The champion swimmer-turned-actress stayed away from the screen for 18 years after a successful debut. Her son's fledgling career, she hopes, will flourish without interruption
Kunal Guha (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 1, 2015)

Nafisa Ali Sodhi fondly remembers her son Ajit's first stage performance. "He was two or three. He came on stage and was wailing inconsolably. His nose was watering. He was scared. That was the longest he had ever been away from his parents." For her, the memory of the day is clearly distinct. "I was in the front row, so I grabbed my husband's handkerchief and threw it onto the stage. He caught it, wiped his nose and threw it back at me. At this point, the audience burst out laughing," she smiles, leaning back on the couch of her Andheri apartment. Ajit, now 26, is about to make his debut in Binoy Gandhi's Jee Bhar Ke Jee Le, opposite J P Dutta's daughter Nidhi Dutta. Stage fright is quite certainly a thing of the past.

It turns out that the plan to so firmly follow in Nafisa's footsteps was inadvertent, not an immaculate design by either mother or son. The young actor had graduated from Australia's Monash University with a bachelor's degree in business administration. "I wanted him to complete his studies before he could decide what he wanted to do in life," Nafisa explains. Ajit spots a silver lining. "Besides, business knowledge can be applied to any field." Acting was something the economics major had only enjoyed in school. He had never thought it would be his profession. His mother had quit the industry at 22, soon after making her debut in Junoon (1979). She only returned to the screen 18 years later, memorably playing the role of Dr Priya Rana in Major Saab (1998). Effectively, cinematic influences for Ajit were few. "I wanted him and my two daughters Armana and Pia to grow up as normal kids," says Nafisa.

The 58-year-old confesses that she had sworn to make a comeback only if she got a chance to work with the best. "Who better than Amitabh Bachchan," she laughs. "In hindsight, I do regret leaving the industry when I did. But my father didn't want me to work in films. I remember I had signed a Nasir Hussain film opposite Chintuji (Rishi Kapoor) just after Junoon. And when I told him (Hussain) that I couldn't do it because my father had come to take me home, he thought I was crazy. He had said, 'Any girl will die to do this film'," recounts the champion swimmer-turned-actress. The extent of her somewhat instantaneous fame can be gauged from the fact that shortly after the release of her first film, Nafisa found herself on the cover of Stardust. The headline had read, 'Move over, Ms. Aman — Nafisa Ali is here'.

Today, Nafisa backs her son's dream of pursuing a career in films because no one supported hers. "I've even dropped in on the sets of his film and discreetly given him a few pointers, without distracting him or the director," she adds defensively, while ruffling Ajit's hair. The actor had initially bagged a role in JP Dutta's Border 2, but that film got shelved. Though this setback was "disappointing", he wasn't ready to give up. "Once I made this career choice, I had sworn to not have a Plan B. If you have a backup, it's like you are planning for failure," says the debutant who has trained at N K Sharma's Act One. The course, he says, "breaks one down" and makes one "forget who you are".

His mother quickly points out that many of the industry's best actors have never been to acting school. "I remember going to Naseer (Naseeruddin Shah) to ask him what acting was," she reminisces. "He was lying on his back. He got up, sneezed loudly and declared, 'This is acting. I have to make you believe that I just sneezed. If you believe me, then this is it'. You don't have to act, you have to believe, feel, sense and experience that moment and share it with the audience. Unless you know your character's reality, you cannot act."

The winner of the Miss India 1976 title also emphasises that rehearsing repeatedly doesn't improve one's performance. "When I shot the scene in Guzaarish where I wanted my son to die because I couldn't see him suffer, I felt that if I rehearsed it, I would never be able to do it. It was a very emotional scene and if I practiced it too much, I would be traumatised. So I did it my way and later Sanjay Leela Bhansali sent me a very emotional message about my performance, which is precious to me as an actor." Her son concurs with this philosophy of acting, "Over-rehearsing can psyche you out and you will end up putting too much pressure on yourself and look mechanical. You need to learn your lines, do your homework and have an idea of what you want to do and leave the rest to the situation that presents itself when you're shooting."

Being a star kid, one could be forgiven for assuming that the young Sodhi won't need to queue up like other aspirants. His mother argues, "Why shouldn't doors open for him? I have friends in the industry who'll meet him if I ask them to. But once he's called for an audition, it's up to him to deliver. Decades ago, a list of ingredients would assure success in films. Today, the audience is very informed and only content counts. You cannot fool anyone."

"I was driving one day when I received a call from an unknown number. Truecaller identified the caller as Rishi Kapoor and I knew this was all my mother's doing," admits Ajit. His mother interrupts him, "He needs to be blessed by the veterans in the industry. We've all learnt on the job. He will too."

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 1, 2015)

1. KAPIL SHARMA
After having everyone in splits with his hit TV show, Comedy Nights with Kapil, he will make his Bollywood debut with thrill-seekers Abbas-Mustan who are venturing into comedy for the first time. Will the trio laugh all the way to the box-office? We'll keep you posted!

2. NIDHI DUTTA
JP Dutta and Bindya Goswami's daughter was an assistant to her father during the making of Umrao Jaan. But as she told Mirror, "At the age of two, I was dancing to Chaiya Chaiya in a diaper." Well, she'll now be dancing, and not in diapers, in Binoy Gandhi's travelogue, Jee Bhar Ke Jee Le, produced by her daddy.

3. GURMEET CHOUDHARY
While he's yet to arrive on the big screen, there's no questioning Gurmeet's small-screen popularity. With shows like Ramayana, Geet Hui Sabki Parayi and Punar Vivah, he is a household name. He'll break onto the big screen with the Bhatts' supernatural thriller Khamoshiyan.

4. MAHIRA KHAN
A popular name across the border, Mahira will be playing Shah Rukh Khan's wife in Rahul Dholakia's Raees. The actress, who romanced reigning eye-candy Fawad Khan in Humsafar (Pakistani TV series), couldn't hope for a better B'town arrival. We all know which way the careers of Anushka Sharma and Deepika Padukone went after stepping into B'town with King Khan!

5. AKSHARA HAASAN
Kamal Haasan and Sarika's younger daughter Akshara will feature in R Balki's Shamitabh where she will be sharing screen with Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush. Now, how many newcomers can claim that honour? Maybe, being Kamal Haasan's daughter helps.

6. AJIT SODHI
Nafisa Ali's son who was signed up for LOC 2 is now the leading man of Nidhi Dutta's love story. Mummy couldn't be happier. 

7. POOJA HEGDE (HER DEBUT FILM MIGHT NOT RELEASE IN 2015)
When Ashutosh Gowariker announced his period drama Mohenjo-daro with Hrithik Roshan, names like Sonakshi Sinha and Katrina Kaif were doing the rounds for the role of the female lead. But Gowariker took everyone by surprise by casting former beauty pageant contestant Pooja Hegde opposite the Indian Greek God. The actress who has done a few films down South, was locked for the `historical' unveiling 7. 

8. SOORAJ PANCHOLI
His personal life made headlines after his name being embroiled in Jiah Khan's alleged suicide. But today, Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab's son is a Hero in the making. He will be seen in the remake of the Subhash Ghai film by the same name, produced by Salman Khan.

9. ATHIYA SHETTY
Suniel and Mana Shetty's daughter will romance Sooraj Pancholi in the Hero remake.She has done a two-year course in acting from New York and is known to be a talented dancer too. 

ALSO IN THE RUNNING FOR 2016


1. HARSHVARDHAN KAPOOR
With the surname comes great expectations because he happens to be Anil Kapoor's son and Sonam Kapoor's brother. Harshvardhan was spotted by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra on the sets of Sonam's Delhi 6 and will debut in Mehra's Mirziya, a retelling of the folklore Mirza Sahibaan.

2. SAIYAMI KHER
Saiyami is yesteryear actress Usha Kiran's grand-daughter and Tanvi Azmi's neice. She will be launched as Sahiba in Mirziya.

3. SAYYESHAA
At 18, Saira Banu's grand-niece is all set to be paired opposite Ajay Devgn in Shivaay, a period drama which the actor will star in and also direct. 

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 10, 2014)

She took her papa, JP Dutta, by surprise when she informed him over lunch that after serving as his seventh assistant during the Umrao Jaan, she wanted to act. Nidhi however insists that she had been dreaming of facing the camera, like her mother Bindiya Goswami Dutta, for years.

"At the age of two I was dancing to Chaiyya Chaiyya in a diaper," she quips, settling down for her first interview ever. "I've been a drama queen all my life, the lakta jhatkas come easy."

Nidhi's debut film Jee Bhar Ke Jee Le is being produced by her father under a new youth-centric banner, JP Gene, but the director is Binoy Gandhi. "Papa took the muhurat shot which had me speaking a line from his Refugee. And he was on the sets everyday. Once, during an awkward romantic moment in front of the camera, he nudged me aside and stepped in as my proxy. Ajit ((Nafisa Ali's son Ajit Sodhi who is the film's leading man) was told to caress my cheek, the poor guy just froze," she chuckles.

After her dadaji (scriptwriter OP Dutta) passed away, Nidhi returned from Paris after wrapping up a course in filmmaking, to help her father through the tough time. That's when she convinced him to give other directors a chance to make films for him and through a common friend connected with Binoy.

"One day I was talking about the film to Ajit who I've known since we were kids, and he showed interest in it. He was signed by dad for Border 2 and when that got stalled, it was decided that he'd be launched with this film," reveals Nidhi, who entered the picture by offering to speak the girl's lines during a script reading session. "I play a travel blogger in this film about friendship and love which I can take my girlfriends to."

Before she faced the camera, she had to lose 20 kilos and was doing crunches in the gym even after she broke her leg, six days before the film started. It is a road trip through Mumbai, Goa, Hampi and Romania. Nidhi who's just returned from Romania, says it was a fairy tale shoot even though the second schedule kicked off with her passing out on the sets. "I had high fever," she explains.

The film is gearing up for a 2015 release and Nidhi is prepared for the test ahead. "Papa always tells me to do what I love and this is something I love. In the 100 years of cinema, dadaji, Dad and Mom together have been around for 62 years. It's great to take the legacy forward," she asserts, "I'm open to films from other banners too."

And what about gossip? "I'm a gossip girl, I've kept papa amused with what's happening outside the office. And I know if I really go out for a movie with someone I like, he'll sit me down for a talk," she laughs. "But till then love is only for the movies."

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 22, 2014)

J P Dutta has been working on two projects—Border 2 and Border 3 based on the Indo-China 1962 war and the Indo-Pak 1971 war respectively. But due to reasons he refuses to divulge, the filmmaker has put his war epics on hold to focus on a medium-budget film that he hopes to roll with by the end of May. This story about friendship and love will launch his daughter Nidhi as an actress opposite Nafisa Ali’s son, Ajit Sodhi.

Speaking to Mirror Dutta says, “Nidhi is the third generation of Duttas to become a part of the film industry. She had assisted me during Umrao Jaan and I then realised that she was keener on facing the camera than staying behind it. But after that I went to Border 2 and being a war film, there wasn’t anything substantial for a girl.”

Then, one day, he heard her speaking to Binoy Gandhi, who has assisted Kunal Kohli in two films, and understood that his daughter was interested in starting out with a light-hearted romance.

“Since I haven’t made any romcoms I decided that Binoy who was ready with an original script, should make his directorial debut with this as-yet-untitled film,” says Dutta, who had worked with Raj Kapoor, a filmmaker who never interfered when another director was at the helm and promises to give Binoy his creative space.

The film will be shot partly abroad and Dutta is toying with locations like Mauritius and Bangkok. And in India he is looking at archaeological sites down South and in Rajasthan. “I’ve visited some of these places but never shot there.They would be a perfect setting for the characters,” he reasons.

So, what sets his actors apart from the crowd of newcomers? Ajit, he says, is a “good-looking, hard-working boy” he had planned to launch in Border 2. “Since he was committed to the company, we cast him opposite Nidhi.”

Prod him on his daughter and he smiles with paternal pride, “During a recent photosession with Nidhi, her resemblance with Bindiya (wife Bindya Goswami) struck me. She has the same ende-aring quality, a girl you would want to take home to your mother.”

Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; February 1, 2014)

Veteran filmmaker J P Dutta, who is known to direct war films, is now working on the script of a film that will serve as a launchpad for elder daughter Nidhi. Buzz has it that she will be making her debut opposite former Miss India and actress Nafisa Ali’s son Ajit Sodhi.

The filmmaker had planned to launch his daughter two years ago but the film was put on the backburner as Reliance Entertainment, a co producer for the project, backed out citing the project’s low commercial viability.

A source in the industry reveals, "Dutta worked hard on the film and Reliance even signed a contract with the filmmaker. But then recession hit and the production house developed cold feet." Another source says that J P Dutta has signed a three-film deal with Ajit. “Apart from this film with Nidhi Dutta, he is part of Border 2 and one more film,” adds the source.

Ajit Sodhi’s mother Nafisa Ali confirmed the news. “My son is being launched by JP Dutta and I hope that he is met with the same love and affection that I have received from this industry,” she said. However, she refused to give out any further details.