Meet the actress who fell in love with Dev Anand, turned down a blockbuster movie for an unexpected cause, and gave up performing a while ago

Today, we’ll discuss a former Hindi cinema actress who rose to fame through her personal life and contacts, while having no acting experience in Bollywood. We are referring to Zaheeda Hussain, better known by her stage name Zaheeda, who has been absent from the movie industry for a while. Zaheeda Hussain, a 79-year-old actress, is among those who, despite starring in a successful movie, lost recognition.

 

It’s noteworthy to remember that Zaheeda Hussain, the sister of Sanjay Dutt, previously had feelings for Hollywood actor Dev Anand.

Cinema enthusiasts undoubtedly think about Zaheeda Hussain when discussing the 1960s and 1970s. Every time fans hear the song “Churi Nahin Ye Mera Dil Hai…,” Zaheeda’s name still comes to mind.

Let us inform you that Zaheeda is the daughter of renowned actress Nargis’s brother, Akhtar Hussain. Jaddanbai, the mother of Nargis, had three marriages. Her first husband was Narottam Das Khatri, who became an Islamic convert and went as Bachhubhai. Irshad Meer Khan was the spouse in her second marriage. He has a daughter called Zahida and a son named Akhtar Hussain with Nargis. Mohanchand Uttamchand Tyagi was the third husband of Jaddanbai. After being married, he converted to Islam and took on the name Abdul Rashid. Their daughter was named Nargis.

This makes Zaheeda, the daughter of Akhtar Hussain, and Sanjay Dutt, the son of Nargis, brothers.

Being from a family in the film industry, Zaheeda Hussain too attempted to pursue a career in Bollywood. Her first film starring chance came from Dev Anand. In 1968, she portrayed the title character in “Anokhi Raat.” She then collaborated with Dev Anand once again on the 1970 film “Prem Pujari.”

Zaheeda rose to prominence in 1971 after being chosen by filmmaker Amarjeet to play the main role in his movie “Gambler.”

Zaheeda Hussain fell in love with Dev Anand after they collaborated on two hit films together. She had the opportunity to co-star with him once again in the popular movie “Hare Rama Hare Krishna.” Zaheeda was supposed to portray Dev Anand’s sister in the movie, but she turned down the part. Later, Zeenat Aman, who had a sizable fan base, took on this job.

Upon turning down a successful film like “Hare Rama Hare Krishna,” Zaheeda’s career took a negative turn. She performed work on a number of wildly unsuccessful movies. Following her marriage to businessman Kesri Nandan Sahay, the former actress gave birth to two boys, Nilesh Sahay and Brajesh. With the 2011 release of Ganesh Acharya’s film “Angel,” her son Nilesh made his screen debut.

After her marriage, Zaheeda Hussain said farewell to the world of glitter and glamor and resigned herself to an anonymous existence as a housewife, ending her brief career in movies.