Farida Jalal

Biography

Farida Jalal (born Farida Sami; 18 May 1950) is an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films. In a film career spanning almost fifty years, Jalal appeared in over 200 films. 

Best known for her character-driven roles in independent cinema and supporting work in mainstream Bollywood productions, Jalal has received such accolades as four Filmfare Awards and two Bengal Film Journalists Association Awards.

Jalal started her career with Taqdeer (1967). She went on to play leading and supporting roles in numerous motion pictures through the 1970s and early 80s. She is widely remembered for her roles in Paras (1971), Henna (1991), and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), all of which garnered the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. 

She became a household name after portraying motherly roles and strong female characters in the 1990s and the early 2000s. She has also won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance for her role in Mammo (1994). She won the Best Actress Award at the 2012 Harlem International Film Festival for her role in A Gran Plan (2012).

She has also worked in numerous shows on Indian television alongside her work in films. Some of her notable works are the sitcom Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Dekh Bhai Dekh, and Shararat.

Farida Jalal, who was born on 18 May 1950 in Bombay, started her career in the 1960s when she won the United Film Producers Talent Hunt sponsored by Filmfare in 1965. She, along with Rajesh Khanna was chosen as a finalist and both were presented on stage as winners at the Filmfare Awards function. 

She got her first film offer for Taqdeer from Tarachand Barjatya who happened to be in the audience. In an interview in 2014, she said, when asked about the initial part of her career: "I started my acting career when I was just out of my school St Joseph's Convent in Panchgani, in a film called Taqdeer. 

I took part in a talent contest and even won. Kaka (Rajesh Khanna) and I were the finalists. How was I to know that I'd soon be doing a film Aradhana with him?".

In 2003, Jalal starred in Shararat, in which she played a leading role. In 2005, she co-hosted the 50th Filmfare Awards alongside Saif Ali Khan and Sonali Bendre, in Mumbai. In 2008, she made a special appearance in the Punjabi film Yaariyan. Later, she appeared in the soap opera Balika Vadhu.

Jalal was married to actor Tabrez Barmavar, who hailed from Bhatkal, Karnataka. She met her husband on the sets of Jeevan Rekha and fell in love in the course of the film and got married in November 1978. 

As she was not getting too many film offers after marriage, the couple moved to Bangalore where her husband had a soap factory business. They have a son named Yaseen. Her husband died in September 2003.

In 2017, she was the victim of a death hoax. There were several fake reports on various websites about her death.