Zerifa Wahid is an Indian film actress and producer known for her work in the Assamese film industry. She is best known for playing the role of Ranjana Bora in Jahnu Baruah’s ‘Baandhon’, which was released in 2012 and won the Best Feature Film in Assamese award at the 60th National Film Awards. In 2012, it also won an award at the Indian Film Competition held at the Bengaluru International Film Festival for Best Film.
Wiki/Biography
Zerifa Wahid was born on Saturday, 18 August 1979 (age 44 years; in 2022) in Lakhimpur, Assam, India. His zodiac sign is Leo. He went to Nichols high school in Guwahati, Assam. He started working in the film industry at a very young age. He started his acting career as a child in 1990 by debuting in the Assamese film ‘Abhimaan.’ Zerifa is a diligent student who is good at academics.
Childhood photos of Zerifa Wahid
He went to Cotton College in Guwahati to pursue BA Hons in History, and he then went to Delhi to pursue post-graduation in History from Delhi University. He studied law at JB Law College in Guwahati. He followed his passion and went on to work in many Assamese feature films, TV commercials, music albums and video songs.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 4″
Weight (approx): 55 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Dark brown
Family
Parents & Siblings
Zerifa belongs to an Assamese Muslim family. His father’s name is Wahid Ullah, and his mother’s name is Inoo Hazarika. He has a sister named Jenifa Wahid (Joya).
Zerifa with her father
Zerifa with her mother
Zerifa with her sister, Joya
Relationships/Affairs
In one of her Instagram posts, Zerifa Wahid mentioned someone as her soul mate.
Zerifa Wahid’s Instagram post where she mentions someone as her soul mate
Career
Actor
In 1990, Zerifa Wahid made her debut as a child artist in the Assamese film ‘Abhimaan.’ Later, he appeared in many more Assamese films such as ‘Agnigarh’ (1994), ‘Atikram’ (1994), ‘Antaheen Jatra’ (2004), and ‘Bhoga Khirikee’ (2018). She is famous for various characters, for example in ‘Antaheen Jatra’, she played the role of a rural girl. Some of his popular movies are ‘Anya Ek Jatra,’ ‘Gun Gun Gane Gane,’ ‘Seuji Dharani Dhuniya,’ ‘Ahir Bhairav’ and many more. ‘Ahir Bhairav’ is the first Assamese feature film, shot entirely in London, and in this film, Zerifa plays the role of a schizophrenic. In 2012, at the International Film Festival of India held in Goa, the film ‘Baandhon’ was the debut film in the Indian Panorama Section.
Zerifa on the poster of the 2012 movie ‘Baandhon’
In 2016, his feature film ‘Kothanodi: The River of Fables,’ directed by Bhaskar Hazarika premiered at the Busan International Film Festival 2015. The film was screened in many leading film festivals including the BFI London Film Festival, MAMI Mumbai International Film Festival, Gothenburg Film Festival, and more, and at the 62nd Film Best National16 Awards won the Katsam National16 Film Award. .
Zerifa in a still from the 2012 film ‘Kothanodi- The River of Fables’
He has acted in many theater productions including ‘Nagamandala’ by Girish Karnad. In 2012, the Mahindra Excellence in Theater Awards selected Girish Karnad’s ‘Nagamandala’ for ten nominations.
Defendant lawyer
After graduating from JB College of Law, he started practicing law at the Guwahati High Court as an advocate.
Publisher
She is the first Assamese actress to have her own production house named “Zerifa Wahid Productions.” He was part of the theater movement in Assam when he performed in various stage plays; he has produced and acted in many popular plays like ‘The Fire And The Rain’ by Girish Karnad, ‘Five Finger Exercise’ by Peter Shaffer who is an English Playwright and many more. 
Zerifa in a still from the theater play ‘Nagamandala’Many famous plays were staged under his production house, one of them being Padmashree Arun Sarma’s ‘Purush’ and another play ‘NAPOLEON’ which was staged at Rabindra Bhawan, Guwahati. ‘NAPOLEON’ became so popular among the audience and the media that it was staged several times later. To bring the value of the production to the next level, Zerifa proposed to celebrate a theater festival named ‘JUST THEATRE’ in October and November 2014 in Guwahati. Three plays were staged at the festival namely ‘Nagamandala,’ ‘Napoleon,’ and ‘Love Letter’ by AR Gurney. In 2016, Girish Karnad’s drama ‘Wedding Album’ was highly appreciated by the audience and it had to be screened several times.
Social worker
Zerifa has also made her contribution as a social worker. He is involved in the endorsement of an IT brand named DATAMATION. He is also an ambassador for Assam Autism Foundation and Special Olympics Bharat (Assam Chapter).
Criticizing OTT Platforms
According to Zerifa, he opened his own production house to improve Assamese Cinema and produce quality works. Despite making huge contributions to Indian Cinema, Zerifa feels that OTT platforms have not welcomed her work and that of other Assamese or North-Eastern actors and directors, and they are not getting the attention they need in the mainstream industry. In an interview, he said,
In the international film festival circuit, Assamese films are now well-known thanks to the works of Sanjay Hazarika, the late Bidyut Chakraborty and Jahnu Barua, who bring film awards to India every year. Director Rajat Kamal brought many awards. Jahnu Barua has received nineteen National Film Awards! But when it comes to the commercial aspect, we are not welcome by OTT platforms. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and Zee5 all have huge catalogs of many Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati and Punjabi movies. But not an Assamese film. There are new Assamese movies since 2011, almost 30 to 40, which are such good movies that have been successful nationally and internationally. But the attitude of the people themselves is not welcoming. We, Assamese and North Easterners, are shy and don’t know how to approach the market or sell products. There is an absence of marketing skills. We don’t expose ourselves or put ourselves out there. Many filmmakers are happy with their film being selected in some film festival but they are not interested in getting the money back. So the problem lies with us personally.”
Award
- Won the Best Actor in a Female Lead award for the Assamese film ‘Agnisakshi’ at the State Film Awards in Assam in 2003
- Won the Best Actress award for ‘Dwaar’ at the first Filmfare Awards East in 2014
Zerifa while receiving the Best Actress award for ‘Dwaar’ at the first Filmfare Awards East in 2014
Facts/Trivia
- She has a passion for singing and dancing.
- Zerifa is an animal lover and regularly posts pictures with puppies on social media.
Zerifa is having fun with two puppies
- He likes to follow a healthy lifestyle and is a fitness enthusiast.
- Zerifa was a member of Raijor Dal, but in 2021, she left Raijor Dal and joined AJP (Assam Jatiya Parishad). Due to his party change, in an interview, he said,
-
I may sound like a fool, like a young politician, but we lack genuine political figures. Hopefully I can fill that role and do something good for our community.”
- Zerifa Wahid is the brand ambassador for Sri Sankaradeva Nethralaya’s eye donation campaign in Assam and has promised that she will donate her eyes to the hospital after her death.
Zerifa Wahid took a pledge to donate her eyes
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
