Nadira (December 5, 1932 – February 9, 2006) was an Indian actress in Bollywood films. She is best remembered for her performance in films in the 1950s and 1960s (such as Shree 420 (1955)).

Nadira was born Farhat Ezekiel Nadira, to a Baghdadi Jewish family. She is survived by two brothers, one of whom lives in the USA and another in Israel.

She was married twice. Her first marriage, to an Urdu poet and film-maker called Naqshab, ended unhappily. She then married a man who turned out to be a fortune-hunter. The marriage lasted only a week.

For the latter part of her life, she lived alone in Mumbai, as many of her relatives had moved to Israel. For the last three years of her life, she is said to have kept entirely to her Mumbai flat, where she lived with a housekeeper.

Nadira died at the Bhatia Hospital at Tardeo, Mumbai, India on February 9, 2006, aged 75, following a prolonged illness.

Career

She rose to cinematic prominence with the 1952 film Aan (Savage Princess). In 1955, she played Maya, a rich socialite, in Shree 420. She played lead roles in a number of films such as Dil Apna Prit Parayee, Hanste Zakhm, Amar Akbar Anthony and Pakeezah. She was often cast as a temptress or vamp, and played opposite the chaste heroines then favored by the Bollywood film industry.

Nadira won a Filmfare Award for her role as Julie's mother in the 1975 film Julie. During the 1980s and 1990s, she entered a new phase of her career, playing older women as a supporting actress. Her last role was in the film Josh (2000).

She was well paid for her efforts, and was one of the first Indian actors to own a Rolls-Royce.

Filmography

References

• Nadira: A woman ahead of her time
• "Veteran actress Nadira passes away" 9 February 2006

External links

• Nadira at the Internet Movie Database

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