Smita Patil was an Indian film and television actress, who was regarded as one of the finest actresses of her time in Indian cinema. In her career span, she had worked with notable film directors like Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani, Satyajit Ray, G. Aravindan, and Mrinal Sen. She started her Bollywood career with Suresh Kumar Sharma’s black and white Bollywood drama Mere Saath Chal (1974). It was followed by her commercially successful movies like Bhumika (1977), Chakra (1981), Bazaar (1982), Arth (1982), Mandi (1983), Aaj Ki Aawaz (1984), Thikana (1987), and Galiyon Ke Badshah (1989). She married actor Raj Babbar and the two became parents to actor Prateik Babbar.