Sohaila Kapur is an Indian actress, journalist, theater director and playwright. He mostly works in the Hindi film and television industry. He used to be a presenter for Lok Sabha TV.
Wiki/Biography
Sohaila Kapur was born in New Delhi. He attended Modern High School (now Modern School), New Delhi. He pursued his BA in Political Science at Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. He also pursued a master’s degree at the same university. Later, he pursued a diploma course in journalism from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Delhi.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 5″
Hair Color: Salt & Pepper
Eye Color: Black
Family
He belongs to a Punjabi Hindu family.
Parents & Siblings
His father, Kulbhushan Kapur, was a doctor. He served as the personal physician to Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, the former President of India. His mother, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is a journalist. His elder brother, Shekhar Kapur, is a filmmaker. She has two elder sisters named Aruna Kapur and Neelu Kapur.
Sohaila Kapur (center) with her siblings
Husband & Son
Sohaila’s first marriage, to Anirudh Limaye, ended in divorce. She later married Anil Charnalia, a Chartered Accountant based in Ontario. Anil Charnalia, suffered a massive heart attack and died during the flight on October 23, 1999. After the incident, a huge lawsuit was filed against the airline, alleging negligence. She has a stepson and a stepson named Jayant Charnalia from her second husband.
Other relatives
He is the nephew of popular actors and filmmakers Dev Anand, Chetan Anand, and Vijay Anand. His mother, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the sister of Chetan, Dev, and Vijay Anand. Popular actor, Parikshit Sahni, is his brother-in-law. He is married to his sister Aruna Kapur.
Dev Anand with his sister Sheel Kanta Kapur
Career
Playwright
Sohaila wrote the play ‘Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan’ in 2002. It was a musical play performed at the Traverse Theater in Edinburgh, Scotland. He has written the play ‘The Great Indian Wedding’ for his brother Shekhar Kapur, who is a filmmaker. Some of the plays written by Sohaila Kapur include ‘A Club of Her Own,’ ‘A Christmas Parable,’ ‘The Monkey Man,’ ‘Mahim Junction,’ and ‘Kuch Life Jaisa.’
Theater Director
He gained recognition for directing the drama ‘Rumi: Unveil the Sun,’ which received immense appreciation from critics and audiences alike. The play received nominations for ‘Best Nationally Produced Play’ and ‘Best Play Director’ at the Mahindra Theater Excellence Awards in 2008 in New Delhi.
‘Rumi: Unveil the Sun’ drama poster
In 2018, he directed the play ‘Albeli Naar’ which is a Hindi adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play ‘The Taming of the Shrew.’ The play was presented by Three Arts Club at the Theater Festival 2018 at Shri Ram Centre, New Delhi.
Actor
Movie
Hindi
Sohaila Kapur made her Bollywood debut as an actress in 1991 with the film ‘Rukmavati Ki Haveli’ where she played the role of Damayanti.
Sohaila Kapur (left) in a still from the film ‘Rukmavati Ki Haveli’
In 2015, she essayed the role of Ameena Bai in the Saif Ali Khan starrer ‘Phantom.’ Her performance as Sushila Devi in the film ‘Daas Dev’ (2018) earned immense appreciation from the audience.
‘Daas Dev’ movie poster
She appeared as a Homeowner in the short film ‘Circus’ in 2018. In 2021, she played Mrs. Chaudhary in the film ‘Silence… Can You Hear It?’ which is shown on the OTT platform ZEE5. He has acted in various films including ‘Dev Bhoomi’ (2016), ‘Satellite Shankar’ (2019), ‘Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare’ (2020), ‘Bawri Chhori’ (2021), and ‘Tadap’ (2021). .
English
She played the role of Aunty Kamla in the Canadian film ‘Cooking with Stella,’ which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 16, 2009.
Sohaila Kapur in a still from the movie ‘Cooking with Stella’
Television
Sohaila Kapur made her television debut in 1989 with the historical drama TV series ‘Bharat Ek Khoj,’ which aired on DD National channel. He played various roles in TV series.
Sohaila Kapur in a still from the TV series ‘Bharat Ek Khoj’
Theater
In 2023, she acted in the teleplay ‘Where did I leave my Purdah?’ written by Mahesh Dattani, which is based on the life of veteran theater actor and founder of Modern Theater Nazia. The play is presented by Zee Theatre.
Teleplay poster ‘Where did I leave my Purdah?’
Web Series
In 2019, he appeared as a School Principal in the web series ‘The Family Man,’ starring Manoj Bajpayee. The web series was streamed on the OTT platform Amazon Prime Video.
Sohaila Kapur in a still from the web series ‘The Family Man’
She played the role of Rajeshwari Singh Rathore in all three seasons of the web series ‘Aarya’ (2020-2024), which aired on Disney+ Hotstar. He has also appeared in the web series ‘OPS Khas’ (2020) and ‘Bhaukaal’ (2020).
Reporter & Anchor
Sohaila Kapur worked as a journalist for ‘The Times of India’ for almost a decade. Later, he worked as a freelance writer and has written over a hundred articles for several magazines and newspapers. He has worked as an anchor and reporter for Lok Sabha TV.
Sohaila Kapur as an anchor on Lok Sabha TV
He has also worked as an anchor for the National Geographic Channel (NGC) documentary titled ‘Indian Witch Hunt.’ He has been a scriptwriter, anchor and coordinator for several shows for Doordarshan in India and the Canadian channel CFMT (now Omni) in Toronto.
Author
In 1983, he wrote a book about Indian esoteric rituals entitled “Magic in Western India.”
Cover of the book ‘Magic in the West Indies’
Award
In 2022, he was presented with Achala Samman by Kailash Kher.
Note: He has several awards and accolades to his name.
Facts/Trivia
- In an interview, she revealed that she had a crush on her maternal uncle Dev Anand when she was a teenager.
- He wanted to be an actor since he was a child. He started performing in stage plays while studying in high school.
- He was one of the founding members of the ‘Ruchika Theater Group’ which was started in 1972. Later, the theater group was led by Feisal Alkazi.
- He has taught journalism at the Times Media School, New Delhi.
- In 2019, she walked the ramp for Prashant Verma at Lotus Make Up India Fashion Week, held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.
Sohaila Kapur at Lotus Make Up Fashion Week India 2019
- Sohaila was part of the Expert Committee for the first Ibsen Theater Festival in Delhi and was part of the Expert Committee for the Production Grant sponsored by the Ministry of Culture for two years.
- He has been a judge for the National Television Awards for 3 years.
- He follows a non-vegetarian diet.
Sohaila Kapur while eating non-veg
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
