Begum Para Biography

The pin up girl of the 50's, Begum Para, was born in a bounteous Muslim family of 10 children. She grew up as "Para" in Bikaner, where her father, Mian Ehsan Ul Haque was the Chief Justice. The title of respect of "Begum" she dedicated herself when she entered films.

Begum Para entered films at a very young age young age She was merely 17 when she romanced Prem Adib in Chand (1944).

She played the lead in Sohni Mahiwal (1946) and Zanjeer (1947). Mehandi (1947) viewed her along with the beautiful Nargis. In Neel Kamal (1947) she shared screen space with Raj Kapoor and Madhubala.

In 1953 she starred in Laila Majnu and Naya Ghar. She played a wrestling referee in Pehli Jhalak (1955). The cinema too starred Kishore Kumar and Vyjayanthimala. In 1956 came up Kar Bhala, after which she wed Nasir Khan (Dilip Kumar's brother) and took a break from cinemas and acting.

She and Nasir had 3 children, including the actor Ayub Khan (Remember Preity Zinta's fiancé Rohit in Dil Chahta Hai). She quit movies volitionally, as she was more than excited to be with the man she loved and lead off a family with him. All was fine until 1974, when he passed away of heartache at an early age and left his wife and kids to fend for themselves.

After a really long hiatus Begum Para came back to the silver screen to give her last performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya (2007) as Sonam Kapoor's grandma.
Known for her sexy image and bold statements, she looked exquisite. No marvel then that she ornamented the covers of several magazines in her time.

She was a strong independent woman who wasn't afraid to talk her intellect. Though she played the seductress and sexy vamp in her reel life, in reality she was a good wife and mother.
She went forth the world in 2008.