Nafisa Ali Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Profession(s)	Actress, Social Activist, Politician
Physical Stats & More
Eye Colour	Hazel Green
Hair Colour	Grey
Politics
Political Party	• Indian National Congress (2004-March 2009) (November 2009-October 2021) • Samajwadi Party (April 2009-November 2009) • All India Trinamool Congress (October 2021-present)
Political Journey	2004: Contested the Lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully from South Kolkata. 2009: 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. 2009: Rejoined the Indian National Congress party and apologised to Sonia Gandhi for contesting on the Samajwadi Party ticket. 2021: Joined the All Indian Trinamool Congress on 29th October
Personal Life
Date of Birth	18 January 1957 (Friday)
Age (as of 2024)	67 Years
Birthplace	Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Zodiac sign	Capricorn
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Tajpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
School	La Martiniere, Calcutta
Debut	Film: Junoon (1979)
Religion	Islam
Hobbies	Photography, Travelling, Cooking
Boys, Affairs and More
Marital Status	Married
Family
Husband/Spouse	Colonel R S Sodhi (A Polo Player- Arjuna Awardee)
Children	Son- Ajit Sodhi Daughter(s)- Pia Sodhi, Armana Sodhi
Parents	Father- Ahmed Ali (Photographer) Mother- Philomena Torresan (A Roman Catholic of Anglo-Indian Heritage)
Siblings	Brother- Niaz Ali (Motor Rallyist In Australia) Sister- None
Favourites
Politician	Barack Obama, Indira Gandhi
Money Factor
Net Worth (approx.)	Rs. 7 Crore

Some Lesser Known Facts About Nafisa Ali

• Does Nafisa Ali smoke?: No

• Does Nafisa Ali drink alcohol?: Yes

• Born to a Muslim father and a Christian mother and married to a Sikh, she perfectly reflects the secularism of India.

• Nafisa Ali was a National Swimming Champion (1972-1974). In an interview, she said “I learnt swimming when I was very young. I used to be called the ‘sizzling water baby’ in those days because I would win all the swimming championships.”

• She won the coveted Miss India title in 1976 and was second runner-up at Miss International in 1977.
  

  Nafisa Ali (A Former Miss India)

• She was even a Jockey at the Calcutta Gymkhana in 1979.

• Her entry in Bollywood was mere a chance. Rishi Kapoor saw her photo on the cover of The Junior Statesman, a popular magazine of that time, and showed it to his father Raj Kapoor. Both were awestruck by her heavenly beauty. Raj Kapoor even offered her a film opposite Rishi, but her father turned it down; as he was not comfortable with the idea of his daughter working in films.

• Following her meeting with Shashi Kapoor and Shyam Benegal on Raj Kapoor’s birthday in Mumbai, she was offered the lead role in ‘Junoon’. She said “My father did not want me to act, but because I had just turned 21, he told me to make my own decision. So, I took the chance and moved to Bombay.”

• While making ‘Junoon’, filmmaker Nasir Hussain wanted to cast Nafisa in a film opposite Rishi Kapoor but it did not work out again. “Around the same time as Junoon, Nasir Hussain was drawing up a contract for her to work with me in Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai. It was signed, sealed and delivered, and everything was in place when, once again, her father threw a spanner in the works. He didn’t agree with a few clauses in the contract.” says Rishi Kapoor.

• Though she regrets now for being a docile daughter of her father at that time. In an interview, she quoted “I regret listening to my father. I should have never listened to him regarding my journey in cinema. Cinema is so empowering, stimulating, and exciting… You can be anything you want to be; that is the greatness of cinema.” Also, she regrets not having done Raj Kapoor’s movie “Heena”.

• It was during the shooting of the film ‘Junoon’ (at his husband’s regiment) that she met him, a Polo player and an Arjuna Awardee Colonel RS ‘Pickles’ Sodhi. Once he was in Kolkata for a Polo match, where they got to know each other better and came close but they came from two different worlds, had 14 years age difference, and Sodhi was a Sikh, while Ali was a Muslim. Despite creaky opposition from their families, the couple had a registered marriage in Kolkata followed by a Sikh one at the residence of Maharani Gayatri Devi in Delhi.

• She has done a film in 1998 “Major Saab” with Amitabh Bachchan, almost after 18 years.

• Then, she was seen in Yamla Pagla Deewana (2011), with Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby Deol.

• She also acted in a Malayalam film called Big B with Mammootty in 2007.

• She was also elected as the Chairperson of Children’s Film Society of India in 2005.

• “Main Door Chali Jaungi” is one of her famous songs.

• When she was 37, she made a wish at Tirupati (one of the holiest Hindu pilgrimage sites), and within a month, her wish came true; so, she decided to chop off her hair and became bald.
  

  Nafisa Ali In Younger Days

• Believe it or not, she has even tried her hand at selling tea at a railway station. “I was a little girl, and I used to sell tea at a railway station Maklashi Ganj near Ranchi. Actually, I had been fascinated by the word chai-chai. I decided to do something similar just for a lark. I went from window to window, shouting chai-chai, whenever a train came. I did it for three-four days,” tells Nafisa.

• From being an actress, a swimmer and a former Miss India, Nafisa now runs her own boutique “APPNA”. It is an acronym, representing the initials of the names of her family members, the logo has been sketched by her mother.
  

  Nafisa Ali’s Boutique ‘APPNA’

• She will be next seen in Sanjay Dutt‘s ‘Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3’ (2018).
  

  Nafisa Ali In Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster

• She is a Warm-hearted yet fierce woman, she launched the Orissa Cyclone Relief Fund when the state was struck by the super-cyclone in 1999. She again rendered her support when an earthquake struck Bhuj, Gujarat, in 2001. She worked extensively in the villages and helped construct 340 huts.

• She is also associated with Action India, an organisation working to spread AIDS awareness. She was wholly invested in the project. She would go to red-light areas to check up on how the HIV-positive patients there were doing.

• Mother Teresa is her idol and Role model.

• In 2004, she even contested the Lok Sabha elections twice, first on the behalf of Indian National Congress and the other with Samajwadi Party.

• She was the Official Government delegate of India at the 49th UN Summit on the Status of Women, held in New York in 2005.

• Her elder daughter Pia got married to her childhood best friend Kshitij Khemka in December 2017.
  

  Nafisa Ali’s Daughter Pia On Her Wedding Day

• In November 2018, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Cancer.
  

  Nafisa Ali diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer