Mumbai, May 12 : Veteran actress Saira Banu shared a heartfelt post for her mother on Sunday on the occasion of Mother's Day.

Taking to her Instagram, Saira shared several pictures with her mother, Naseem Banu, and reminisced about the influence her mother had on her life and career.

Naseem Banu was not only a star of her time but also a pillar of strength for her family.

Saira Banu recalled how her mother, at the age of 16, took on the responsibility of being the family's caretaker, ensuring that her children received the best education and upbringing possible.

The veteran actress shared the pictures with a lengthy note in the caption: 'My Beloved Mother monitored my entire existence into a beautiful world. Whatever Allah has given me in my life, I owe it to her. We were a family of four people, my grandmother Shamshad Abdul Waheed Khan, her sister Khurshid Begum, Appaji and my brother Sultan Ahmed. Unfortunately owing to unavoidable circumstances, we were a single-parent family.'

"I am talking about 'Pari Chehra' Naseem Banuji, the very First Female Superstar who had blazed a glorious trail of admiration for her with Sohrab Modi's historical 'Pukar' where she personified Empress Noorjahan. I recall icons such as Dilip Sahab and @amitabhbachchan when asked of the most Beautiful woman they have seen, they have outright stated the name of Appaji. At a young age of 16 my mother had to take on the stance of the family's mantle bearer and that went on throughout her life," she added.

The actress shared that her mother did a splendid job all around and educated her brother and her in London day schools.

Saira shared that her mother always insisted on their 'desi roots'.

The actress further mentioned, 'We travelled the world but the chunk of our holidays were spent in Bombay and Delhi to vibe with our own traditions. The rest is history and I became an overnight star because people were eager to see the daughter of Naseem Banuji. She took hold of new pastures in dress designing for me. Back then there were Black & White Films in which heroines wore costumes any which way but with the advent of 'East Man Colour' and 'Junglee' Naseemji designed beautiful embroidered ensembles for me."

The actress said that her mother revolutionised her make-up with the help of make-up dada Dinu Indulkar and experimented with blue contact lenses for her and eye-make-up trends.

'For a dream sequence in 'Saaz Aur Awaz' she went to the extremes of finding the right glamorous fabrics and beautiful feathers from the famous 'Lido Shows' of Paris, France. As we go on Instagram I want to share bit by bit all about her endeavours and brilliance because her Charisma cannot be contained even in a detailed book. I shall endeavour to acquaint you all of her extreme toils and successes at shaping our lives with the grace of God," she added.

/IANS