Malaika Arora (born 23 October 1973) is an Indian actress, dancer, model, VJ and a

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

who appears in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

-language films. She made her debut as a film producer in 2008, with her former husband

Arbaaz Khan Arbaaz Salim Abdul Rashid Khan (born 4 August 1967) is an Indian actor and film producer who primarily works in Hindi cinema, in addition to Telugu and Malayalam cinema. Since making his debut in 1996, he has acted in many leading and suppor ...

, founding the company

Arbaaz Khan Productions Arbaaz Salim Abdul Rashid Khan (born 4 August 1967) is an Indian actor and film producer who primarily works in Hindi cinema, in addition to Telugu and Malayalam cinema. Since making his debut in 1996, he has acted in many leading and support ...

, which created the ''Dabangg'' film series. As an actress, she has starred as a lead in films like ''

Kaante ''Kaante'' () is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language action-thriller film directed by Sanjay Gupta, written by Milap Zaveri, and starring an ensemble cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Kumar Gaurav, Sunil Shetty, Lucky Ali, Mahesh Manjrek ...

'' (2002) and ''EMI'' (2008). She also performed in the songs ''

Chaiyya Chaiyya "Chaiyya Chaiyya" (" alkin shade") is an Indian pop-folk song, featured in the soundtrack of the Bollywood film '' Dil Se..'', released in 1998. Based on Sufi music and Urdu poetry, the single was composed by A.R. Rahman, written by Gulzar, a ...

'' (1998), ''Gur Naalo Ishq Mitha'' (1998), ''Maahi Ve'' (2002), ''Kaal Dhamaal'' (2005) and ''

Munni Badnaam Hui "Munni Badnaam Hui" () is a song from the 2010 Bollywood film ''Dabangg'' featuring Malaika Arora Khan along with Sonu Sood and Salman Khan. The song is sung by Mamta Sharma and Aishwarya Nigam, with music by Lalit Pandit. Mamta Sharma won t ...

'' (2010).

Early life and background

Malaika Arora was named after the Swahili word ''

malaika Malaika is a Swahili song written by Tanzanian musician Adam Salim in 1945. This song is possibly the most famous of all Swahili love songs in Tanzania, Kenya and the entire East Africa, as well as being one of the most widely known of all Swahili ...

'' (derived from the Arabic plural form ''malāʾika'') meaning "angel". She was born in

Thane Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven taluk ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

. Her parents divorced when she was 11 years old and she moved to

Chembur Chembur (pronunciation: ͡ʃembuːɾ is an upmarket large suburb in central Mumbai, India. History Before reclamation, Chembur lay on the north-western corner of Trombay Island. It is suggested that Chembur is the same place referred to as S ...

with her mother, and sister

Amrita ''Amrita'' ( sa, अमृत, IAST: ''amṛta''), ''Amrit'' or ''Amata'' in Pali, (also called ''Sudha'', ''Amiy'', ''Ami'') is a Sanskrit word that means "immortality". It is a central concept within Indian religions and is often referred t ...

. Her mother, Joyce Polycarp, is a

Malayali The Malayali people () (also spelt Malayalee and also known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. They are predomin ...

and her father, Anil Arora, was a

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

native to Indian border town of

Fazilka Fazilka, also known as Bangla, is a city and a municipal council in Fazilka district of Punjab, India. In 2011, it was made the headquarter of the newly created Fazilka district. The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAPI) project originating in ...

, who worked in the Indian Merchant Navy. She completed her secondary education from Swami Vivekanand School in Chembur. Her aunt, Grace Polycarp, was the principal of the school. She is also an alumnus of the

Holy Cross High School Thane Holy Cross Convent High School is an all-girls school located in K'Villa, Thane, Maharashtra, India. It was founded in 1964 and celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2014. The medium of instruction is English. The school houses classes from kinder ...

where she studied until ninth grade. She pursued her college education from

Jai Hind College Jai Hind College (Marathi: जय हिंद कॉलेज) is an autonomous college in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, affiliated to the University of Mumbai. It was established in 1948. In 2000, ''India Today'' named Jai Hind College as one ...

Churchgate Churchgate (Marathi pronunciation: ͡ʃəɾt͡ʃɡeːʈ is an area in South Mumbai. During the eighteenth and up to the mid-19th century, Mumbai was a walled city. The city walls had three gates, and Churchgate, named after St. Thomas Cath ...

but did not complete it on account of professional engagements. She lived in Borla Society, Chembur opposite Basant Talkies before starting her modelling career.

Career

Malaika Arora, Amrita Arora at Shilpa Shetty's baby shower ceremony (4)

Arora was selected as one of the VJs when

MTV India MTV India is an Indian pay television channel specialising in music, reality and youth culture programming. It was launched in 1996 as the Indian version of MTV and is owned by Viacom 18, a joint venture operation between MTV International ow ...

started its operations. She began working as an interviewer, hosted shows such as ''Club MTV'', and later co-hosted with Cyrus Broacha the shows ''Love Line'' and ''Style Check''. Malaika then entered the modelling world, appearing in many advertisements, for album songs like

Bally Sagoo Baljit Singh "Bally" Sagoo (Punjabi: ਬਲਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਸੱਗੂ, born 19 May 1964) is a British-Indian record producer and DJ. Born in Delhi, India, Sagoo was raised in Birmingham, England. He entered the recording and entertain ...

's "Gur Naalo Ishq Mitha" opposite Jas Arora and

item number In Indian cinema, an item number or item song is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. The term is commonly used within Indian films (Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi, and ...

s such as "

" in the 1998

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...

film '' Dil Se..''. In 2010, she featured in the item song "

" in the film ''

Dabangg ''Dabangg'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Abhinav Singh Kashyap and produced by Malaika Arora Khan and Arbaaz Khan under Arbaaz Khan Productions with Dhilin Mehta under Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision. Kha ...

'', which was produced by her former husband Arbaaz Khan. On 12 March 2011, she helped set a world record with 1235 participants performing a choreographed dance to "Munni Badnaam" which she led. She was the Taiwan Excellence celebrity endorser in 2012. She endorsed Dabur's 30-plus. She states that she never wanted to do acting. She performed live alongside

Atif Aslam Atif Aslam is a Pakistani playback singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He has recorded many songs in both Pakistan and India, and is known for his vocal belting technique. Aslam predominantly sings in Urdu, but has also sung in Hindi, ...

, Shaan and

Bipasha Basu Bipasha Basu Singh Grover (born 7 January 1979) is an Indian actress and former model. Primarily known for her work in Hindi films, she has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and English films. Basu is the recipient of numerous accolades ...

in a series of concerts at LG Arena in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

and

The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the ...

in London. In 2014, she confirmed that she would make a cameo appearance in the

Farah Khan Farah Khan Kunder (born 9 January 1965) is an Indian film director, film producer, actress, dancer and choreographer who works predominantly in Hindi films. Khan has choreographed dance routines for more than a hundred songs in over 80 films, w ...

-directed

action comedy Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of acti ...

-drama film ''

Happy New Year The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...

''.

Television

Malaika appeared on the television show ''

Nach Baliye ''Nach Baliye'' () is an Indian Hindi-language celebrity dance reality television series that airs on Star Plus. Production Concept The show is a competition wherein 10 television celebrity couples compete against each other. Contestants danc ...

'' as one of the three judges. The show was aired on

STAR One Star One was an Indian pay television network based in Mumbai. It was launched on 1 November 2004 and was it owned by Star TV and distributed worldwide by Fox International Channels. In November 2006, Star One was launched in the UK on Sky. ...

in mid-2005. She continued as a judge in '' Nach Baliye 2'' which started airing in the last quarter of 2006. In this show, she performed many item numbers as an example for the contestants. She appeared on the show ''

Zara Nachke Dikha ''Zara Nachke Dikha'' ''(English: Show Me Your Dance)'' is an Indian dance reality show originally aired on STAR One but then aired on STAR Plus. The series debuted on 14 July 2008 and was hosted by Karan Singh Grover and Shweta Gulati. All t ...

'' as a judge on

. She was a judge on the show ''

Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa ''Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa'' is an Indian Hindi-language reality television show and the Indian version of BBC's ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and ''Dancing with the Stars''. The show pairs celebrities with professional dancers. Each couple performs pred ...

'' in 2010. Malaika is on the judges panel in the show ''

India's Got Talent India's Got Talent is a televised Indian Hindi language talent show series and is part of the '' Got Talent franchise''. The program is produced and distributed by Fremantle. The show aired on Colors TV till season 8; since season 9 the show is ...

''. She was the judge and host of the ''

MTV Supermodel of the Year ''MTV Supermodel of the Year'' is an Indian reality television series, which premiered on 22 December 2019 and broadcast on MTV India. The viewers will see several women compete for the title of ''Supermodel of the Year'', providing them with an ...

'' in 2019 and a judge of '' India's Best Dancer'' in 2020.

Personal life

Malaika Arora, Arbaaz Khan visits Rajesh Khanna's home Aashirwad 06

Malaika was married to Bollywood actor-director-producer

in 1998 whom she met during a coffee ad shoot. Since her marriage with Arbaaz until they got divorced, she was known as Malaika Arora Khan. On 28 March 2016, they announced separation citing compatibility issues. The couple officially got divorced on 11 May 2017. Together they have a son, Arhaan Khan, born on 9 November 2002. The custody of the son after the divorce is with Malaika, while Arbaaz has visitation rights on his son, as per the settlement reached in the Bandra Family Court. Bollywood actor

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

and actor-director-producer Sohail Khan are her former brothers-in-law. Her former father-in-law was scriptwriter

Salim Khan Salim Abdul Rashid Khan (born 24 November 1935) is an Indian actor, film producer and screenwriter. As a screenwriter, he wrote the screenplays, stories and scripts for numerous Bollywood films. Khan is one half of the prolific screenwriting d ...

. Malaika has been in a relationship with actor

Arjun Kapoor Arjun Kapoor (born 26 June 1985) is an Indian actor working in Hindi films. Born to the Surinder Kapoor family, he is the son of film producer Boney Kapoor and Mona Shourie. Kapoor made his acting debut in 2012 with romance ''Ishaqzaade'' which ...

since 2016. In April 2022, Arora had an accident on the

Mumbai–Pune Expressway The Mumbai–Pune Expressway (officially Yashwantrao Chavan Expressway) is India's first 6- lane wide concrete, access-controlled tolled expressway. It spans a distance of 94.5 km connecting Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra state and th ...

when three cars collided with each other as she was returning home from an event. She was taken to the Apollo Hospital in

Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai (), is a planned city situated on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent, located in the Konkan division of Maharashtra state, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The city ...

where she got few stitches.

Filmography

As actress and dancer

*1998: '' Dil Se..'' in ''

'' * 1999: ''Pyar Ke Geet'' in ''Dholna'' * 2000: ''

Bichhoo ''Bichhoo'' () is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film starring Bobby Deol and Rani Mukerji. ''Bichhoo'' is a remake of the 1994 English-language French action thriller film '' Léon: The Professional''. Synopsis Jeeva (Bobby Deol) ...

'' in ''Ekwari Tak Le'' *2001: ''

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

'' in ''Yeh Pyar'' * 2002: '' Maa Tujhhe Salaam'' (cameo appearance) * 2002: ''

'' as Lisa *2005: '' Kaal'' in ''Kaal Dhamaal'' * 2007: ''

Heyy Babyy ''Heyy Babyy'' is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language comedy film produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and directed by Sajid Khan. It stars Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Vidya Balan, Juanna Sanghvi and Boman Irani. The core storyline of t ...

'' in ''Heyy Babyy'' * 2007: ''

Athidhi ''Athidhi'' () is a 2007 Indian Telugu-language action romance film starring Mahesh Babu and Amrita Rao, directed by Surender Reddy and produced by G. Ramesh Babu, brother of Mahesh Babu, under their banner Krishna Pictures Private Limited. I ...

'' in ''Rathraina'' (

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

) * 2007: ''

Om Shanti Om ''Om Shanti Om'' (transl. ''Peace Be With You'') is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language fantasy romance film written and directed by Farah Khan, co-written by Mayur Puri and Mushtaq Shiekh, and produced by Gauri Khan under the banner of Red Chillie ...

'' in ''Deewangi Deewangi'' * 2007: ''

Welcome A welcome is a kind of greeting designed to introduce a person to a new place or situation, and to make them feel at ease. The term can similarly be used to describe the feeling of being accepted on the part of the new person. In some contexts ...

'' in ''Hoth Rasiley'' * 2008: '' EMI'' as Nancy * 2009: ''Helloo India'' (cameo appearance) * 2010: ''

Prem Kaa Game ''Prem Kaa Game'' () is a 2010 Bollywood romantic comedy film produced and directed by Ashok Kheny and starring Arbaaz Khan, Tara Sharma, Madhuri Bhattacharya, Rakesh Bedi, Johnny Lever and Sameer Kochhar. Salman Khan appears in the film as a n ...

'' in ''I Wanna Fall in Love'' * 2010: '' Housefull'' as ''Pooja'' * 2010: ''

'' in ''

'' * 2012: '' Gabbar Singh'' in ''Kevvu Keka'' (

Telugu film Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, ...

) * 2012: ''

Housefull 2 ''Housefull 2'', sometimes called ''Housefull 2: The Dirty Dozen'', is an 2012 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film written and directed by Sajid Khan. Brothers Sajid Samji and Farhad Samji co-wrote the film under their duo Sajid-Farhad, b ...

'' in ''Anarkali Disco Chali'' * 2012: '' Dabangg 2'' in ''Pandey Ji Seeti'' *2014: ''Happy New Year'' (cameo appearance) * 2015: '' Dolly Ki Doli'' in ''Fashion Khatam Mujh Par'' * 2018: ''

Pataakha ''Pataakha'' (; ) is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language drama film produced, written and directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. It stars Sanya Malhotra and debutante Radhika Madan. The plot is based on Charan Singh Pathik's short story ''Do Behnein''. It was ...

'' in ''Hello Hello'' * 2022: ''

An Action Hero ''An Action Hero'' is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Anirudh Iyer in his directorial debut and produced by T-Series Films and Colour Yellow Productions. It stars Ayushmann Khurrana and Jaideep Ahlawat in the lead roles. I ...

'' in ''Aap Jaisa Koi''

As producer

* 2010: ''

'' –

Filmfare Award for Best Film The Filmfare Award for Best Film is given by the '' Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. The award was first given in 1954. Here is a list of the award winners and the nominees of the respective years. Ea ...

National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment The National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, India, and was constituted in the year 1975. This is one of the ''Golden ...

* 2012: '' Dabangg 2'' * 2015: '' Dolly Ki Doli''

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arora, Malaika Living people 1973 births Khan Arora Malaika Khan Arora Malaika Indian VJs (media personalities) Malayali people Punjabi people Indian women television presenters Actresses in Hindi cinema Artists from Mumbai Indian female dancers Hindi film producers Indian women film producers Dancers from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian actresses 20th-century Indian dancers 21st-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian dancers People from Thane Film producers from Mumbai Women artists from Maharashtra Businesswomen from Maharashtra Producers who won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award