Nafisa Khan (20 February 1988 – 3 June 2013), also known as Jiah Khan‏, was a British Indian actress who appeared in Bollywood movies. She changed her name to Jiah Khan before making her debut in Nishabd in 2007, and then appeared in the 2008 film Ghajini. She made her third and last film appearance in Housefull in 2010. In 2012, she changed her name back to Nafisa Khan.

On 3 June 2013, she was found dead in her apartment in Sagar Sangeet building in Juhu, Mumbai after hanging herself.

Early life

Khan was born on 20 February 1988 in New York City. She was the daughter of Ali Rizvi Khan, an Indian American, and Rabiya Amin, a Hindi film actress in the 1980s (most remembered for her movie Dulha Bikta Hai by Tahir Hussain) from Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Khan grew up in London, before moving to Mumbai to pursue a career in Bollywood. She has two sisters. She was inspired to enter Bollywood after watchingRam Gopal Verma's former protégé Urmila Matondkar’s movie Rangeela at the age of six.

Khan was a trained opera singer and had recorded six pop tracks when she was 16. She had also wanted to release a full album with the help of her friends – and had wanted her experimental album to be a mix of Britney Spears, Madonna and lounge music. Khan has also had intensive dance lessons for years and was expert in reggae, belly dancing, lambada, salsa, kathak, jazz and samba. Khan studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Manhattan, though she quit upon receiving a movie offer.

Career

A 16-year-old Khan was to début in Mukesh Bhatt's Tumsa Nahin Dekha but backed out when both she and the director felt the role was too mature for her; she was immediately replaced by Dia Mirza. Two years later, in 2007, at the age of 18, she debuted in the controversial romantic thriller Nishabd, where she acted opposite Amitabh Bachchan. Despite the provocative content in the film, it performed poorly at the box office, and earned mixed reviews from critics. Nonetheless, Khan received a mostly positive reception for her performance, with critics noting her confidence, attitude, and sex appeal. Raja Sen praised her portrayal of Jia, a seductive, free-spirited teenager, calling her performance "nuanced" and "impressive". Taran Adarshagrees, saying that "Newcomer Jiah Khan is supremely confident. Loaded with attitude and sex appeal, the newcomer carries off her part with flourish. Her scenes with Bachchan are superb!" Rajeev Masand adds that she is "perfectly cast" for the film. She was also nominated for a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award, however lost to Deepika Padukone.

The following year, she appeared alongside Aamir Khan in A.R. Murugadoss's psychological thriller Ghajini, the Hindi remake of its namesake. The film gathered much appreciation from critics, and went on to become the highest grossing Bollywood film of 2008, as well as earn the all-time blockbuster status. Khan's performance attracted mixed reviews, with critics agreeing that her role was "sketchy". Despite this, Sukanya Verma compliments her performance, commenting that Khan "continues to strike as an exquisite and expressive actress."

Khan had shot for a significant portion of Ken Ghosh's Chance Pe Dance opposite Shahid Kapoor, but was later replaced by Genelia D'souza. While both Khan and UTV (distributor of Chance Pe Dance) have stated that the reason for her withdrawal from the film was due to her not "suit[ing] the character", media reports suggested she was removed from the film due to her over friendly attitude with Kapoor. Despite this, UTV Motion Pictures (who were backing Chance Pe Dance) subsequently signed the actress for a two-film deal and Ghajini producer Madhu Mantena signed her for a 3-film deal shortly after. Khan also appeared as a supporting actress in Sajid Khan's Housefull which was her last film appearance.

Khan had signed a three-film deal in the South Indian film industry and the first of those films is due to release in June 2013. According to the police, she had returned from an audition in Hyderabad on 1 June 2013.

Death

Khan apparently committed suicide at her Juhu residence in Mumbai on 3 June 2013. Khan lived along with her mother in a first floor apartment in Sagar Sangeet building. Her mother, who was out with Jiah's boyfriend's father Aditya Pancholi for dinner at the time, found her daughter's hanging body after returning to the residence at around 11.23pm. She had apparently hung herself from the ceiling fan in her bedroom. No suicide note was found. Her body was first taken to the casualty morgue of the Dr R.N. Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle. Police later sent the body to the JJ Hospitalin Byculla, for a forensic examination and autopsy. The autopsy report ruled out any foul play. The police also said that, "No traces of alcohol were found in her blood. We found some Ayurvedic sleeping pills in her bedroom but apart from that, nothing looks untoward."

Unnamed sources who were said to be close to her told the Indian press: "She had been depressed for some time due to personal issues, but was keen on returning to acting soon. She was also meeting filmmakers regarding projects." Her body was brought back to her residence around 7am on 5 June 2013, following the post mortem. The burial took place at the Juhu Muslim cemetery as per Islamic rites, in the same afternoon, with several Bollywood stars in attendance. Bollywood stars reacted with shock at her death. The police said that according to Khan's mother, she had attempted to commit suicide in November 2012 by slitting her wrist, while in an inebriated state. Following which Khan called boyfriend Suraj Pancholi, with whom she had been in relationship with since 2012. Pancholi is an actor and son of Aditya Pancholi. Suraj, who was at Worli at the time, sent a friend, who attended to Khan and got her treated. Khan's mother, who was in London, returned to Mumbai to live with her daughter, after learning of the attempted suicide from Suraj.

Police seized Khan's cellphone and laptop from her residence and scanned her call records during the investigation. Suraj Pancholi was questioned at Juhu police station. According to call records on Khan's mobile phone, she spoke with Suraj on the night of 3 June 2013, between 10:53pm and 11:22pm, minutes before committing suicide. Police also recorded statements from Khan's mother Rabea Khan, Aditya Pancholi, along with actor Anju Mahendru, Suraj’s childhood friend Karan, his jeweller Neelu with whom Jiah had suspected he was having an affair, his domestic help Deva and Jiah’s doctor Dr Anant Pal Singh.

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes

2007 Nishabd Jia Nominated, Filmfare Best Female Debut Award

2008 Ghajini Sunita  

2010 Housefull Devika