Ayesha Takia

Ayesha Takia Azmi (née Takia; born 10 April 1986) is an Indian former actress who worked predominantly in Hindi films. She began her career working in advertisements and music videos, and made her film debut in 2004 with the action thriller Taarzan: The Wonder Car, which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

Takia subsequently played the leading lady in such films as Super (2005) Socha Na Tha (2005), Salaam-e-Ishq (2007), and Wanted (2009), which is her highest grossing release. Takia made her debut in Telugu cinema with the film Super (2005), a commercial success. She also received praise for playing the lead role in the drama Dor (2006), which won her the Screen Award for Best Actress (Critics). This was followed by a series of poorly received films including Kya Love Story Hai (2007), No Smoking (2007), 8 x 10 Tasveer (2009), and Paathshaala (2010). Following her appearance in Mod (2011), she quit acting.

In her personal life, Takia supports wildlife protection, and has participated in social initiatives and animal welfare causes. She has been featured as a talent anchor on the musical-reality show Sur Kshetra (2012). She is married to Farhan Azmi, with whom she has a son born in 2013.

Takia was born in Mumbai on 10 April 1986, and was brought up in a mixed cultural environment, as her father is of Gujarati descent and her mother is of Anglo-Indian descent. Takia's father, Nishit Takia, is a restaurateur, and her mother, Faridah Takia, has mixed British and Marathi ancestry. She has a younger sister Natasha. She studied at St Anthony's Girls High School, Chembur.

Before beginning her career in film, Takia appeared in commercials. She started her career as a model when she was fifteen, appearing in the I am a Complan Boy! I'm a Complan Girl! campaign along with Shahid Kapoor. Her first public appearance was in the music video for Falguni Pathak's song "Meri Chunar Udd Udd Jaye". Later, she appeared in the music video of "Shake It Daddy", a remix of the song "Nahin Nahin Abhi Nahin" along with actor Keith Sequeira. Both the songs were directed by Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao, which brought her to the attention of Bollywood, leading to film offers.

In 2004, Takia made her acting debut in Abbas–Mustan's supernatural action thriller film Taarzan: The Wonder Car alongside debutante Vatsal Sheth. Loosely based on comedy drama Christine (1983), the film did not achieve financial success. However, she has been praised for her glamorous appearance in the film. The BBC wrote, "Gorgeous Ayesha Takia does not have a meaty role to play but displays herself as a confident actress". Takia's portrayal earned her Filmfare Best Female Debut Award (2005) and IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Female (2005). Takia next starred alongside Shahid Kapoor in the multi-starrer romantic comedy Dil Maange More (2004). Takia's role as a dominant, combative girl named Shagun Shah earned her two nominations viz. Screen Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Female and Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut. The film underperformed at the box office, grossing only ₹7.87 crore (US$930,000) across India.

In 2005, Takia starred in three films. Her first release of the year was writer-director Imtiaz Ali's romantic comedy Socha Na Tha. Besides being Imtiaz Ali's first film as a director, Socha Na Tha also marked Abhay Deol's acting debut. Upon release it received positive reviews from critics. Patcy N for Rediff.com wrote, "Ayesha Takia is a sweet, energetic actress, but her role does not require too much acting skill". Jaspreet Pandohar for the BBC mentioned, "Dashing newcomers look great together on screen and give sweet, fun performances as a young couple who love making things complicated. Ali’s writing and directing also keep the story interesting and enjoyable". However, the movie underperformed at the box-office, with total earnings of ₹3.43 crore (US$410,000) across India. Takia next co-starred David Dhawan's multi-starrer comedy Shaadi No. 1, opposite Fardeen Khan. The film which illustrates the story of three couples featured an ensemble cast (Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan, Sharman Joshi, Esha Deol, and Soha Ali Khan). The film received a mixed response from critics, and did not perform well at the box office. Made on a budget of ₹5 crore (US$590,000), it earned around ₹12 crore (US$1.4 million) worldwide. She then appeared in Sujoy Ghosh's comedy-drama Home Delivery, which was also her last release of 2004.^{[failed verification]} The film received negative reviews, with criticism aimed at the unoriginal plot and humor, and underperformed at the box office. Nonetheless, Takia was praised for her role. India Today noted that Takia's role was one of the key attractions of the film.

Takia made her debut in South Indian cinema in 2005, in the Telugu-language action heist Super alongside Nagarjuna Akkineni. Though the film was financially successful, it received mixed critical reviews. B. Anuradha for Rediff wrote, "Ayesha debuts in Telugu films with a glamorous role". Her performance as a doctor named Siri Valli earned her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu nomination at 53rd Filmfare Awards South. The film was later dubbed into Hindi and released under the title Robbery.