Nagma

Nagma (born Nandita Arvind Morarji on 25 December 1974) is an Indian actress. She is better known for her roles in Telugu and Tamil movies like Killer, Gharana Mogudu, Kadhalan, Baashha and many others.[2] She began her acting career in Bollywood and acted in a few of the biggest Bollywood movies but shifted down south before returning to Mumbai and continuing films in other languages. Nagma has acted in a broad range of India's languages: Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, and Marathi.[3]

Nagma's biological father was Arvind Pratapsinh Morarji whose forefathers hailed from a royal background from Jaisalmer, later migrating to Gujarat, Porbandar, then 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 1973. According to Nagma's passport, the name given to her at birth was Nandita Arvind Morarji, which has now been updated to Nagma Arvind Morarrjij. In her father's obituary printed by the family, she is referred to by her original name, Nandita. After divorcing Morarji in August 1973, 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.[citation needed]

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.[4]

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.[5] 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.[6]

Nagma's debut film Baghi: A Rebel for Love, opposite Salman Khan was Hindi cinema's seventh highest grossing film in 1990.[7] 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". A girl with a Muslim name and a Hindu father and born on Christmas a perfect example of national integration, did what was best for her then. She became a major star in the south and remained so. Although she started off with a bang in Bollywood (Hindi cinema) with topmost banners, actors and directors. The main reason for her shift could have been that her personal family life was getting affected by the yellow journalism and stories.