Nandita Morarji or Namratha Sadanah better known as Nagma was born on 25 December 1974 and she is an Indian actress of Bollywood, Tollywood and Kollywood. At her peak in the 1990s, The Hindu states that she “dominated Tamil cinema”. Born of a Muslim mother and a Hindu father on Christmas Day, she began her acting career in Bollywood and acted in a few movies but shifted south before returning to Mumbai. Although sometimes listed in film credits as Naghma, she should not to be confused with an earlier actress who went by the same stage name – that mistake is made in her listing on the Internet Movie Database website. Nagma has acted in a broad range of India’s languages: Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, and now Marathi.
Nagma’s biological father was Sri Arvind Pratapsinh Morarji, who was involved in the textile industry. Her mother is Seema Sadhana, who married Morarji in 1972, separating only “a few years later”. According to Nagma’s passport, the name given to her at birth was Nandita, and it is by that name that she was referred to in an obituary printed by the family when her father, Arvind Morarji, died. After divorcing Morarji “due to some family problems,” Nagma’s mother later married Chander Sadanah, a film producer, with whom she had two other daughters, Jyothika (who is a Kollywood actress) and Radhika, who also acted in a Tamil movie, as well as a son named Suraj. Through her biological father, who later re-married, Nagma has two more half-brothers, Dhanraj and Yuvraj.
Nagma remained close to her biological father up until his death on 1 January 2006. She explained to one Mumbai reporter that: “I am proud of the fact that I belong to the respectable Dharamsinh Morarji family. My mother was legally married to Arvind Morarji at a public function at Radio Club at Colaba.” 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. Nagma has a clothing boutique on Mumbai’s Hill Road called Nagma’s, which was inaugurated in September 2003 by Akshay Kumar.
Nagma told Mid-Day in 2006 that “I am not hell-bent on getting married. … Unless you are dead sure about your guy, you shouldn’t get married. … Marriage is an institution I would like to get into, but only if I find the perfect man.”.
Movies done By Nagma
- 1990 Baaghi: A Rebel for Love Kaajal, a.k.a. “Paro” Hindi Debut film
- 1991 Peddinti Alludu Geeta Telugu
- 1991 Killer Priya Telugu
- 1992 Gharana Mogudu Uma Devi Telugu
- 1992 Bewaffa Se Waffa Nagma Hindi
- 1992 Dilwale Kabhi Na Hare Anjali Oberoi Hindi
- 1992 Police Aur Mujrim Meena Khanna Hindi
- 1992 Yalgaar Anu Singhal Hindi
- 1992 Aswamedham Sowjanya Telugu
- 1993 King Uncle Kavita Hindi
- 1993 Major Chandrakanth Seetha Telugu
- 1993 Varasudu Keerthi Telugu
- 1993 Hasti Neena Narang Hindi
- 1993 Kondapalli Raja Subbalakshmi Telugu
- 1993 Dhartiputra Lisa Hindi
- 1993 Allari Alludu Sravani Telugu
- 1993 Rendilla Poojari Telugu
- 1993 Green Snake Bharata Natyam dancer Cantonese & Mandarin Chinese
- 1994 Mugguru Monagallu Rani Telugu
- 1994 Super Police Roja Telugu
- 1994 Gang Master Sandhya Telugu
- 1994 Aavesham Telugu
- 1994 Kadhalan Sruthi Tamil
- 1994 Suhaag Madhu Hindi
- 1995 Baashha Priya Tamil
- 1995 Mounam Manjari Telugu
- 1995 Ragasiya Police Raji Tamil
- 1995 Villadhi Villain Janaki Tamil
- 1995 Rikshavodu Rani Telugu
- 1995 Adavi Dora Priya Telugu
- 1995 Bharatha Simham Telugu
- 1996 Love Birds Mridula Tamil
- 1996 Saradha Bullodu Nirmala Devi Telugu
- 1996 Mettukudi Indhu Tamil
- 1997 Kaun Rokega Mujhe Nisha Hindi
- 1997 Periya Thambi Selvi Tamil
- 1997 Aravindhan Anu Tamil
- 1997 Surya Putrulu Telugu
- 1997 Janakiraman Indhu Tamil
- 1997 Pistha Vanilla Tamil
- 1998 Sreekrishnapurathe Nakshathrathilakkam Yamuna Rani Malayalam
- 1998 Kurubana Rani Rani Kannada
- 1998 Vaettiya Madichu Kattu Mrs.Pooja Jaiprakash Tamil
- 1999 Lal Baadshah Hindi Special appearance
- 1999 Ravimama Kannada
- 2000 Kunwara Sharmila Singh Hindi
- 2000 Chal Mere Bhai Sonia Hindi
- 2000 Papa The Great Mrs. Pooja Jai Prakash Hindi
- 2001 Dheena Tamil Special appearance in the song “Vathikuchi Pathikadhuda”
- 2001 Sai Teri Maya Hindi
- 2001 Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love Hindi Special appearance
- 2001 Citizen CBI Sarojini Harichandran Tamil
- 2001 Yeh Teraa Ghar Yeh Meraa Ghar Anupama Verma Hindi
- 2002 Chathurangam Nayana Pillai Malayalam
- 2002 Allari Ramudu Chamundeswari Telugu
- 2002 Ninu Choodaka Nenundalenu Telugu Special appearance
- 2003 Hrudayavantha Kannada
- 2004 Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo Aarti V. Singh Hindi
- 2005 Dulha Milal Dildar Bhojpuri Winner, Bhojpuri Film Award for Best Actress
- 2005 Panditji Batai Na Byah Kab Hoi Bhojpuri
- 2005Parinam Bengali
- 2006 Ek Jind Ek Jaan Nimmi Punjabi
- 2006 Ganga Ganga Bhojpuri
- 2006 Ab Ta Banja Sajnwa Hamaar Bhojpuri
- 2006 Mai Baap Bhojpuri
- 2006 Dil Diwana Tohar Ho Gayil Bhojpuri
- 2006 Raja Thakur Bhojpuri
- 2007 Back To Honeymoon Hindi
- 2007 Thamb Lakshmi Thamb Lakshmi Marathi
- 2007 Tu Hamaar Hou Bhojpuri
- 2007 Janam Janam Ke Saath Bhojpuri
- 2008 Hanuman Bhakt Hawaldaar Bhojpuri
- 2008 Thela No 501 Bhojpuri