://www.cinestaan.com/people/nargis-23776 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607101600/https://www.cinestaan.com/people/nargis-23776 |url-status=live |archive-date=7 June 2019 |access-date=23 October 2020 |website=Cinestaan}}</ref>