Born on July 17, 1959, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh into a Muslim family, Zarina Wahab studied acting at Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. The actress has given critically acclaimed performances in films like Chitchor, Gharaonda, Gopal Krishna, Adaminte Makan Abu, and Madanolsavam among others.
According to several reports, Zarina was rejected by Raj Kapoor the moment he saw her due to her dusky complexion and he even said her that she would never be able to become an actress. However, the actress quashed these reports in an interview with Amar Ujala in 2022. She told the portal in Hindi, "When I was studying at Pune Film Institute, Raj Kapoor used to come there often to meet Shailendra Singh. Shailendra was trying to become an actor and during this time he had also sung the songs filmed on Rishi Kapoor in Raj Kapoor's film Bobby. Yes, one day Raj Kapoor did say to me that you look like a sweeper, I asked him why are you saying so? So he said that I call Zeenat Aman also by the same name. I see Zeenat Aman's image in you. This was a big compliment from Raj Kapoor for me and people twisted it and presented it as something else."
The actress' life was changed after Dev Anand gave her break in his 1974 film Ishk Ishk Ishk, which was directed, produced, and headlined by Anand himself. After her debut, Zarina went on to become the leading lady in many films in Hindi and Malayalam cinema. She has also starred in multiple Rs 100-crore films such as My Name Is Khan, Agneepath, and Dil Dhadakne Do. She played Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan's mother in the first two films, and Priyanka Chopra's mother-in-law in the third one. Zarina was last seen in the 2024 film Mr. & Mrs. Mahi, which was released on May 31.
Talking about her personal life, the actress is now married to her Kalank Ka Tika co-star Aditya Pancholi. They have a daughter named Sana Pancholi and a son named Sooraj Pancholi. The 2015 romantic drama Hero marked the acting debut of Sooraj and Suniel Shetty's daughter Athiya Shetty.
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