Alia Bhatt’s grandaunt was first star of their family, played Amitabh Bachchan’s mother in Zanjeer, died of Alzheimer’s

The first star in Alia Bhatt's family was not her cousin Emraan Hashmi, stepsister Pooja Bhatt or mother Soni Razdan, but her grandaunt, who even played a key role in her father Mahesh Bhatt's 1986 film Naam.

By: Entertainment Desk

Mumbai | Updated: October 20, 2025 06:45 PM IST

3 min read

Alia Bhatt's grandaunt Purnima was her family's first star

Purnima in the film Aurat. (Express archive photo)

In a recent interview with SCREEN, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt expressed his pride over his 1998 film Zakhm, claiming how the themes of the film are a reflection of his own interfaith upbringing. His father was a Nagar Brahim while his mother Shirin was a Shia Muslim. But not too many people know that Shirin also had a younger sister, who in fact, was the Bhatt family’s first star and actor.

Purnima Das Verma was born Meherbano Mohammad Ali in 1934. While her mother belonged to a Muslim family in Lucknow, her father Ram Sheshadri Ayanga had a connection to the Hindi film industry. He was the accountant of film distributor Kikubhai Desai, the father of legendary director Manmohan Desai.

Filmmaker Raman B Desai christened her as Purnima in her debut film Radhe Shyam in 1948. She then appeared in films like HS Rawail’s Patanga (1949) and Sagai (1951), Kidar Nath Sharma’s Jogan (1950), Amiya Chakravarty’s Baadal (1951), and Guru Dutt’s Jaal (1952), working with legends like Madhubala, Dilip Kumar, Nargis, Prem Nath, Dev Anand, and Geeta Bali.

She was married to journalist Syed Shauqat Hashmi, who relocated to Pakistan after the Partition of India, prompting Purnima to enter the film industry to earn her livelihood. She has a son from that marriage, Anwar Hashmi, who also tried his hand at acting later and appeared opposite Farida Jalal in Baharon Ki Manzil (1968).

Purnima passed away in 2013. (Express archive photo)

After working in Hindi films for six years, Purnima tied the knot again with filmmaker Bhagwan Das Verma. They fell in love on the sets of his 1953 film Aurat and tied the knot the following year. She also appeared in his 1958 film Baghi Sipahi. But their financial condition worsened to an extent that she had to sell her bungalow.

Having to earn her livelihood again, Purnima went back to acting, this time in character roles instead of the parallel female lead. She was seen in films like Jeetendra’s Humjoli (1970), Banphool (1971) and Sadaa Suhagan (1986), Amitabh Bachchan’s Ganga Ki Saugandh (1978) Kaa,lia (1981), and Inquilaab (1984), Mithun Chakraborty’s Hum Se Badkar Kaun (1981), Raaj Kumar’s Dharam Kanta (1982), and Kamal Haasan’s Yaadgaar (1984) among others.

Her most notable film roles include playing Amitabh Bachchan’s mother Sumitra in Prakash Mehra’s 1973 blockbuster Zanjeer and Sanjay Dutt’s grandmother in her nephew Mahesh Bhatt’s Naam (1986). Post that, she took a step back from acting after being diagnosed with the Alzheimer’s. She breathed her last at the age of 79 in 2013.

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Mahesh Bhatt broke the news on his X account, writing, “My aunt Purnima, the first star of our family and who happens to be Emraan Hashmi’s grandmother has entered the sunset moments of her life.”

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While Purnima’s son, Anwar Hashmi, couldn’t achieve stardom, that unfulfilled dream was realized by her grandson, Emraan Hashmi. Mahesh Bhatt later married actress Soni Razdan, and their daughters, Pooja Bhatt and Alia Bhatt, have also become successful actors, carrying forward their grandaunt’s legacy.

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