Sonya Jehan

Sonya Jehan (Urdu: سونیا جہاں‎) (born as Sonya Rizvi) is a Pakistani actress of French descent, who appears in Indian films.^[1] Born to Pakistani personalities; where her grandparents Noor Jehan and Shaukat Hussain Rizvi and other relatives Zille Huma and Ahmed Ali Butt are all singers.

Jehan made her screen debut with a leading role in the 2005 romantic film Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story, which was moderately successful at the box office. Her portrayal of Mumtaz Mahal, drew critical appreciation. Jehan subsequently gathered recognition for more prominent roles in films like Khoya Khoya Chand (2007), My Name is Khan (2010—highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2010) and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013—Hollywood film). Despite earning mixed reviews from critics for her acting prowess, she has established herself as a commercially successful actress of Hindi cinema.

In addition to acting in films, she is also the owner of one of Karachi's French restaurants, Cafe Flo.

Early life

Jehan was born and grew up in Karachi, Pakistan to Pakistani father Akbar Hussain Rizvi and French mother Florence Rizvi. Her original name is Sonya Rizvi but she changed her last name to Jehan in honour of her grandmother, Noor Jehan. She is the granddaughter of singer Noor Jehan and Shaukat Hussain Rizvi, niece of Zille Huma and cousin of Ahmed Ali Butt.

Jehan had her early education in Pakistan, she did her O-levels from Centre of Advanced Studies and she did her A-Levels from The Lyceum School. She received a degree in design from Central St Martins College of Art and Design.^[2]

Career

Jehan made her film debut with the romantic historic film Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story in 2005 opposite Kabir Bedi. Jehan played the role of Mumtaz Mahal, who is betrayed by the film's central character. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and was moderately successful at the box office; however, Jehan's performance was praised by film critics.

Jehan's second release, was Sudhir Mishra's romantic drama Khoya Khoya Chand with Shiney Ahuja. The film revolves around the lifestyle of celebrities with aplomb with the 1950s film industry as its backdrop. The film received positive reviews from critics, and Jehan earned critical acclaim for her performance.

Jehan next appeared as religious American Muslim professor Haseena, in the social drama My Name Is Khan, her first collaboration with Karan Johar. The film set in America received positive feedback from critics and her performance was praised in particular. The film was the most expensive Bollywood film of 2010 and also the highest-value buy over for any Indian film, surpassing the previous record of INR900 million (US$14 million) and was declared as the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2010.

Hollywood debut (2013–present)

Jehan made her Hollywood debut with Mira Nair political thriller drama film The Reluctant Fundamentalist, based on the 2007 novel, same name by Mohsin Hamid. Jehan played role of professor Nadia, alongside Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson and Meesha Shafi. Her performance was critically praised. The film was critically and commercially successful and earned $2,028,731.

Personal life

Jehan marry to Indian banker Vivek Narain, held in New Delhi on 12 September 2012 before that she had her love story with programmer and the owner of NanoTech, Waleed.

Filmography

See also

• List of Lollywood actors

References

External links

• Sonya Jehan at IMDB
• Sonya Jehan at Bollywood Hungama