Nafisa Ali

Nafisa Ali
Nafisa Ali at the premiere of the film Lahore
Born
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Other nameNafisa Ali Sodhi
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
  • politician
Years active1978–present
Political party
Trinamool Congress (2021–present)[1]
Other political
affiliations
Indian National Congress
Samajwadi Party
SpouseR. S. Sodhi

Nafisa Ali (Bengali pronunciation: [ˈnafiˌsa ˈali]) is an Indian actress, politician, social activist, and former beauty queen.[2] She won the Eve’s Weekly Miss India title and represented India at the Miss International pageant, where she was the second runner-up.[3] She earned critical acclaim for her performances in films such as Junoon and Life in a... Metro.[4][5] She is also a member of All India Trinamool Congress.[6]

Early and personal life

Nafisa Ali was born in Kolkata, the daughter of Ahmed Ali, a Bengali man and Philomena Torresan, a woman of Anglo-Indian heritage. Nafisa's paternal grandfather, S. Wajid Ali, was a Bengali writer. Her paternal aunt (father's sister) was Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah, a Pakistani journalist. Nafisa is also related to the Bangladeshi freedom fighter and soldier Bir Pratik Akhtar Ahmed.[7] Nafisa's mother later moved to Australia.[8] She is married to Colonel Ravinder Singh Sodhi, a polo player who won the Arjuna Award.[9] After marriage, she chose to stop working and focus on their children: daughters Armana and Pia and son Ajit.[8]

In November 2018, Ali was diagnosed with stage 3 peritoneal and ovarian cancer.[10][11] After a later recurrence, she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, entering her third remission by July 2026.[12]

Education

Nafisa attended La Martiniere Calcutta, where she was a House Captain.[9] She has also studied vedanta taught by Swami Chinmayananda, who started the Chinmaya Centre of World Understanding (Chinmaya Mission).

Career

Sports and fashion

Nafisa Ali has accomplishments in several fields. She was the national swimming champion from 1972 to 1974. In 1976, she won the Eve's Weekly Miss India title, represented India at the Miss International contest & was declared the 2nd runner-up. Ali was also a jockey at the Calcutta Gymkhana in 1979.

Acting

She has acted in several Bollywood films, the notable ones being Junoon (1979) with Shashi Kapoor, Major Saab (1998) with Amitabh Bachchan, Bewafaa (2005), Life In A... Metro (2007), Guzaarish (2010) and Yamla Pagla Deewana (2011) with Dharmendra.She also acted in a Malayalam film called Big B (2007) with Mammootty.

Politics

Nafisa Ali contested the 2004 Lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully from South Kolkata. On 5 April 2009, she 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. She then rejoined the Indian National Congress party in November 2009 and said she is returning to Congress for life.[13] However, she joined the All India Trinamool Congress in October 2021 ahead of the 2022 Goa Legislative Assembly election.[14]

Public roles

In September 2005, she was appointed the chairperson of the Children's Film Society of India (CFSI).

Social work

She also associated with Action India, an organisation working to spread AIDS awareness.

Filmography

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Actor Nafisa Ali joins TMC in Goa ahead of 2022 polls". Indrajit Kundu. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  2. ↑ নাফিসা আলি
  3. ↑ "Meet actress who was born into Muslim family, married a sikh man, worked with Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjay Dutt, quit Bollywood after…., her name is… | India.com". www.india.com. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  4. ↑ "Nafisa Ali, When She Was 'Just 21'". www.ndtv.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  5. ↑ "The life and times of Nafisa Ali Sodhi | Femina.in". www.femina.in. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  6. ↑ "Leander Paes, Nafisa Ali join Trinamool Congress". The Economic Times. 29 October 2021. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  7. ↑ "Major Akhter: Salute and an embrace from our heart". The Opinion Pages. 22 March 2016. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Rival has no clue about Nafisa's secret weapon". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010.
  9. 1 2 "Children's Film Society, India". cfsindia.org. Archived from the original on 22 December 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
  10. ↑ "Actress Nafisa Ali diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer; Here is what you should know". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  11. ↑ "Nafisa Ali: ফের ফিরে এসেছে স্টেজ ফোর ক্যানসার! জীবন-মৃত্যুর দোলাচলে কলকাতা থেকে ভোটে লড়া প্রাক্তন মিস ইন্ডিয়া..." Zee24Ghanta.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  12. ↑ "Nafisa Ali says she's in fourth stage of cancer, in remission: 'Won't be silenced now'". The Indian Express. 18 July 2026. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "Nafisa Ali Rejoins Congress". news.outlookindia.com. Retrieved 5 November 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  14. ↑ "Actor Nafisa Ali joins TMC in Goa ahead of 2022 polls". India Today. 29 October 2021.
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