Shakeela Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Shakeela

• Shakeela is an Indian actress, politician, former softcore film actress, activist, and model. She has worked mainly in Sandalwood, Mollywood, Kollywood, and Tollywood. She received significant attention after she was selected to appear as a contestant in the seventh season of the Telugu reality TV show Bigg Boss in September 2023.

• As a young child, she sold jewellery to provide financial assistance to her family.

• During a media interaction, Shakeela revealed that when she was studying in class 8, she received an offer to act in a sex education film.

• According to Shakeela, her mother pressured her into prostitution by saying that she needed to earn money to support her family monetarily. ^[7]Open She talked about it, in an interview, and said,
  

  One day, she appreciated my beauty. This was soon after my sixteenth birthday. Then she informed me that a person would come to pick me up. She asked me to go with him to a place where I have to ‘please’ a rich man who would help rid us of our financial constraints. She asked me to obey him, and do whatever he wanted me to do. I was shocked. I was grown up enough to understand what she was asking for. A stranger came to pick me up, I had no choice. I accompanied him. We reached a hotel room. That ‘rich man’, who was in his forties, was waiting there. I was frozen with fear and sorrow.”

• In the 1989 Bollywood film Aakhri Ghulam, she shared the screen with famous actors like Mithun Chakraborty, Shakti Kapoor, and Anupam Kher.

• She landed a role in the 1990 Hindi film Machalti Kaliyaan.

• Her debut Punjabi film Taakre Jattan De (1991) was released in the Hindi language in 1995; the film was re-titled as Karmon Kee Sazaa.

• For working in the 1994/1995 Tamil film Playgirls, Shakeela received Rs. 20,000 as salary. In an interview, she talked about sharing the screen with Silk Smitha and said,
  

  I was told by Umashankar that the role that I had to do was that of Silk Smitha’s sister. I could not believe it. I could not sleep that night. I was deeply confused. Do I really deserve this? Am I eligible to act with an actress of her heights?”

  

  Shakeela in a still from the Tamil film Playgirls (1995)

• As per Shakeela’s account, she stopped interacting with Smitha after she slapped her during the filming of a scene in the film Playgirls. When Smitha asked her the reasons for not talking to her, Shakeela said that she believed Smitha had purposefully slapped her due to her junior status. Smitha, however, apologized to Shakeela and explained that the only reason she slapped her was to make the scene appear more authentic.

• She landed a role in Jallikattu Kaalai, a 1994 Tamil film.

• She essayed the role of a character named Mercy in the Malayalam film Sobhanam (also spelt as Shobhanam), which was released in 1997.

• She rose to fame through her role as Dakshyani in the 2000 Malayalam B-grade film Kinnara Thumbikal.
  

  A photo of Shakeela taken during her early acting years

• Thereafter, she appeared in an adult movie whose release was postponed for four years. During this delay, she got a chance to act in the 2002 Telugu film Jayam, which, according to Shakeela, marked the start of her journey in mainstream cinema.

• In 2003, Shakeela started appearing in mainstream comedy and family films in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada cinema.

• In the same year, she bagged the role of Shakeela in the Tamil film Dhool, which increased her fame in the film industry.
  

  Shakeela in Dhool, a Tamil film

• According to sources, Shakeela developed romantic feelings for the producer Maniyanpilla Raju. In 2007, she penned a love letter to him after he paid Shakeela the entire payment in advance for her role in the Malayalam film Chotta Mumbai to support her mother’s medical treatment. However, Raju denied ever receiving such a love letter from her. ^[8]IndiaGlitz

• In 2012, she declared her intention to end her involvement in the adult film industry.

• Afterwards, she acted in numerous South Indian films including Ragalaipuram (2013), Adhu Vera Idhu Vera (2014), Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga (2015), Romantic Target (2015), Luv U Alia (2015), Kobbari Matta (2019), and Engada Iruthinga Ivvalavu Naala (2021).

• She was offered to appear as the mother of the character essayed by Deepika Padukone in Rohit Shetty‘s 2013 film Chennai Express, but she rejected it owing to salary disagreements. According to Shakeela, she was offered only Rs. 25,000 to appear in the film.

• She published her autobiography titled Shakeela: Aatmakatha in 2013. While talking about the book, Shakeela said that she initially was reluctant to write the book but decided to give it a go after being convinced by a book publisher.
  

  Cover page of Shakeela’s autobiography Shakeela: Aatmakatha

• She lent her voice to a song in Shanmugipuram, a 2013 South Indian film.
  

  Shakeela’s photo taken while she recording a song for the film Shanmugipuram

• In 2014, she appeared as a contestant in Bigg Boss Kannada Season 2; she was eliminated from the show on day 27.
  

  Shakeela with a co-contestant on the sets of Bigg Boss Kannada Season 2

• She became the president of the National Transgender Cultural Fest, which took place in Madurai in 2015.
  

  Shakeela’s photo with the transgender activists taken at the National Transgender Cultural Fest in Madurai

• In 2017, pictures of her alongside a young man gained widespread attention on social media, leading to speculations that he was her spouse. Shakeela later clarified that the individual in the photograph was a 28-year-old actor she was co-starring with in a Tamil movie.

• In 2018, she appeared as a contestant in Adhu Idhu Yedhu, a Tamil reality TV show.

• In the same year, director Indrajit Lankesh announced that he would make a biopic on Shakeela with Richa Chadda essaying her role. The film was released in 2020.
  

  Richa Chadda with Shakeela

• She stood third in Cooku With Comali 2, a Tamil cooking show that was aired in 2020.
  

  Shakeela on the sets of Cooku With Camali 2

• She participated and won in the second season of Start Music, a 2021 Tamil music show that was broadcasted on Star Vijay.

• For acting in adult films, Shakeela has received negative remarks from the conservative elements of society.

• In March 2021, she joined the Indian National Congress (INC); she was sworn in as a member in Kerala. During a media interaction, Shakeela spoke about joining the party and said,
  

  My father was a Congress worker. He used to tell us about Jawaharlal Nehru and his contributions to the country. That way, I had a place for Congress in my heart even as a child. I like Congress because it never bothers to inject politics into religion. I had made up my mind that I would work only in a national party. When Congress invited me in, I accepted it.”

  

  A photo of Shakeela taken with INC members after she joined the party in Kerala

• In May 2021, she started The Shakeela YouTube channel, where she consistently shares interviews with renowned South Indian actors, vlogs, and cooking tutorials. In September 2023, her channel had over 171k subscribers.
  

  A poster of Shakeela’s video that she uploaded on her YouTube channel

• Thereafter, she was appointed as the secretary of the Tamil Nadu Congress Human Rights Department.

• In Flowers Oru Kodi, a 2023 Malayalam TV show, she appeared as a character named Urmila.

• Shakeela alleged that the famous Malayalam actor Mammootty had attempted to block the release of her films in the past. She further claimed that several other prominent actors conspired to exclude her from their film projects. ^[9]CNN-News18

• In September 2023, Shakeela participated as a contestant in the seventh season of the reality TV show Bigg Boss Telugu.
  

  A poster announcing Shakeela’s entry as a contestant in Bigg Boss Telugu Season 7

• As of 2023, Shakeela has appeared in more than 250 films, which have been dubbed in Chinese, Nepalese, Hindi, and Sinhalese languages.

• She can speak English, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Urdu, and other South Indian languages fluently.

• In an interview, Shakeela alleged that her sister Noorajahan had taken her money as Shakeela had entrusted her with the responsibility of handling her finances. ^[10]Open She said,
  

  It is my elder sister Noorjahan. She is the person responsible for my going bankrupt. There was a period when I was the highest paid actress in the South Indian film industry, but all my money has been stolen by my sister. She was managing my accounts, and I trusted her completely. I did not expect her to cheat me because she had looked after me since my early childhood. It was too late by the time I realised that I had been cheated.”

• As per her, she once decided to leave her career in adult films to married and get settled; however, it was her sister, Noorjahan, who asked her not to do so as it would have harmed her career.

• Shakeela occasionally drinks liquor. While discussing her drinking habits, in an interview, she revealed that she finds the company of women more enjoyable than that of men because she feels that after having a few drinks many men might attempt to exploit her. ^[11]Open

• Shakeela once said that she had been diagnosed with insomnia, a psychological condition characterized by the inability to fall asleep.

• According to sources, for shooting for 15 days in a film, Shakeela used to charge a fee between Rs. 2 to Rs. 2.5 lacs from the filmmakers.

• Shakeela used to smoke a lot. According to a report published in 2002, she consumed four packs of cigarettes per day.

• Shakeela mentioned in an interview that her mother had held negative sentiments toward her since her early years, resulting in a strained mother-daughter relationship. She said,
  

  I have no good memories of my mother. I never experienced love and care from her. It was my mother who spoiled my life. I think my mother did not like me since my childhood. She often ignored me and cursed me.”

• She once refuted the claims suggesting she led a glamourous life, saying that she lived in a leased apartment in Chennai and paid a monthly rent of Rs. 3000. In an interview, she said,
  

  There is a lot of misinformation about me. My Wikipedia page claims that I own a luxurious flat and a BMW car, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. I still live in a rented house.”

• During a media interaction, Shakeela revealed that she used to stash money in her residence as a means of avoiding detection by the Income Tax Department.

• Shakeela’s immense popularity in the adult film industry resulted in these films being commonly referred to as “Shakeela Films.”

• Her popularity in the Malayalam film industry was so immense that when her film’s release dates coincided with those of mainstream films, the producers of the mainstream films were compelled to adjust their release schedules.

• In addition to her career in the entertainment industry, Shakeela is actively engaged in various charitable organizations dedicated to assisting underprivileged individuals. She has been a vocal supporter of equal rights for transgender individuals as well.

• Shakeela reads Bible verses before her bedtime and regularly attends Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, also known as Puducherry, on weekends.