Nazima

Some Lesser Known Facts About Nazima

• Nazima grew up in Nashik, Maharashtra.

• While studying in school and coming from a film background, she was soon cast as a child artist under the name Baby Chand in Bimal Roy’s classic Do Bigha Zamin (1953) and later in Biraj Bahu (1954) and Devdas (1954).

• In 1958, when she was 10, she debuted as the lead heroine in the film Princess Saaba.

• As in most of her films, Nazima was frequently cast as the sister of the heroine, which also became her signature identity in the industry, and it earned her the affectionate title of Bollywood’s ‘Resident Sister.’

  

• In her many 1960s and 1970s films, Nazima holds the unique distinction of having appeared in more scenes depicting female harassment, including rape scenes, than any other actress of her time.

• In 1975, she played the lead role in the film Dayar-e-Madina, where she received prominent credits; however, this marked one of her final screen appearances in a big role.

• Despite being good at acting, she only got supporting roles.

• After her marriage, she retired from acting and started living a spiritual life away from the film industry.

• In 1976, news of her death was spread, but at that time, she was sailing on the Norwegian oil tanker Golar Bali with her husband, Arshul Rehman. They were primarily transporting petroleum products between various Indonesian islands.

• In the 1980s, she spent some time living in the Persian Gulf.

• In 2018, Nazima’s husband passed away.

• Nazima passed away on 11 August 2025 at the age of 77. At the time of her death, she was living with her two sons in Dadar, Mumbai. The news of her death was shared by her cousin on social media.