Saba Azad

Saba Azad
Azad in 2012
Born
Saba Singh Grewal[1]

(1985-11-01) 1 November 1985 (age 39)[2]
Occupations
  • Actress
  • musician
  • voice artist
  • theatre director
Years active2008–present
Partners
Relatives

Saba Azad (born as Saba Singh Grewal, 1 November 1985) is an Indian actress, theatre director and musician. She is one half of Mumbai-based electro funk duo Madboy/Mink. She made her Bollywood debut as one of the leads Raaga in the indie film Dil Kabaddi (2008).[3] She is known for her leading role in the romantic comedy film Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge (2011).[4] She also played the role of Dingo in the 2016 Y-Films web series, Ladies Room.

Early life

Azad was born in Delhi to a Punjabi father and a Kashmiri mother.[5] She is the niece of theatre great Safdar Hashmi.[6] Born into a theatre family, Azad performed with Safdar Hashmi's theatre group Jana Natya Manch in their stage productions since a very young age, where she worked with Habib Tanvir, MK Raina, GP Deshpande and NK Sharma.[7] She also trained in dance forms like Odissi, classical ballet, jazz, Latin as well as contemporary dance forms.[8] Traveling with her Odissi guru, Kiran Segal, she performed in and outside the country including England, Canada and Nepal.[6]

Her stint with cinema started after schooling when she landed a lead role in a short film Guroor for director Ishaan Nair which travelled to festivals in New York and Florence.[3] She has since gone on to work in many short films.

Career

Saleem with Saba Azad at the premier of Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge, 2011.

She made her Bollywood debut in 2008 with Anil Senior's Dil Kabaddi opposite Rahul Bose. She appeared in a leading role as Preity Sen in Y-Films Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge opposite newcomers Nishant Dahiya and Saqib Saleem.[9]

Azad is a popular musician and singer in the Indian indie music scene and one half of widely popular electronic band Madboy/Mink which she started with actor and musician Imaad Shah in 2012.[10][11]

Azad started her own theatre company The Skins in 2010 and directed her first play Lovepuke which opened at NCPA's experimental theatre in September 2010.[12]

Azad moved to Mumbai from Delhi and acted in a two-man play directed by Makarand Deshpande staged at Prithvi Theatre.[13]

She has featured in commercials for Cadbury, Pond's, Maggi, Tata Sky, Google, Kit Kat, Vodafone, Sunsilk, Nescafe, Airtel as well as print campaigns for Clean & Clear, Westside and Amway and many more.[7]

Personal life

Azad was in a live-in relationship with Imaad Shah from 2013 to 2020. However they remain friends after their breakup and make music together for their band Mad Boy Mink.[14][15]

As of 2022, she is dating Hrithik Roshan.[16]

Filmography

Film

Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Title Role Notes
2008 Dil Kabaddi Raga Malik
2011 Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge Preity Sen
2012 Strangers in the Night Rhea Short film
2016 Pure-Veg Anjali
2019 Connected Saba
2020 Home stories Vaishnavi Netflix
2024 Anurag Kashyap’s Untitled next TBA Filming[17]
Songs of Paradise TBA [18]

Web series

Year Title Role Streaming service Notes
2016 Ladies room Dingo YRF Web series
Love Shots Preeti Limited series
2021 Feels Like Ishq Tarasha Ahmed Netflix Anthology web series
2022 Rocket Boys Parvana Irani "Pipsy" Sony LIV Biographical streaming television
2023 Who's Your Gynac Dr. Vidushi Amazon Prime Miniseries

Discography

Year Album Title Co-singers
2013 Nautanki Saala "Dhak Dhak Karne Laga"
"Dil Ki Toh Lag Gayi"
Geet Sagar, Bruno Carvalo, Santosh Sawant
Dhoom Series "Dhoom Anthem" Raghav Sachar[19]
2014 Madboy/Mink "All Ball"
2015 Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! "Calcutta Kiss" Imaad Shah
Shaandaar "Neend Na Mujhko Aaye" Siddharth Basrur
Main Aur Charles "Dekhe Meri Aankhon Mein Jo"
Madboy/Mink "Union Farm"
2018 Karwaan "Bhar De Hamaare Glass"
Madboy/Mink "Persons.Elastic.Superior.Fantastic (P.E.S.F)"
2019 Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota "Nakhrewaali" Karan Kulkarni
2023 Farzi "Sab Farzi" Amazon Web Series
2023 Kho Gaye Hum Kaha "I wanna see you dance" Netflix original movie

References

  1. ^ Bahuguna, Lavanya (27 March 2017). "This Sikh Actress With An Islamic Name Explaining Her Religious Belief Is A Slap On The Face Of Extremists". IWB. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Birds of then". The Times of India. 19 December 2011.
  3. ^ a b Chakrabarti, Paromita (10 December 2008). "Change of Scene". The Indian Express. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  4. ^ "When Saba lost her tresses!". Hindustan Times. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Mongrel me". The Times of India. 26 December 2011.
  6. ^ a b Doshi, Riddhi (1 January 2009). "'My uncle was my mentor'". DNA. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Saba Azad". The Times of India Blogs. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Saba Azad Blog". Economic Times Blog. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge". India Today. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  10. ^ "Introducing: The Quirky Sounds of Mumbai's Madboy/Mink". rsjonline.com.
  11. ^ "5 things to know about Madboy/Mink".
  12. ^ Sharma, Aditi (31 August 2010). "Falling in love (is hard on the knees)". Mid-Day. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  13. ^ "Saba Azad Biography, Saba Azad Bio, Saba Azad Photos, Videos, Wallpapers, News". In.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  14. ^ Kumar, Aakash (2 February 2022). "Hrithik Roshan mystery girl date Saba Azad was in a live relationship for seven years with Naseeruddin Shah's son Imaad".
  15. ^ Vickey Lalwani (1 February 2022). "Were Saba Azad and Naseeruddin Shah's son Imaad in a live-in relationship for 7 years? - Exclusive Scoop!". Times of India.
  16. ^ "Saba Azad makes relationship with Hrithik Roshan". 12 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Sanya Malhotra & Bobby Deol begin shooting for Anurag Kashyap's next". Filmfare. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Saba Azad Teases Her First Look from Songs of Paradise, Calls it a 'Special Film'". 6 October 2022.
  19. ^ YRF Talent (25 December 2013). "DHOOM Anthem featuring Saba". YouTube. Retrieved 26 July 2016.