Salma Agha

Salma Agha was born in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, to Liaqat Gul Agha and his wife Nasreen Agha. Liaqat Gul Agha was a tradesman dealing in rugs and belonged to an Urdu speaking Muslim Pathan family based in Amritsar. She traces the origin of her surname ‘Aagha’, “My father (Liaqat Gul Tajik) traded in precious stones and antiques in Iran. He was given the title Aagha there, a kind of knighthood bestowed on a businessman of repute.” Her mother Nasreen (born as Zarina Ghaznavi) was the daughter of Rafiq Ghaznavi, a Pashtun musician, and his wife Anwari Bai Begum, who was one of the earliest actresses of Indian cinema, starring in Heer Ranjha (1932). Anwari and Rafiq Ghaznavi were divorced (or separated) after Zarina/Nasreen's birth, and Anwari then married a rich Hindu businessman named Jugal Kishore Mehra. In order to marry Anwari, Jugal Kishore Mehra abandoned not only his family but also his religion; he became a Muslim and took the name Ahmed Salman. Since Anwari had a child, Jugal Kishore Mehra (Ahmed Salman) effectively became thestep- father of the infant Zarina/Nasreen.[2][3]

Jugal Kishore Mehra was a first cousin of the Indian actors Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor, because their mother, Ramsarni Kapoor (née Mehra), was the sister of Jugal Kishore Mehra's (Salman Ahmed's) father.[4][5] Although Salma Agha is a distant relative of the Kapoors, The Kapoors do not acknowledge the relationship due to the fact that after Jugal Kishore Mehra (Salman Ahmed) abandoned his family and religion to marry Anwari Bai, his family cut off all ties with him.

Agha at the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2010

Agha had a long time relationship in the 1980s with London-based businessman Ayaz Sipra. This relationship lasted many years, during which time Salma made her film debut, but it did not develop into marriage. Apart from this relationship, Salma has been married three times. Her first husband was Javed Sheikh, with whom she had a rather brief and childless marriage in the 1980s. After divorce from Javed Sheikh, Salma Agha married famous squash player Rahmat Khan in 1989. They have two children together – Sasha Agha and Liaqat Ali Khan. Salma and Rahmat Khan got divorced in 2010, and in 2011, Salma Agha got married for a third time. Her present husband, Manzar Shah, is a Dubai-based businessman. Salma Agha lives in Mumbai, where her daughter Sasha is trying to gain a foothold in Bollywood films. Meanwhile, Salma's latest husband, Manzar Shah, lives in Dubai. According to Agha, her ancestors were in the film industry during pre-partition days. It is true, she said, that they settled in Pakistan after the partition of India, and that is reason why she, Salma, was born in Karachi, but her mother's foster-father was a Hindu by birth who had converted to Islam only to marry her grandmother. Her daughter Sasha Agha is born and resides in India.[6][7] She did not address the point that Sasha's father, Rahmat Khan, was undoubtedly a Pakistani and had represented his country in innumerable international squash tournaments. Nevertheless, in January 2017, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced that Salma Agha would be granted Overseas Citizenship of India,[8] given only to foreign citizens of Indian origin. This will facilitate her travel and residence in India without applying for a visa each time, and without periodically reporting to police during her stay (as required of Pakistanis and some other foreign nationals).[9]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Salma Agha.

• Salma Agha at IMDb
• FilmfareAwards
• Salma Agha to raise funds for Indian hockey – Times Of India