Nadia Moidu

Zareena Moidu is the name Nadia Moidu was born with, on 2 November 1968 in Mumbai; in Tamil and Telugu films she is credited as Nadhiya. She grew up in Sion and studied at The J.B. Vachha High School for Parsi Girls and later at Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art. Her first film, Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu (1984), paired her with Mohanlal and Padmini and won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam. Its Tamil remake, Poove Poochudava (1985), doubled as her Tamil debut. Through the 1980s and 1990s she was a popular lead in Tamil and Telugu, working with Rajinikanth, Vijayakanth, Sathyaraj and Prabhu among others. Then she stepped away from acting for several years, and while living in the United States she completed studies in media management and communication arts. M. Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi (2004) brought her back, and the return was well received. In 2013 she played Prabhas's mother in Mirchi and a stubborn aunt in Attarintiki Daredi, the second earning her the Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has also worked in television, and acts across Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. Coming up is Amal Neerad's Bachelor Party D'eux, in which she plays Anna Mathews.