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Soni Razdan

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Soni Razdan
Razdan in 2023
Born (1956-10-25) 25 October 1956 (age 68)
Birmingham, England
Occupations
  • Actress
  • film director
Years active1981–present
Spouse
​
(m. 1986)​
ChildrenShaheen Bhatt
Alia Bhatt
FamilyBhatt family

Soni Mahesh Bhatt,[1] born and known professionally as Soni Razdan, is a British actress and film director who works in Indian Hindi-language films.[2] Part of the Bhatt family of Indian cinema, she is married to film director Mahesh Bhatt and is the mother of actress Alia Bhatt. She made her acting debut as Rosemary in 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981). Her breakthrough came with drama film Saaransh (1984), earning a nomination for the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for Best Actress and Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. Razdan's other notable works includes Mandi (1983), Trikal (1985), Khamosh (1985), Such a Long Journey (1998), Raazi (2018), and Yours Truly (2018). Razdan has also starred in many OTT series including, The Verdict - State vs Nanavati, Out of Love, This Way Up, and Call My Agent: Bollywood.

Early life

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Razdan[3][1] was born on 25 October 1956[3][4] in the Small Heath area of Birmingham, England to a British mother of German descent, Gertrude Hoelzer and an Indian father of Kashmiri Pandit descent, Narendra Nath Razdan. Soni Razdan grew up in Bombay, India.[5][6][7][8]

Career

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Early Roles

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Razdan started her career in English theatre with John Fowles' The Collector and her Hindi stage career with Bund Darvaze, Satyadev Dubey's adaptation of Jean Paul Sartre's No Exit.

Soni Razdan

Her photos were seen by Franco Zeffirelli who wanted to cast her as Mary in his miniseries, Jesus of Nazareth. The role, however, was given to Olivia Hussey and Razdan was cast as a young grieving mother as well as appearing as an extra in other scenes.[citation needed] Razdan debuted in Hindi films in a supporting role with the 1981 film 36 Chowringhee Lane starring Jennifer Kendal. It also marked the directorial debut of Aparna Sen, who had until then been known as a leading actress of Bengali cinema.[9] Razdan garnered mainstream attention for her appearance in the film. 36 Chowringhee Lane was also entered in the first edition of the Manila International Film Festival, where it won the top prize. Scholar Wimal Dissanayake sees the film as a portrayal of the patriarchal social system: "The film portrays the plight of a lonely woman in a society that cares little for questions of female subjectivity and self-fulfillment. In popular culture the title of the film has become symbolic of the city of Kolkata, particularly its cuisine. A Bangalore restaurant is called 36 Chowringhee Lane.[10] A fast-food chain in Delhi is called 34 Chowringhee Lane.[11] Then she also appeared in Ahista Ahista directed by Esmayeel Shroff.[12] It is a remake of the Kannada film Gejje Pooje.[13]

In 1983, she appeared in film called Mandi directed by Shyam Benegal. Based on a classic Urdu short story Aanandi by writer Ghulam Abbas, the film narrates the story of a brothel, situated in the heart of a city, an area that some politicians want for its prime locality.[14] The film is a satirical comedy on politics and prostitution. Her major breakthrough came in 1984 film Saaransh. It is about an elderly Maharashtrian couple living in Mumbai who come to terms with the loss of their only son. It was directed by her now husband Mahesh Bhatt. It was also chosen as India's official entry for the 1985 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film but it was not nominated. Her performance in the film was critically appreciated by the audience for which she earned a nomination for the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for Best Actress and Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.[15]

Razdan directed a film called Love Affair that was expected to be released in 2016, but did not.[16][17] She acted in Meghna Gulzar's Raazi which also starred her daughter Alia in the lead role. This was the first time when she shared the screen with Alia where she played the character of Alia's mother.[18] Soni played the lead role in the film Yours Truly where she portrayed the character of a lonely middle-aged government employee Mithi Kumar.[19] She also appeared as the Imaaduddin Shah's mother in the 2007 movie Dil Dosti Etc.[citation needed] In 2018, in the light of the MeToo movement Razdan said that once she was nearly raped by someone on a film set. They did not succeed and she did not file a complaint against the attempted rape.[20]

She appeared as Sulochana in the Doordarshan TV series Buniyaad. She also acted in Indian TV serials Saahil, Gaatha and has been a regular on Indian television.[21] In 2002, she turned to direction with Aur Phir Ek Din on Star Plus, a take-off on One Fine Day starring Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney.[21]

Personal life

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See also: Bhatt family

Razdan married Indian film director Mahesh Bhatt on 20 April 1986. Bhatt did not want to divorce his first wife, so he and Razdan converted to Islam prior to marriage and held a very private nikaah ceremony. Upon converting to Islam Soni chose the name Sakina as her Muslim name.[22][23]

She is the mother of Shaheen Bhatt (born 28 November 1988) and actress Alia Bhatt (born 15 March 1993), step mother of Pooja Bhatt & Rahul Bhatt.[24]

Razdan has stated that she has lived in India since she was a 3 month old and that she carries an Overseas Citizenship of India.[25]

Filmography

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Films

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Year Film Role Notes
1981 36 Chowringhee Lane Rosemary Stoneham
Ahista Ahista Deepa
1983 Mandi Nadira
1984 Saaransh Sujata Suman Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress
1985 Trikaal Aurora
Khamosh Herself
1986 On Wings of Fire Thais
1998 Such a Long Journey Dilnavaz Noble
1990 Daddy Priya
1991 Sadak Special appearance
Saathi Tina
1993 Sir Shobha Verma
Gumrah Angela
Gunaah Gloria
2001 Monsoon Wedding Saroj Rai
2004 Dobara Mrs. Devika Mehta
2005 Page 3 Anjali Thapar
Nazar — Director
2006 Jaan-E-Mann Mrs. Goel
2007 Dil Dosti Etc Apurv's Mother
2011 Patiala House Dimple Bua
Love Breakups Zindagi Guest at wedding
2013 Shootout at Wadala Manya's mother
2016 Love Affair — Director
2018 Raazi Teji Khan
Yours Truly Mithi Kumar
2019 Noblemen Shruti Sharma
No Fathers in Kashmir Halima
War Nafeesa Rahmani
2021 Sardar Ka Grandson Simi Netflix film
2023 Pippa Maati
TBA Songs of Paradise [26]

Television

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Year Show Role Platform
1977 Jesus of Nazareth Lily Rai 1
1986 Buniyaad Sulochana (Lochan) DD National
2017 Love Ka Hai Intezaar Rajmata Rajeshwari Ranawat Star Plus
2019 The Verdict - State vs Nanavati Mehra Nanavati ALTBalaji and ZEE5
Out of Love Mrs. Kapoor Hotstar
This Way Up Kavita, Vish's mother Channel 4
2021 Call My Agent: Bollywood Treasa Netflix
2024 Tanaav SonyLIV season 2

Awards and Nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref
1985 Filmfare Awards Best Supporting Actress Saaransh Nominated [27]
Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards Best Actress Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b "Soni Mahesh Bhatt". zaubacorp.com. Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
  2. ^ "Soni BHATT". gov.uk. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Soni Bhatt". Companies House. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  4. ^ On Soni Razdan's Birthday: Alia Bhatt Shares Pic From the Day She Sat on Her Lap. Hindustan Times. 25 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Karl Hoelzer, Alia's great grandfather dared to take on the Nazi regime in his own small way and paid a very heavy price for it". Retrieved 11 February 2014.[non-primary source needed]
  6. ^ "BUT LITTLE DID ALIA's GRANDMA GERTRUDE KNOW that her tragic story would have a happy ending". Retrieved 11 February 2014.[non-primary source needed]
  7. ^ expressindia, daily news (30 January 2001). "I'll voice the worries of Kashmiri muslim".
  8. ^ "@PoojaB1972 @MaheshNBhatt @AdrianMLevy I'm half Kashmiri Pandit and Half German..also an atheist and have not imposed any faith on my kids". Retrieved 18 January 2014.[non-primary source needed]
  9. ^ Sen, Aparna. "'If I'd made more compromises I may have been more successful' – Rediff On The Net, Movies: An interview with Aparna Sen". Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  10. ^ "36 Chowringhee Lane in BTM Layout 1st stage, Bangalore – Buzzintown". Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  11. ^ "34, Chowringhee Lane". Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  12. ^ "Ahista Ahista is a celluloid edifice built on prefabricated blocks of tear-jerker tragedy". India Today. 15 December 1981. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Eight Sandalwood films that have been remade in other languages". The News Minute. 26 May 2016. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  14. ^ "Mandi". IMDb.
  15. ^ "Anupam Kher talks about how Mahesh Bhatt's Saaransh changed his life". The Times of India. 18 February 2014. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  16. ^ "Soni Razdan's directorial venture to go on floors in 2016". The Indian Express. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  17. ^ "Soni Razdan's Love Affair put on hold, to do a TV series first?". 6 March 2017.
  18. ^ "Raazi movie: Soni Razdan explains why she wanted to hug daughter Alia during the shoot".
  19. ^ "In Yours Truly, Soni Razdan Shines In An Elegant Ode To Middle-Aged Longing". Film Companion. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  20. ^ "Alia Bhatt's mom Soni Razdan: I was nearly raped on a film set". India Today. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  21. ^ a b The Tribune, Spectrum (13 August 2006). "Soni Razdan returns". TheTribune.com.
  22. ^ "Flashback Friday:The Hushed Wedding of Mahesh Bhatt & Soni Razdan". 8 April 2016. Archived from the original on 10 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  23. ^ "The Saraansh of Mahesh Bhatt's life | undefined News - Times of India". The Times of India. 18 January 2003.
  24. ^ "Rediff On The Net, Movies: An interview with Soni Razdan".
  25. ^ Razdan, Soni [@Soni_Razdan] (16 April 2019). "I do actually. My father is Indian. Lived in India since I was 3 months old. Pay taxes. Hold an Overseas Citizen of India card. If my hard earned income is good enough to be used to better this nation then I have a right to voice my opinions too. #VoteOutHate" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. ^ "Saba Azad to play Raj Begum in Danish Renzu's Songs of Paradise - Exclusive". The Times of India. 25 September 2022.
  27. ^ "All Filmfare Awards Winners".
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