Sonam

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Also see Sonam Kapoor

Bakhtawar Murad better known by her screenname Sonam (born on September 2, 1972, India) is a former Bollywood actress. She is the niece of character actor Raza Murad and granddaughter of veteran character actor Murad. Her cousin is actress Sanober Kabir.[1]

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[edit] Career

She first entered India's Hindi film industry Bollywood after being launched by Yash Chopra in the 1988 film Vijay. She shot into fame in the 1989 film Tridev. She was known for the song Oye Oye...Tirchi Topi Wale in the film which was very popular at the time.

She was named by her parents as "Bakhtawar" which is used in arabic names meaning Fortunate, lucky. She renamed herself Sonam to have a milder sounding name to suit the Indian film industry. Interestingly the name Sonam is of Tibetan origin and means "The fortunate one".

She made over 30 films from 1988 through to 1994. Her last film appearance was in Insaniyat and she has not appeared in any film since.

[edit] Personal life

She converted to Hinduism after marrying Bollywood film director Rajiv Rai who had directed her in Tridev and Vishwatma in the mid 1990s. Her father-in-law was successful film producer Gulshan Rai. She had to leave India with Rajiv Rai in 1997 after an attempt was made on his life by the Mumbai organized crime leader Abu Salem. She is now settled with her husband in the UK and has one child with him. Rajiv has still occasionally continued to direct Bollywood films.

[edit] Selected Filmography

[edit] External links

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