She was a master of hand to face gestures; the swooning palm to forehead, coy finger to smiling edge of mouth touch, the fist to temple agitation movement, and many, many more. She had a full gap toothed smile that lit up the frame with an energy on the edge of containment, about to explode in joy
Nargis in the 'classic' period (1950s) of Bollywood exemplified the modern woman. She wore sharp elegant 'Western' formal, sport, and casual wear with a natural grace. At a time when every other actress had long waist length hair Nargis sported a short Western cut. In a time when 'Western' could be interpreted as corrupt or uncultured only someone with a lot of style would dare to play the heroine dressed in the latest Paris fashion and Nargis had that.
She could be urban and smart with a matter of fact ease without being crass or vulgar. Nargis could NEVER be interpreted as crass or vulgar. In Raj Kapoor's "Awara" (1951) Nargis was the first Bollywood actress to wear a bathing suit on-screen It was a sensation and it didn't hurt her image one little bit.
