A Bollywood star nicknamed Shammi has died at the age of 89 years old. Shammi was a beloved Indian Bollywood actress who began acting all the way back in 1949. Her actual name is Nargis Rabadi, and she performed in over 200 films during her decades’ long career.

Shammi or Nargis Rabadi acted in all kinds of roles as she aged. She began performing at a film created by Sheikh Mukhtar, who was a fellow actor and director. He gave Nargis Rabadi, who was untried at the time her first shot at acting. Her career took off from there. The roles that Shammi played included being a doting sister, a mother and later on in her life as a grandmother.

Shammi did not always have a comfortable life. Her family practiced Zoroastrianism, which is an ancient monotheistic religion that originated from Persia. This made her an ethnic minority in the predominantly Hindu Indian nation. Her father also perished when she was only three years old. Shammi’s mom had to work extra hard to make ends meet for her daughters which included Nargis. She and her sister also had to work at a toy factory run by Tata to help pay for her education.

Nargis Rabadi or Shammi is best known and remembered for comic roles. She played the character of Choti Nani who was a grandmother of the hit Indian sitcom show called Dekh Bhai Dekh. During her funeral, numerous actors from India’s Bollywood scene came to show their reverence and admiration for this beloved and comic women who touched the hearts of many in India and abroad during her long career of 60 plus years in film.

At one point in her career, Shammi was asked how she was able to star in so many films and keep going even though she was in her 80s. Her secret was that she never got picky about choosing which roles to accept. She said she took every and any part that was offered no matter how big or small. Nargis Rabadi even admitted that she had lost count over how many films she starred in after hearing that she was featured in over 200 films several years ago.

Shammi’s life was not smooth sailing after her acting breakthrough. She had a rocky marriage with a movie director named Sultan Ahmed. Nargis also had two miscarriages which ultimately resulted in her divorcing her husband. She died in her hometown of Mumbai and is survived by a lone son.