Nagma Arvind Morarji (born Nandita Arvind Morarji on 25 December 1974) is an Indian politician and former actress. She was a popular lead actress in the 1990s. She made her cinematic debut in the film Baaghi opposite Salman Khan in 1990. It was Hindi cinema's seventh highest-grossing film of the year. She is known for her roles in films like Gharana Mogudu (1992), King Uncle (1993), Suhaag (1994), Kadhalan (1994), Baashha (1995) and Lal Baadshah (1999). She began her acting career in Bollywood. Nagma has acted in a broad range of films in India's languages predominantly in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil and Bhojpuri films and has also additionally appeared in several other regional language films such as Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi Marathi.

Early life

Nagma was born as Nandita Arvind Morarji on 25 December 1974. Her father Arvind Morarji, whose forefathers hailed from Jaisalmer, later migrating to Porbandar, Gujarat and finally Mumbai. Her grandfather Gokuldas Morarji was a reputed businessman in the shipping, textile, agricultural and pharmaceutical industries. Her mother Seema, originally named Shama Kazi, is a Muslim belonging to the Kazi freedom fighter family. She married Morarji in 1969 at the CCI Club in Mumbai, but separated from him in 1974. After divorcing Morarji in August 1974, Nagma's mother married Chander Sadanah, a film producer in March 1975 with whom she had three children: including two daughters, actresses Jyothika and Roshini (born Radhika).Nagma did her schooling from Mount Mary Convent High School, Mumbai. She is a Bachelor of Commerce graduate from National College, Mumbai University.Nagma remained close to her biological father until his death on 31 December 2005. She explained to a Mumbai reporter "I am proud of the fact that I belong to a respectable family. My mother was legally married to my father, the late Shri Arvind Morarji, at a public function at the CCI Club, Mumbai." It was Nagma's mother who encouraged her to become an actress and is said to have been her "constant companion on the film sets" for several years.

Acting career

With Karisma Kapoor, she was also one of the female leads in 1994's ''Suhaag'' with Ajay Devgan and Akshay Kumar. Following these films, she acted in regional cinema to star in Telugu and Tamil films at the behest of her friend Divya Bharti. Explaining her shift, she cited what she was more conscious of the quality of work, in terms of meaty roles and her flair to travel throughout India understanding different cultures and her drive and passion to get acclamation from all over India. She stated "Language was never a barrier. I love adventure, culture and have great respect for the Indian tradition".Her Telugu films include ''Gharana Mogudu'' with Chiranjeevi, ''Allari Alludu'' with Nagarjuna Akkineni and ''Major Chandrakanth'' with N. T. Rama Rao and Mohan Babu. Her Tamil films include ''Kadhalan'' with Prabhu Deva, ''Baashha'' with Rajinikanth and ''Villadhi Villain'' with Sathyaraj in which she played her most glamour part and begin to tempt the Tamil audience and her performance gained her a unanimous praises for her glamour role time. With Karisma Kapoor, she was also one of the female leads in 1994's ''Suhaag'' with Ajay Devgan and Akshay Kumar. Following these films, she acted in regional cinema to star in Telugu and Tamil films at the behest of her friend Divya Bharti. Explaining her shift, she cited what she was more conscious of the quality of work, in terms of meaty roles and her flair to travel throughout India understanding different cultures and her drive and passion to get acclamation from all over India. She stated "Language was never a barrier. I love adventure, culture and have great respect for the Indian tradition".Her Telugu films include ''Gharana Mogudu'' with Chiranjeevi, ''Allari Alludu'' with Nagarjuna Akkineni and ''Major Chandrakanth'' with N. T. Rama Rao and Mohan Babu. Her Tamil films include ''Kadhalan'' with Prabhu Deva, ''Baashha'' with Rajinikanth and ''Villadhi Villain'' with Sathyaraj in which she played her most glamour part and begin to tempt the Tamil audience and her performance gained her a unanimous praises for her glamour role time.After moving back to Mumbai, she focused on supporting roles in Hindi films like the 2000s ''Chal Mere Bhai'', which reunited her with former co-stars Karisma Kapoor, Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt. While based in Mumbai, she continued to work in some Telugu and Tamil films, such as ''Allari Ramudu'' and ''Citizen'', as well as taking leading roles in some Malayalam films including ''Chathurangam''.Nagma has acted in Bhojpuri films, including films with the ''Big Boss'' participant Ravi Kishan. She won a Best Actress award at the 2005 Bhojpuri Film Awards for her performance in ''Dulha Milal Dildar''. In 2006's ''Ganga'', she starred in the title role opposite Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini. When asked why she shifted to Bhojpuri films, she said "I wanted to do films in different languages. I have already done films in 10 languages. My first Bhojpuri film ''Panditji Bataayina Biyaah Kab Hoii'' was a huge hit. After that, the offers poured in and they were too good to be ignored." When interviewed by ''The Hindu'' in Delhi in April 2007, she indicated that another important reason for her decision to focus on Bhojpuri films was to help with her political campaigning.In 2006, she made her Punjabi film debut, starring alongside Raj Babbar in ''Ek Jind Ek Jaan''.Discussing her career in a ''Mid-Day'' interview in September 2006, Nagma said "I have learned nine languages, so I want to do films in all languages. On the Hindi film front, I am in the process of signing a very big period thriller. I am getting to do a variety of roles with content, so I am satisfied." While noting her commitment to complete several Bhojpuri films she was involved with, in March 2007, she expressed her intention to next focus on returning to Hindi films after wrapping up her projects. In her 2007 ''Hindustan Times'' interview, in which she discusses her future plans for cinema and politics, Nagma responded to a question about her reputation for controversy by saying "You need guts to deal with controversies. Of course, whether it’s for negative or positive reasons, I’ve always been in the news."