Rocking At 72: Doordarshan News Anchor Salma Sultan Graces Ramp

Salma Sultan, the iconic news anchor of the public service broadcaster, Doordarshan graced the ramp at the age of 72. The elegant lady mesmerised the audience with her dance moves on Bollywood numbers including the R. Rajkumar's movie song, ‘Saree kay fall sa.’

The event was organised by Saree Sanskriti in association with the Fashion Lifestyle Magazine. Celebrities including Padma Shree awardee Shovana Narayan, graced the event.

Key Takeaways:

• Iconic Doordarshan news anchor Salma Sultan walks the ramp at 72.
• Sultan is best known for her news reading and her signature style – “Namaskar! Aaj kay samaachaar iss prakaar hain.”
• The event was organised by Saree Sanskriti in association with the Fashion Lifestyle Magazine.
• Celebrities including Padma Shree awardee Shovana Narayan, graced the event.

Sultan was wearing a brown bordered saree along with some neatly tucked white flowers on her hair while using 'jhumkaas' as the elegant accessory. She managed to get a traditional look with a modern twist.

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Saree Sanskriti

Along with being a new anchor, Salma Sultan is also keen on promoting the traditional Indian culture of Saree. She owns a clothing brand with the name, Saree Sanskriti. She herself is very famous for her sartorial style.

"I do not believe millennials have any problem wearing the saree, it is all about ensuring that they have confidence. When confidence is there you can pull off any attire,”

“It is a very happy occasion. Many people have come together to make this a successful event. I do not believe millennials have any problem wearing the saree, it is all about ensuring that they have confidence. When confidence is there you can pull off any attire,” Sultan said at the event.

Her style quotient

“We were our own fashion consultants back then. Black-and-white TV offered us the facility to wear whichever colours we wanted to, but the onset of colour TV shattered it. A new sari a day I could manage, but matching blouses? No way. It was a pretty tall order. So, the idea of draping a sari over both shoulders came to my rescue and believe me…it works even now.”  said Salma Sultan while conversing with the Verve.

Sultan also gave some details about her style quotient to the Verve. She added, “The day when I plucked a red rose from my garden, I hadn’t the faintest idea that its story would become viral. Can you imagine that even now, the rose fever is unabated? Yes, it did give heartburn to some people helming affairs at that time, who issued memos and warnings but…let’s leave it at that. The important thing is that the rose lives on in the memory of viewers, and I feel grateful and humbled.”

Sultan is best known for her news reading and her signature style – “Namaskar! Aaj kay samaachaar iss prakaar hain.”

News reader par excellence

She worked for Doordarshan for almost three decades from 1967 to 1997. After her retirement, she moved to directing serials on social topics for Doordarshan under her production house Lensview Private Limited. Some of her serials like Panchtantra Se, Suno Kahani, Swar Mere Tumhare and Jalte Sawal drew attention and indeed became very famous.

Her education

Salma did her schooling from Sultanpur, Madhya Pradesh and did her graduation from Bhopal. She did her post-graduation in English from Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi. Simultaneously, she also gave the audition for an announcer on Doordarshan at the age of 23. She was born as second child to scholar and secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Mohammed Asghar Ansari.

Read also: Secret behind the spotlight: Television anchors and their nutrition calendar

Picture credit: You Tube

Udisha Srivastav is an intern with SheThePeople.Tv