Nafisa Ali
| Nafisa Ali | |
|---|---|
 Nafisa Ali at the premiere of the film Lahore | |
| Born |
Nafisa Ali 18 January 1957 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Other names | Nafisa Ali Sodhi |
| Occupation | Actress, model, Politician |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Website |
www |
Nafisa Ali (born 18 January 1957) is a Bengali actress and social activist from India.
Early life
She was born to photographer Ahmed Ali and Philomena Torresan in Kolkata, West Bengal. Ahmed was the son of S. Wajid Ali and brother of Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah. She is also related to the decorated Bangladeshi muktijoddha and soldier Bir Pratik Akhtar Ahmed.[1] Her mother is now settled in Australia.[2]
She went to Sr. Cambridge from La Martiniere Calcutta.[3] She has also studied Vedanta taught by Swami Chinmayananda, who started the center Chinmaya Mission of World Understanding.
Her husband is the renowned polo player and Arjuna awardee, retired Col R.S. Sodhi. After marriage she chose to stop working and focus on her three children: daughters Armana, Pia and son Ajit.[2] After a break of 18 years she returned to the film industry.
Career
Nafisa Ali has accomplishments in several fields. She was the national swimming champion from 1972-1974, won the Miss India title in 1976 and was runner-up at the Miss International contest in 1977. Ali was also a jockey at the Calcutta Gymkhana in 1979.
Acting career
She has acted in several Bollywood films, the notable ones being Junoon (1979) with Shashi Kapoor, Major Saab with Amitabh Bachchan (1998), Bewafaa (2005), Life In A... Metro (2007) and Yamla Pagla Deewana (2010) with Dharmendra.
She has also acted in a Malayalam film called Big B (2007) with Mammootty, and is associated with Action India, an organisation working to spread AIDS awareness.
Political career
Nafisa Ali contested the 2004 Lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully from South Kolkata. On 5 April 2009, she contested the Lok Sabha election from Lucknow on the Samajwadi Party ticket after Sanjay Dutt's disqualification by the Supreme Court on the basis of a prior conviction. She then rejoined the Indian National Congress party in November 2009 and apologised to Sonia Gandhi for contesting on the Samajwadi Party ticket.[4]
Personal life
She is married to Colonel R. S. Sodhi a polo player who won the Arjuna Award.[3]
In September 2005, she was appointed the chairperson of the Children's Film Society of India (CFSI).
See also
References
External links
- Nafisa Ali at the Internet Movie Database
- An interview with Nafisa Ali
- A write-up on Nafisa Ali
- Nafeesa Ali's website
| Preceded by Meenakshi Kurpad |
Miss India 1976 |
Succeeded by Nalini Vishwanathan |