Pakistani star’s family cost her a dream debut with Raj Kapoor; Nikaah made her a sensation, but she couldn’t capitalise on it

Her mother also wanted to be a singer, but was disallowed from chasing her dream by their conservative family. Salma Agha, who was also fond of singing from childhood, was raised in London. She kept getting offers to sing and act in films, in line with her maternal family lineage, but her grandfather Jugal Kishore Mehra was opposed to the idea.

Jugal was the second husband of Anwari Bai, who divorced Nasreen’s father Rafiq Ghaznavi to marry the Punjabi Hindu, who converted to Islam, moved to Pakistan after Partition, and adopted the name of Ahmed Salman. His paternal aunt Ramsarni Kapoor was married to the late legendary actor Prithviraj Kapoor.

This made Jugal Kishore Mehra the first cousin of late legendary actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, and Shashi Kapoor. On The Majlis Show this year, Salma Agha recalled how she knew of these acting stalwarts from her childhood. “We used to live in Matunga. My grandfather, all his sisters, the whole Raj Kapoor family, cousins and everybody, they all lived there,” revealed Salma.

However, when Raj wanted to launch his grandniece Salm as an actor in the romantic film Henna, her grandfather opposed his decision. He claimed that if Raj were to go ahead, it’d affect their familial relationship. As Raj was forced to back out, Henna was eventually made years later by his eldest son Randhir Kapoor in 1991, launching Zeba Bakhtiar in films.

However, Raj Kapoor introduced Salma Agha to fellow filmmaker BR Chopra at the London wedding reception of his son Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor. BR then decided to cast Salma in his 1982 romantic film Nikaah, which revolved around the misuse of the triple talaq provision in the Muslim Law.

Her grandfather also tried to convince BR Chopra not to cast his granddaughter in a film, because at that time, no woman from the Kapoor family was allowed to work in the movies. BR knew Jugal from their media days since the latter was the force behind setting up the All India Radio. He didn’t budge from his decision and launched Salma as the female lead opposite Raj Babbar in Nikaah.

After Nikaah turned out to be a hit and jettisoned both its leads into overnight superstardom, Salma Agha was cast in Babbar Subhash’s 1984 potboiler Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki in a glamorous role opposite Mithun Chakraborty. That film also turned out to be a commercial success. Salma reunited with Raj Babbar in Ramanand Sagar’s 1985 musical romance Salma, in which she played her namesake.

Salma Agha and Mithun Chakraborty in Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki. (Image courtesy: YouTube)

However, like her next four films, Salma Agha was also a box office failure. Her last commercial success, a moderate one, was when she reunited with Mithun Chakraborty in Rajkumar Kohli’s Pati Patni Aur Tawaif (1990). Her next few films did not make much of an impact. She also gained reputation as a dependable actor in Pakistan films in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Salma enjoyed a parallel career as a singer in both India and Pakistan. Her most popular songs include “Dil Ke Armaan” from Nikaah, for which she won a Filmfare Award as well. She went on to work with seasoned music composers like Bappi Lahiri. In fact, one of her earliest breakthroughs was singing the translations of popular band ABBA.

Salma Agha’s personal life

Salma Agha’s personal life had even more upheavals than her professional one. She first married Pakistani actor Javed Sheikh in the 1980s. She even brought him to India since she looked down upon Pakistani films. Javed is best known as the actor who played Shah Rukh Khan aka Om Kapoor’s father in Farah Khan’s 2007 blockbuster reincarnation saga Om Shanti Om.

However, their marriage ended in the late 1980s on bitter terms, so much so that Javed Sheikh even confessed later on a TV show that he regrets that marriage. He even blamed Salma for costing him several films since she forced him to back out of those, including playing Kabir Bedi’s role opposite Rekha in Rakesh Roshan’s 1988 hit revenge drama Khoon Bhari Maang.

Salma Agha then tied the knot with Pakistani squash player Rehmat Khan in 1989, and that marriage lasted 21 years. She’s currently married to Dubai-based businessman, whom she tied the knot with in 2011. Originally a British citizen, she now shuttles between Dubai and Mumbai after she was granted the Overseas Citizenship of India in 2017.

Salma said on The Majlis Show this year that she has no regrets as far as her three marriages and other relationships are concerned. “In our religion, in our Quran, it’s said that if you don’t get along, get a divorce. There must be some logic to it, right? At least, you’re not bringing up six children. It’s a lie, it’s a lie. No, I can’t live a lie,” she confessed.

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Salma Agha has two kids from her second marriage with Rehmat. While her son Ali Agha Khan is also training to be an actor, her daughter Sasha Agha is also a singer and actor in Hindi films. She made her acting debut opposite Arjun Kapoor in Atul Sabharwal’s 2013 action thriller Aurangzeb, produced by Aditya Chopra’s Yash Raj Films. She’ll next star in Nanda Kishore’s action epic Vrusshabha alongside Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, this year.