Zareena Moidu, known by her stage name Nadhiya, is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

and

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 ...

films. She made her debut in the Malayalam film ''

Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu ''Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' () is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Fazil, and starring Mohanlal, Nadhiya, Padmini. The film features original songs composed by Jerry Amaldev and background score by ...

'' (1984), alongside

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically app ...

and Padmini for which she won Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam. This movie was re-made in

as ''

Poove Poochudava ''Poove Poochooda Vaa'' () is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Fazil, starring Padmini, S. Ve. Shekher, Nadhiya and Jaishankar. It is a remake of his own Malayalam film ''Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' and also marked t ...

'' in 1985 with Padmini and marked her debut in Tamil. After her marriage in 1988, she lived in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and later in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

with her husband Shirish Godbole and two daughters before moving back to India in 2007. She made her comeback in Tamil films with '' M. Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi'', and received critical acclaim for her performance. In 2008, she signed on as the brand ambassador for Arokya Milk and Thangamayil Jewellery. Nadiya hosts a popular television show called ''Jackpot'', replacing actress Khushboo on Jaya TV. In 2013, she received critical acclaim for both the roles she played, one as actor Varun Tej's mother in the Tollywood film ''

Ghani (2022 film) ''Ghani'' is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language sports drama film written and directed by S.S Rajamouli and produced by Renaissance Pictures and Allu Bobby Company. The film stars Varun Tej as the title character alongside Saiee Manjrekar, Jagapath ...

'' and also for playing a stubborn aunt in ''

Attarintiki Daredi ''Attarintiki Daredi'' () is a 2013 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas. Produced by Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra and Reliance Entertainment, the film stars Pawan Kalyan, Samantha and Pranitha ...

''. She received the Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in ''

'' in 2013.

Early life

Nadiya was born to Malayali parents and spent her childhood in Sion, Mumbai. Her father, N. K. Moidu, is

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and her mother, Lalitha, is

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

. Her father is from

Thalassery Thalassery (), formerly Tellicherry, is a municipality, Commercial City on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district, in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahé (Pondicherry), Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kasaragod and Kodagu (K ...

and mother is from

Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, alternately spelled Tiruvalla, is a town in Kerala and the Headquarters of the Taluk of the same name located in Pathanamthitta district in the State of Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of . It lies on the banks of ...

Pathanamthitta district Pathanamthitta District (), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. The district headquarters is in the town of Pathanamthitta. There are four municipalities in Pathanamthitta: Adoor, Pandalam, Pathanamthitta and Thiruvalla ...

. She had her primary education from ''The J. B. Vachha High School for Parsi Girls'', Mumbai, and her pre-university degree from

Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art The Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy School of Art (Sir J. J. School of Art) is the oldest art institution in Mumbai, India, and is affiliated with the University of Mumbai. The school grants bachelor's degrees in fine art and sculpture, and Master's de ...

. She couldn't continue her college studies after that as she became busy with movies by then. She earned her associate degree in Media Management and B.A. in Communication Arts - Radio & Television, while living in United States.

Personal life

Nadiya married Shirish Godbole in 1988. The couple has two daughters Sanam and Jana. After her marriage, she lived in the

with her husband and daughters. In 2000, she moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and lived there until 2007. She returned to India in 2008 and now resides in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

with her family.

Career

Nadhiya made her debut in the Malayalam film ''

'' (1984), alongside

and Padmini for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam. This movie was remade in

as ''

'' in 1985 with Padmini and marked her debut in Tamil. Nadhiya claims she was considered for the role of Revathi in '' Mouna Ragam'', a 1986 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by

Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six ...

, and produced by G. Venkateswaran, but declined due to prior commitments. In the mid-1990s, she made a brief comeback as an actress, before moving to the US.

Filmography

Short films

Television

References

External links

*
Nadiya Moithu at MSI
{{authority control Actresses in Tamil cinema People from Thalassery Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Actresses in Malayalam cinema Indian film actresses People from Bandra Actresses from Mumbai Actresses in Telugu cinema 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses