Nagma
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| Namratha Sadhana | |
| Birth name | Nandita Morarji |
| Born | 25 December 1974 |
| Other name(s) | Nagma |
| Years active | 1990-2007 |
Namratha Sadhana, better known as Nagma (Hindi: नघमा ;Tamil: நக்மா ), is a somewhat controversial Indian actress, known primarily for her work in Bollywood and Kollywood. Born of a Muslim mother and a Hindu father [1], she began her acting career in Bollywood and acted in a few movies but shifted south where she met with greater success before returning to Mumbai. Although sometimes listed in film credits as Naghma, she should not to be confused with an earlier Indian actress who went by the same stage name - that mistake is made in her listing on the Internet Movie Database website[2]. Fluent in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and English, Nagma is notable for having acted in a broad range of India's languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Bhojpuri, and now Marathi. [3]
A vocal supporter of India's Congress Party[4], in 2007 Nagma was recommended for an Andhra Pradesh Rajya Sabha seat [5]. She has been cited as saying that she first joined the Congress Party because of her admiration for Rajiv Gandhi. [6]
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[edit] Film Career and Controversies
Nagma had considerable success with her 1990 hit debut film Baaghi, co-starring Salman Khan. Along with Karishma Kapoor, she was also one of the female leads in 1994's Suhaag which also featured Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgan. Despite this initial success, she moved south to star in Tamil and Telugu movies at the behest of her friend Divya Bharti. Later explaing her shift south, she cited not only what she considers the higher quality of the work, but also stated that "I did what was best then! I was a girl with a Muslim name and the Shiv Sena was slowly raising its head."[7] She became a major star in the south and remained so for much of the 1990s, at least until 1997.
Her major hits in Telugu include 1993's Gharana Mogudu with Chiranjeevi, Allari alludu with Nagarjuna and Major Chandrakanth with NTR and Mohan Babu. Her main Tamil hits were Basha with superstar Rajnikanth and Kadhalan with Prabhu Deva. During this period she was rumored to have been involved in a relationship with Tamil actor Sarath Kumar, who was in significant debt at that time. Most of her performances in this era were glamourous roles with little substance.
Following alledged death threats by Sarath Kumar, and as her southern movie career was stalled by type-casting, she moved back to Mumbai. In an interview in 2001, she is reported to have said "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." [8]. Again based in Bollywood, she focused on supporting roles in major hits such as 2000's Chal Mere Bhai, which reunited her with former costars Karishma Kapoor, Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt. Media reports in 2001 linked her romantically with cricketer Sourav Ganguly, although both denied the story [9]. Nagma enrolled in the Art of Living course, eventually teaching it herself in Mumbai.[10] While based in Mumbai, she continued to worked in some Telugu and Tamil movies, such as Allari Ramudu and Citizen, playing supporting roles, as well as taking leading roles in some Malayalam films.
During 2005, Nagma was alleged to be involved with the Mumbai underworld - a fairly common story in Bollywood. Media stories claimed she was the muse of Dawood Ibrahim's younger brother Anees Ibrahim. According to newspaper reports which claimed to be citing police sources, Anees fell for Nagma in 1992 during the shooting of the Sanjay Dutt vehicle Yalgaar in Mauritius, where they met. She was allegedly paid Rs 10 lakhs by Anees' henchmen at her Mumbai residence in return for sexual pleasures enjoyed by Anees with her. She, predictably, denied any links to Dawood, saying "The allegations are completely baseless."[11]
Nagma is currently a major star in Bhojpuri movies, where she has again found success as a leading lady. She was notably successful when paired against the "Big Boss" reality show participant Ravi Kishen, with whom she was also linked romantically in real life. She won a Best Actress award at the 2005 Bhojpuri Film Awards for her performance in Dulha Milal Dildar. In 2006's Ganga, she starred as Ganga opposite Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini. When asked why she shifted to Bhojpuri films, she stated that "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." [12]
In March 2007, she expressed her intention to next focus on returning to Hindi films after wrapping up her current projects.[13]
[edit] Family
Nagma's biological father was Sri Arvind Pratapsinh Morarji, the late textile magnate. Her mother is Seema Sadhana, who married Morarji in 1972, separating only "a few years later," as The Telegraph reported in 2006 when Nagma made the information public.[14]. According to her passport, the name given to her at birth was Nandita.[15] Nagma thus had a Hindu father and a Muslim mother. After divorcing Morarji "due to some family problems," Nagma's mother later married Chander Sadanah, a film producer, with whom she had two other daughters, Jyotika (herself a major Kollywood star) and Radhika, as well as a son, Rahul. Through her biological father, who later re-married, Nagma has two more half-brothers, Dhanraj and Yuvraj.[16].
Nagma remained close to her biological father up until his death on 1 January 2006. She explained to one Mumbai reporter that: "I am proud of the fact that I belong to the respectable Dharamsinh Morarji family. My mother was legally married to Arvind Morarji at a public function at Radio Club at Colaba." It was Nagma's mother who encouraged her to become an actress, and is said to have been her "constant companion on film sets" for several years.[17]
Nagma has led a very different life from her half-sister Jyotika, who was not successful as a star in Bollywood but who found success in Tamil movies. Unlike Nagma, Jyotika's public image is free of controversies. Jyotika married Tamil heartthrob Surya Sivakumar in September 2006. Jyotika is a well-known name in Tamil households. Nagma herself, while romantically linked to a number of men, is single.
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Thamp Lakshmi Thamp | Lakshmi | Marathi film under production | |
| 2007 | Tu Hamaar Hou | Bhojpuri remake of Darr | ||
| 2006 | Ganga | Ganga | ||
| 2005 | Dulha Milal Dildar | Best Actress award, Bhojpuri Film Awards | ||
| 2005 | Panditji Batai Na Byah Kab Hoi | First Bhojpuri film role | ||
| 2005 | Pariraam | First Bengali film role | ||
| 2004 | Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo | Aarti V. Singh | ||
| 2002 | Chathurangam | Nayana Pillai | First film starring opposite Malayalam superstar Mohanlal | |
| 2001 | Yeh Teraa Ghar Yeh Meraa Ghar | Anupama Verma | ||
| 2001 | Citizen | CBI Sarojini Arichandran | ||
| 2001 | Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love | Special Appearance | ||
| 2001 | Khoey Ho Tum Kahan | |||
| 2001 | Deena | |||
| 2000 | Kunwara | Sharmila Singh | ||
| 2000 | Chal Mere Bhai | Sonia | ||
| 2000 | Papa The Great | Mrs. Pooja Jai Prakash | ||
| 1999 | Lal Baadshah | Special Appearance | ||
| 1999 | Singer | |||
| 1998 | Sreekrishnapurathe Nakshathrathilakkam | |||
| 1997 | Love Birds | Mridula | ||
| 1996 | Manik Baasha | |||
| 1996 | Miya Biwi Aur Saali | Shivani Hansraj | ||
| 1996 | Sabse Bada Mawali | Priya | ||
| 1995 | Suryaputrulu | |||
| 1995 | Hum Se Hai Muqabala | Shruti | Hindi version of Kadhalan, said to be the first Tamil movie to be dubbed into Hindi.[18] | |
| 1995 | Dharkan | |||
| 1995 | Badsha | Priya | ||
| 1995 | Mounam | |||
| 1995 | Rikshavodu | Rani | ||
| 1994 | Kadhalan | Shruthi | Winner, Filmfare Best Actress Award (Kollywood) | |
| 1994 | Suhaag | Madhu | ||
| 1994 | Super Police | |||
| 1994 | Gangmaster | |||
| 1994 | Mugguru Monagallu | |||
| 1993 | Dhartiputra | |||
| 1993 | Hasti | Neena Narang | ||
| 1993 | King Uncle | Kavita | ||
| 1992 | Yalgaar | Anu Singhal | ||
| 1992 | Ashwamedham | |||
| 1992 | Parampara | |||
| 1992 | Bewaffa Se Waffa | |||
| 1992 | Dilwale Kabhi Na Hare | Anjali Oberoi | ||
| 1992 | Gharaana Mogudu | Uma Devi | ||
| 1992 | Police Aur Mujrim | Meena Khanna | ||
| 1990 | Baaghi: A Rebel for Love | Kajal Paro |
[edit] Trivia
- She has expressed her interest in pursuing a career in national politics.
- She has a clothing boutique on Mumbai's Hill Road called Nagma's, which was inaugurated in September 2003 by Akshay Kumar. [19]
- Nagma medidates daily and considers herself to be "a very God-loving person." She prays throughout her day, and has read the Qur'an, Bhagavad Gita, and Bible. [20]
[edit] References
- ^ See, e.g., [1]
- ^ "Nagma" listing on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), www.imdb.com at [2]
- ^ "Nagma excels in nine languages!" Idleburra.com (30 Nov.2006) at [3]
- ^ See, e.g., "Nagma's New Role" in Mid-Day (9 Oct.2006) at [4]; and "Congress ducks questions on Nagma's campaigning" PTI (14 Feb. 2005) at [5]
- ^ Tamil News (2 March 2007) "Nagma recommended for Andhra Pradesh Rajya Sabha seat" at [6]
- ^ See, e.g., "Government office for Nagma?" (10 Nov.2006) at [7]
- ^ ZeeNews.com "Racism, controversies forced Nagma to quit Bollywood" (15 March 2007) [8]
- ^ Filmfare interview, May 2001 "Clean Bowled - Match-fixing... and mucho more with Nagma" at [9]
- ^ HindustanTimes.com's Beyond Marriage, "Nagma bowled over by Sourav..." at [10]
- ^ "Venky and Nagma's Art of Living!" at [11]
- ^ See, e.g., "I have never met Dawood's brother: Nagma", ExpressIndia.com (15 Feb. 2005) [12]
- ^ ZeeNews.com "Racism, controversies forced Nagma to quit Bollywood" (15 March 2007) [13]; and IndiaInfo.com (IANS), "Racism, controversies forced Nagma to quit Bollywood" (16 March 2007) [14]
- ^ SmasHits interview, "Nagma Takes a Bow" (7 March 2007) at [15]
- ^ "Nagma’s family secret" in The Telegraph (22 April 2006) at [16]
- ^ See "Revealed: Nagma's real Dad" in Mumbai Mirror (22 April 2006), online at http://www.icravebollywood.com/news/22april06/nagma.php[17]
- ^ The Telegraph, at [18]
- ^ Mumbai Mirror, at [19]
- ^ "Kadhalan" listing on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), www.imdb.com at [20]
- ^ "Akshay inaugurates Nagma's boutique" (7 Sept. 2003) at [21] and "Nagma into fashion business" at [22]
- ^ SmashHits interview, "Nagma Takes a Bow" (7 March 2007) at [23]
