Veteran actress Shammi, whose infectious smile made her characters vivacious and charming, died in Mumbai on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. She was 89.

Shammi aunty, as she was lovingly known, acted in over 200 films and television serials in her six-decade career. Born as Nargis Rabadi in a Parsi family, she landed a role in Shaikh Mukhtar’s Ustad Pedro in 1951, for which she was christened Shammi and the name stuck. She got her first break as female lead opposite Mukesh in Malhar — the legendary singer was also the producer of the film — and soon she bagged a big project, R.C. Talwar’s Sangdil, a love triangle also featuring Dilip Kumar and Madhubala. Remember the Sajjad Hussain-composed Talat Mahmood classic, Ye Hawa Ye Raat Ye Chandni, where Shammi plays a sitar as Dilip Kumar’s character playfully flirts with her? But Sangdil, loosely based on Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, bombed and Shammi’s career as a lead actress never really took off.

Thereafter, she did character or comic roles in many popular films, among them Bhai Bahen, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi, Half Ticket, Jab Jab Phool Khile, The Burning Train and Kudrat, and then reinvented herself in several popular TV serials such as Dekh Bhai Dekh, Zabaan Sambhal Ke, Shriman Shrimati and Filmi Chakkar.

She married producer-director Sultan Ahmed in her 30s, but the marriage ended after seven years. Shammi turned producer with Pighalta Aasman (1985), starring Shashi Kapoor, Rakhee and Rati Agnihotri, but the film failed and brought her great financial losses. Her last role was in Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi (2013) where she played Boman Irani’s grandmother.Amitabh Bachchan took to social media to express his grief. “Shammi Aunty... Prolific actress, years of contribution to the industry, dear family friend...passes away...! Sad... slowly slowly they all go away,” he tweeted.

Former Congress MP Priya Dutt, whose mother Nargis Dutt was a lifelong friend of Shammi’s, also tweeted: “Shammi, aunty to me and a great actor of yesteryears, passed away today. She was my mother’s dear friend and someone we all loved....”