Salma Sultan is a former Indian news reader. She has also directed many popular television shows on Doordarshan. She is known for her style statement as a DD news anchor.
Wiki/Biography
Salma Sultan was born on Sunday, 16 March 1947 (age 76 years; as of 2023). Her Zodiac sign is Pisces. She did her schooling in Sultanpur, Madhya Pradesh, and completed her graduation in Bhopal. She pursued a Master of Arts in English at Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi. She gave an audition for an announcer at Doordarshan while pursuing her post-graduation.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): Black
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Her father, Mohammed Asghar Ansari, was a scholar and secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, and her mother was a housemaker. Salma had an elder sister, Maimoona Sultan, who was a member of the Indian National Congress; Maimoona died in 2006.
Husband & Children
Salma Sultan got married to Aamir Kidwai, who was working at Engineers India Limited. She has a son and a daughter with her husband. Her son, Saad Kidwai, is an Income Tax Commissioner, and her daughter, Sana, is a choreographer.
Career
News Reader
In 1967, Salma started her career as an announcer at Doordarshan, Delhi. Pratima Puri and Gopal Kaul were the famous faces of Doordarshan at that time. Salma got a chance to be a news reader when Gopal Kaul refused to continue as an anchor and got his head shaved to deny reading news. That was the time when Salma Sultan was asked to fill in his place. She worked for more than three decades at Doordarshan as a news anchor. She earned fame and respect for her poised and composed manner of delivering news. People used to wait for her to appear on television on Sunday mornings. Even now, people remember her by a rose tucked in her hair, which became her style statement as an eminent news anchor.
Director
After working for more than thirty as a news anchor at Doordarshan, Salma opted for directing TV shows as her new career. She directed many famous shows of that time. The first show she directed was “Panchtantra Se,” which was a big hit. She also made shows like “Jalte Sawal,” based on social issues faced by women in society, and was telecasted on DD News in 2004. She directed a documentary, “Doordarshan Kuch Baatein Kuch Yaadein,” to showcase the history of Doordarshan.
Designer
In 2019, Salma Sultan did her first ramp walk as a Saree Designer at the age of 72. She manages a saree brand named Saree Sanskriti, promoting the tradition of Saree weaving.
Salma Sultan with models of her brand Saree Sanskriti
Salary
At the start of her career as a newsreader, she used to earn 2000 Rupees per month.
Facts/Trivia
- Salma Sultan was the anchor who announced the news of the assassination of Indira Gandhi to the people of India on 31 October 1984.
- Salma was one of the newsreaders who experienced the transition from black-white telecasting to coloured ones.
- She worked with the rising anchors of her time like Sarla Maheshwari, Minu Talwar, Sheila Chaman, etc.
Salma Sultan (second from the left) with Sarla Maheshwari, Sheila Chaman, and Minu Talwar
- In an interview, Salma said that she used to observe news anchor Pratima Puri very closely and learned the art of reading news on television from her.
- In an interview, Salma revealed the secret behind styling her saree and said;
I used to drape my saree in a V shape because I did not have many blouses to match every saree. So to hide her blouse, she started styling her saree which turned out as a style statement.”
- Later on, her saree styling was adopted by many news anchors.
- She is very fond of writing poems, dancing, and music. While talking about this in an interview, she recited a couplet written by her-
खुली आंखों से देखें ख्वाब, तो तबीरें उबरती हैं, जुसतजू की लाउ जलाएं रखें, तो तबीरें उबरती हैं”
- She has a keen interest in interior design. She designed all the interiors of her own house and her friends as well.
- Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam(1962) is her favourite film.
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
