Zaheeda Hussain (born 9 October 1944), commonly known by her mononym Zaheeda, is a former actress of Hindi films. Born in Mumbai, she is the daughter of Akhtar Hussain, who was a film producer and the son of director Jaddanbai.[1] Actress Nargis Dutt was her aunt and character actor Anwar Hussain her uncle.

Zaheeda Hussain
Born (1944-10-09) 9 October 1944 (age 79)
Other namesZaheeda
OccupationActress
Known forAnokhi Raat

Prem Pujari

Gambler
SpouseKesri Nandan Sahay
Children2, including Nilesh Sahay
RelativesSee Dutt family

Zaheeda is best known for Anokhi Raat (1968), Gambler (1971) and Prem Pujari (1970). Dev Anand offered her the role of Jasbir/Janice in the cult-film Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971) but she was reluctant to play the leading actor's sister, and turned it down, preferring to play the role of his beloved (eventually played by Mumtaz). The sister role was accepted by Zeenat Aman which catapulted her to fame. Zaheeda continued to play the heroine in a few films during the early 1970s with newer actors of the time like Vinod Mehra and Rakesh Pandey but they all flopped, and she eventually retired from films.[2]

Personal life edit

Zaheeda Hussain later married a businessman, Kesri Nandan Sahay and retired from the film industry.[2] She has two sons, one of which, Nilesh Sahay, made his feature film debut with choreographer Ganesh Acharya's' Angel in 2011.[1]

Selected filmography edit

Year Film
1968 Anokhi Raat
1970 Prem Pujari
1971 Gambler
1971 Teen Chor

References edit

  1. ^ a b "I want to be a bankable actor: Nilesh Sahay (Interview)". Sify. 9 February 2011. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  2. ^ a b "My First Break". The Hindu. 11 February 2011. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2012.

External links edit