Sharmila Tagore takes bike lifts in Delhi traffic, reveals Soha Ali Khan

Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore, who recently returned to Bengali cinema with Puratawn, continues to inspire fans not just through her performances but also with her fearless and independent spirit. Her daughter, Soha Ali Khan, recently shared an amusing anecdote that perfectly captures her mother’s adventurous streak — at the age of 80, Sharmila ditched her car and took bike lifts from strangers to reach a book launch in Delhi.

Speaking on Nayandeep Rakshit’s podcast, Soha revealed that her mother, who lives independently in Delhi, still enjoys her autonomy and refuses to move back to Mumbai despite her family’s insistence.

Sharing the now-viral incident, Soha said, “She was going to a book launch and there was too much traffic, so she got out of her car, hailed a woman on a scooter, and asked her to drop her closer to the venue. Then she got off that scooter, stopped someone else on a bike, and hopped on to reach near the event. I was like, ‘Amma, you are 80, and this is Delhi!’”

Soha added with a laugh, “She said, ‘That person dropped me halfway, and I walked the rest of the way to the book launch.’ That’s just how she is — spontaneous and unstoppable.”

The veteran actor recently battled lung cancer, which was fortunately detected at stage zero and successfully treated through surgery without chemotherapy. Following her recovery, Sharmila made a powerful comeback to Bengali cinema after 18 years with Suman Ghosh’s Puratawn, a psychological drama that became the fifth highest-grossing Bengali film of the year. Her performance was widely praised by critics and audiences alike.

Recently, Sharmila also joined Soha for her birthday celebration in Mumbai before heading back to Delhi, where she hosted a cosy pyjama party with her close friends.