On the occasion of Hindi Diwas, one of Indian cinema's finest actresses, Saira Banu talked about her first experience with the language, revealing about her motivation and drive to learn one of the official languages.

September 14 is observed as ‘Hindi Diwas’. The day stands out as an occasion that underlines the significance of the Hindi language.

Ever since her debut on Instagram, Saira has been seen sharing beautiful memories of the late actor and her husband Dilip Kumar.

Taking to Instagram Stories on Thursday, Saira penned a long note on how proud she was to learn Hindi.

The 'Padosan' fame actress wrote in Devanagari: "Saalon pehle jab main ek mashoor abhinetri banne ka sapna lekar Bharat aayi thi, toh yahan ki bhashaon mein itni nipun nahin thi."

The actress said: "Hindi Cinema mein abhinay karne ke liye yeh bahut zaroori tha ki, main Hindi bhasha ko achhe se bol aur samajh paaun, khaas kar ke 60 ke dashak mein jab do kalakaron ke beech mein samvaad bahut hi lambe, shayarana, aur kathin shabdon ko mila kar bana karte the."

"Par meri Maa 'Pari Chehra Naseem Banu' ji ne mere yahan aane ke baad yeh zimma uthaya ki main yeh anmol bhasha seekh paaun aur maine utni hi lagan ke sath isse seekha, aur iss baat ka mujhe bahut garv hai," she said.

Saira is the daughter of actress Naseem Banu and producer Mian Ehsan-ul-Haq.

Naseem Banu was known as "Beauty Queen" and the "first female superstar" of Indian Cinema. She started her acting career in the mid-1930s and continued to act till mid-1950s.

At the age of 16, Saira started work for her debut in Hindi films, and made her acting debut opposite Shammi Kapoor in the 1961 film 'Junglee'. She established herself with successful films during the 1960s including 'Jhuk Gaya Aasman', 'Ayee Milan Ki Bela', 'April Fool', 'Aao Pyaar Karen', 'Shagird' and 'Pyar Mohabbat', among many others. (IANS)