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Farhat Ezekiel
Born	December 5, 1932(1932-12-05)
Died	February 9, 2006 (aged 73)
Occupation	Bollywood Actress
Spouse	Married Twice

Nadira (December 5, 1932 – February 9, 2006), born as Farhat Ezekiel, or possibly as Florence Ezekiel, was an Indian actress in Bollywood films. She is best remembered for her performances in film such as Aan (1952) and Shri 420 (1955)

Nadira was born in 1932 to a Baghdadi Jewish family in Bombay, India. Nadira and her family moved to Nagpada, South Mumbai, a predominantly Muslim and Jewish locality. Her parents divorced when she was just four years old and she and her brothers were raised by her grandmother. She was still in her teens when she was spotted by Sardar Akhtar, wife of the great filmmaker Mehboob Khan. After convincing her mother, Sardar Akhtar took Farhat under her wing, groomed her and renamed her Nadira.

She was married twice. She first married a Muslim Urdu poet and filmmaker called Naqshab. This marriage ended unhappily. She then married a man who turned out to be a fortune hunter. The marriage lasted only a week. She is noted as having a daughter, apparently out of wedlock.^[1]Aside from her visit, very little is known of her. For the latter part of her life, she lived alone in Mumbai, as many of her relatives had moved to Israel. For the last three years of her life, she is said to have kept entirely to her Bombay flat, where she lived with her housekeeper, Shobha.

Nadira died in the Bhatia Hospital at Tardeo, Bombay, India on February 9, 2006, aged 73, following a prolonged illness caused by advanced alcoholism.^[2] She had been hospitalized on February 2nd and lay ailing in the hospital after suffering from a paralytic stroke combined with a heart attack. She is survived by two brothers, one of whom lives in the U.S. and another in Israel as well as a daughter who visited her on her death bed.^[3].

She rose to cinematic prominence with the 1952 film Aan. In 1955, she played Maya, a rich socialite, in Shree 420. She played roles in a number of hit films from the 1950s through to the 1970s such as Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi, Hanste Zakhm, Amar Akbar Anthony and Pakeezah. She was often cast as a temptress or vamp and played opposite the chaste heroines then favored by the Bollywood film industry.

Nadira won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for her role as Julie's mother in Julie. During the 1980s and 1990s, she entered a new phase of her career, playing older women such as a cruel grandmother or as a supporting actress. She also appeared in a few English films notably the Merchant Ivory films The Guru (1969) and Cotton Mary (1999). Her last role was in the film Josh (2000).

She was well paid for her efforts and was one of the first Indian actors to own a Rolls-Royce.

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1. ^ http://www.bollywoodgate.com/indian-actresses/nadira.html - Bollywood Gate dot com website profile for Nadira
2. ^ http://www.apunkachoice.com/happenings/20060105-0.html" - Sources noted she had alcoholic liver disease called "grade four hepatic encephalopaty" while she was in hospital - Apun ka choice website 5 January 2006
3. ^ http://www.apunkachoice.com/happenings/20060105-0.html - Apun Ka Choice website January 5, 2006

• Nadira: A woman ahead of her time
• "Veteran actress Nadira passes away" 9 February 2006

• Nadira (actress) at the Internet Movie Database