kids encyclopedia robot

Jiah Khan facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Jiah Khan
Jiah Khan at Dheeraj Deshmukh & Honey Bhagnani's wedding reception.jpg
Jiah in 2012
Born
Nafisa Rizvi Khan

(1988-02-20)20 February 1988
Died 3 June 2013(2013-06-03) (aged 25)
Citizenship British, American
Occupation Actress, singer
Years active 2007–2013
Relatives See Khan family

Jiah Khan (born Nafisa Rizvi Khan, 20 February 1988 – 3 June 2013) was a British-American actress and singer who appeared in three Hindi films from 2007 to 2010.

Born in New York City to Indian parents, she was raised and educated in London. Khan aspired to pursue a career in acting and moved to Mumbai for a film career. She made her film debut in the 2007 Ram Gopal Verma film Nishabd for which she was nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. She was later noted for portraying supporting role of a modern, independent woman in Ghajini, which was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2008. After a two years absence from films, she received praise for her comic role in the romantic comedy Housefull, which was the fifth highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2010.

Early life

Jiah Khan at Stardust Awards 2013
Jiah Khan at Stardust Awards 2013

Jiah Khan was born into a Muslim family in New York City, United States. She was the daughter of Ali Rizvi Khan, an Indian American businessman, and Rabiya Amin, a Hindi film actress in the 1980s from Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Khan's father left the family when she was two and never came back.

Khan grew up in London where she completed her Edexcel O level and A level with five As, before moving to Mumbai to pursue a career in Bollywood. She was inspired to enter Bollywood after watching Ram Gopal Verma's former protege Urmila Matondkar's movie Rangeela at the age of six.

Khan studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Manhattan, though she quit upon receiving a movie offer. She learnt the dance forms of salsa, belly dancing, kathak, lambada, jazz, samba and reggae, along with the other forms of dancing.

Career

In 2007, at the age of 18, Khan made her debut in Ram Gopal Verma's romantic thriller Nishabd, as Jia, where she acted opposite Amitabh Bachchan. The film performed poorly at the box office earned mixed reviews from critics.

The following year, she appeared alongside Aamir Khan and Asin in A.R. Murugadoss's psychological thriller Ghajini, the Hindi remake of its namesake. She played Sunita, a medical student who investigates the history of Sanjay Singhania, portrayed by Aamir Khan. The film gathered much appreciation from critics, and went on to become the highest grossing Bollywood film of 2008.

In 2010, she made her last film appearance in a supporting role as Devika K. Samtani, the ex-wife of Akshay Kumar's character, in Sajid Khan's Housefull with an ensemble cast including Arjun Rampal, Riteish Deshmukh, Deepika Padukone and Lara Dutta. Upon release, Housefull received negative reviews, though her performance was better received. Commercially the film did very well and became the highest grossing Bollywood film of the year. Khan had signed a few movies including Udhas Singh's Aap Ka Saaya, in which she was supposed to play Ranbir Kapoor's wife. Unfortunately, this film could not be completed.

Death

Khan died on 3 June 2012 at her residence in Juhu, Mumbai.

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
2007 Nishabd Jiah Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut
Also playback singer for song "Take Lite"
2008 Ghajini Sunita
2010 Housefull Devika K. Samtani

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Nafisa Khan para niños

kids search engine
Jiah Khan Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.