Nagma

Nagma (born Nandita Arvind Morarji on

25 December 1974) is an Indian
politician and former actress. She is
better known for her roles in Telugu and
Tamil movies like Gharana Mogudu,
Kadhalan, Baashha and many others.[1]
She began her acting career in Bollywood
and acted in a few of the biggest
Bollywood movies and in other
languages. Nagma has acted in a broad
range of India's languages: Hindi, Tamil,
Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali,
Bhojpuri, Punjabi, and Marathi.[2]
 Nagma

Born Nandita Arvind Morarjii

25 December 1974
Mumbai, Maharashtra,
India

Other names Nagma Sadanah

Occupation Actor, politician

Years active 1990—2007

Political party Indian National

Congress

Relatives Roshini (half-sister)

Jyothika (half-sister)
 Tharun Parsi (half-
sister)

Early life
Nagma's biological father was Arvind
Pratapsinh Morarji whose forefathers
hailed from a royal background from
Jaisalmer, later migrating to Porbandar,
Gujarat and finally Mumbai. Her great-
grandfather Gokuldas Morarji was a
reputed businessman in the shipping,
textile, agricultural and pharmaceutical
industries. Her mother hailed from the
Konkan region of Maharashtra. She
belonged to the Kazi freedom fighter
family and her original name was Shama
Kazi, but she is now known as Seema.
She married Morarji in 1969 at the CCI
Club in Mumbai, but separated from him
in 1974 According to Nagma's passport,
the name given to her at birth was
Nandita Arvind Morarji, which has now
been updated to Nagma Arvind Morarji.
In her father's obituary printed by the
family, she is referred to by her original
name, Nandita. After divorcing Morarji in
August 1974, Nagma's mother married
Chander Sadanah, a film producer in
March 1975 with whom she had three
children: including two daughters,
actresses Roshini and Jyothika. Through
her biological father, who had remarried
earlier, Nagma has two half-brothers,
Dhanraj, and Yuvraj.
Nagma remained close to her biological
father until his death on 31 December
2005. She explained to a Mumbai
reporter that "I am proud of the fact that I
belong to a respectable family. My
mother was legally married to my father,
the late Shri Arvind Morarji, at a public
function at the CCI Club, Mumbai." It was
Nagma's mother who encouraged her to
become an actress and is said to have
been her "constant companion on the
film sets" for several years.[3]

Inspired by her entrepreneurial

background, Nagma forayed into the
clothing business by opening a boutique
in Mumbai in Bandra West on Hill Road
called Nagma's, which was inaugurated
in September 2000 by Akshay Kumar.[4]
Although the boutique was highly
successful and an instant hit, she had to
shut it down in 2003 as she had to be by
the side of her ailing father while
simultaneously honoring her Bhojpuri
and other language film commitments
apart from her spiritual quest, then
teaching Art of Living.[5]

Acting career
Nagma's debut film Baghi: A Rebel for
Love, opposite Salman Khan was Hindi
cinema's seventh highest-grossing film in
1990.[6] With Karisma Kapoor, she was
also one of the female leads in 1994's
Suhaag with Ajay Devgan and Akshay
Kumar. Following these films, she moved
south to star in Telugu and Tamil movies
at the behest of her friend Divya Bharti.
Explaining her shift, she cited what she
was more conscious of the quality of
work, in terms of meaty roles and her flair
to travel throughout India understanding
different cultures and her drive and
passion to get acclamation from all over
India. She stated "Language was never a
barrier. I love adventure, culture and have
great respect for the Indian tradition".

Her Telugu films include 1992's Gharana

Mogudu with Chiranjeevi, Allari Alludu
with Nagarjuna Akkineni and Major
Chandrakanth with N. T. Rama Rao and
Mohan Babu. Her Tamil films include
Baasha with Rajnikanth and 1994's
Kadhalan with Prabhu Deva.

After moving back to Mumbai, she told

an interviewer in 2001, "The pressure of
being the number one actress in Tamil
cinema was getting to me. I was unhappy
with the kind of films I was doing. I
couldn't do the kind of work I wanted to
because I had to go by the dictates of
what the audience expected of a much-
in-demand actress. I was stagnating so I
decided to take a break."[7] Again based
in Hindi cinema, she focused on
supporting roles in films like 2000's Chal
Mere Bhai, which reunited her with former
co-stars Karisma Kapoor, Salman Khan
and Sanjay Dutt. Within a year, Nagma
enrolled in the spiritually oriented Art of
Living course, eventually teaching it
herself in Mumbai and elsewhere.[8]
While based in Mumbai, she continued to
work in some Telugu and Tamil movies,
such as Allari Ramudu and Citizen, as
well as taking leading roles in some
Malayalam films.

Nagma has acted in Bhojpuri movies,

including films with the Big Boss
participant Ravi Kishan. She won a Best
Actress award at the 2005 Bhojpuri Film
Awards for her performance in Dulha
Milal Dildar.[9] In 2006's Ganga, she
starred in the title role opposite Amitabh
Bachchan and Hema Malini. When asked
why she shifted to Bhojpuri films, she
said "I wanted to do films in different
languages. I have already done movies in
10 languages. My first Bhojpuri film
Panditji Bataayina Biyaah Kab Hoii was a
huge hit. After that, the offers poured in
and they were too good to be ignored."[10]
When interviewed by The Hindu in Delhi
in April 2007, she indicated that another
important reason for her decision to
focus on Bhojpuri films was to help with
her political campaigning.[11]
In 2006, she made her Punjabi film debut,
starring alongside Raj Babbar in Ek Jind
Ek Jaan.

Discussing her career in a Mid-Day

interview in September 2006, Nagma
said "I have learned nine languages, so I
want to do films in all languages. On the
Hindi film front, I am in the process of
signing a very big period thriller. I am
getting to do a variety of roles with
content, so I am satisfied."[12] While
noting her commitment to complete
several Bhojpuri films she was involved
with, in March 2007, she expressed her
intention to next focus on returning to
Hindi films after wrapping up her
projects.[13] In her 2007 Hindustan Times
interview, in which she discusses her
future plans for cinema and politics,
Nagma responded to a question about
her reputation for controversy by saying
"You need guts to deal with
controversies. Of course, whether it’s for
negative or positive reasons, I’ve always
been in the news."[14]

Politics
A vocal supporter of India's Indian
National Congress, she had only formally
become a member of the Congress Party
in Delhi, reportedly citing its
"commitment towards secularism and
welfare of the poor and weaker sections"
as her reason for joining.[15] She was also
fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), as a candidate from Hyderabad for
the General Lok Sabha Elections
according to an Indo-Asian News Service
report [15][16] Nagma has elsewhere been
cited as saying that she first supported
the Congress Party because of her
admiration for Rajiv Gandhi.[17]

In a 2006 interview, she made a direct

link between her family history and her
political activism: "My mom is Muslim
and my dad is Hindu. We were brought
up to respect all religions. Communal
riots pained me. I wanted to do
something. So I joined politics.". She had
to turn down an offer to run for India's
Lok Sabha in 2003 due to her many film
commitments. "If I wanted to become a
member of Parliament I would need to
give 100 per cent to my constituency —
which I could not at that point of time."[18]
In an interview with the Hindustan Times
in 2007, she said "politics will
continue".[14]

Filmography
Year Film Role Language Notes

Baaghi: A Rebel for Kaajal, a.k.a.

1990 Hindi Debut film
Love "Paro"

Peddinti Alludu Geeta Telugu

1991
Killer Priya Telugu

Gharana Mogudu Uma Devi Telugu

Bewaffa Se Waffa Nagma Hindi

Dilwale Kabhi Na Hare Anjali Oberoi Hindi

1992
Police Aur Mujrim Meena Khanna Hindi

Yalgaar Anu Singhal Hindi

Aswamedham Sowjanya Telugu

King Uncle Kavita Hindi

Major Chandrakanth Seetha Telugu

Varasudu Keerthi Telugu

Hasti Neena Narang Hindi

Kondapalli Raja Subbalakshmi Telugu

1993 Dhartiputra Lisa Hindi

Allari Alludu Sravani Telugu

Rendilla Poojari Telugu

Cantonese &
Bharata Natyam
Green Snake Mandarin
dancer
Chinese

Mugguru Monagallu Rani Telugu

Kadhalan Sruthi Tamil

Suhaag Madhu Hindi

1994
Super Police Roja Telugu

Gang Master Sandhya Telugu

Aavesham Telugu

1995 Baashha Priya Tamil

Mounam Telugu

Ragasiya Police Raji Tamil

 Villadhi Villain Janaki Tamil

Rikshavodu Rani Telugu

Adavi Dora Priya Telugu

Bharatha Simham Telugu

Love Birds Mridula Tamil

1996 Saradha Bullodu Nirmala Devi Telugu

Mettukudi Indhu Tamil

Kaun Rokega Mujhe Hindi

Surya Putrulu Telugu

Janakiraman Indhu Tamil

1997
Periya Thambi Selvi Tamil

Pistha Vanilla Tamil

Aravindhan Anu Tamil

Sreekrishnapurathe
Yamuna Rani Malayalam
Nakshathrathilakkam
1998
Kurubana Rani Rani Kannada

Vaettiya Madichu Kattu Tamil

Lal Baadshah Hindi Special appearance

1999
Ravimama Kannada

Kunwara Sharmila Singh Hindi

Chal Mere Bhai Sonia Hindi

2000
Mrs. Pooja Jai
Papa The Great Hindi
Prakash

Dheena Tamil Special appearance

Sai Teri Maya Hindi

Ek Rishtaa: The Bond

Hindi Special appearance
of Love
2001
CBI Sarojini
Citizen Tamil
Harichandran

Yeh Teraa Ghar Yeh Anupama

Hindi
Meraa Ghar Verma

2002 Chathurangam Nayana Pillai Malayalam

 Allari Ramudu Chamundeswari Telugu

Ninu Choodaka
Telugu Special appearance
Nenundalenu

2003 Hrudayavantha Kannada

Ab Tumhare Hawale
2004 Aarti V. Singh Hindi
Watan Saathiyo

Pandit Ji Batai na
Bhojpuri
Vivah Kab Hoi

Winner, Bhojpuri Film

Dulha Milal Dildar Bhojpuri
2005 Award for Best Actress [19]

Panditji Batai Na Byah

Bhojpuri
Kab Hoi

Parinam Bengali

Ek Jind Ek Jaan Nimmi Punjabi

Ganga Ganga Bhojpuri

Ab Ta Banja Sajnwa
Bhojpuri
Hamaar
2006
Mai Baap Bhojpuri

Dil Diwana Tohar Ho

Bhojpuri
Gayil

Raja Thakur Bhojpuri

Back To Honeymoon Hindi

Thamb Lakshmi
2007 Lakshmi Marathi
Thamb

Tu Hamaar Hou Bhojpuri

References
1. "The Hindu : Nagma plays mother" .
Hinduonnet.com.
2. "ேடாேடாவ ரஃ ேநா ".
ேடாேடாவ ரஃ ேநா .
3. "For Indophiles and Those Who Crave
Bollywood" . I Crave Bollywood. Retrieved
2013-08-17.
4. " "Akshay inaugurates Nagma's
boutique" " .
5. "Ganguly?s career was at stake, so we
parted: Nagma" . Rediff.com.
6. [1] Archived 7 April 2007 at the
Wayback Machine.
7. Filmfare interview, May 2001 "Clean
Bowled – Match-fixing... and much more
with Nagma" at [2]
8. "Nagma practices the art of living!"
ApunKaChoice.com (19 April 2003) at
Cinema/20030419-0.html ; and "Venky
and Nagma's Art of Living!" at [3]
9. " "Results", Bhojpuri Film Awards
website" . bhojpurifilmaward.com.
Archived from the original on 26 May
2007.
10. ZeeNews.com "Racism, controversies
forced Nagma to quit Hindi Cinema" (15
March 2007) [4] ; and IndiaInfo.com
(IANS), "Racism, controversies forced
Nagma to quit Hindi Cinema" (16 March
2007) [5]
11. " "Figure in focus..." Anuj Kumar, in The
Hindu (5 April 2007)" . Hindu.com.
12. " "Nagma's sister getting married" in
Mid-Day (1 Sept. 2006), online at" .
13. "Saavn – Hindi Songs Free Download,
Old, Latest, New, mp3, Bollywood Music,
Online" . smashits.com. Archived from the
original on 22 December 2008.
14. "You need guts to deal with
controversies: Nagma," Hindustan Times
(16 March 2007) [6]
15. " "Film actress Nagma joins Congress"
Indo-Asian News Service (16 April
2004)" . Yahoo.com. Archived from the
original on 6 May 2006.
16. " "Nagma in poll fray?" Times News
Network (21 March 2004)" .
timesofindia.com.
17. "See, e.g., "Government office for
Nagma?" (10 Nov. 2006) at" .
18. A Ganesh Nadar interview with
Nagma, "Nagma, the survivor — The
actress who has truly done it all." (10
March 2006), at rediff.com [7]
19. See, e.g., "First-ever Bhojpuri awards "
in Mid-Day (1 Feb.2006), online at [8]

External links
Nagma on IMDb

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Nagma&oldid=855136874"

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