Sohaila Kapur

Biography:

Sohaila Kapur, an Indian multi-talent, encompasses various roles including actress, journalist, television personality, theatre director, and playwright.

Born into a Punjabi Hindu family to Kulbhushan Kapur and Sheel Kanta Kapur, her father served as the physician to Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, the former President of India. Additionally, she is the niece of the renowned Indian actor Dev Anand, with her mother being the sister of Chetan, Dev, and Vijay Anand. She is also the third and youngest sister of Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

After graduating from Delhi University, Sohaila initially pursued a career in journalism, spending a decade with the Times of India before transitioning to freelance writing. She has authored numerous articles for various magazines and newspapers, and in 1983, she published a book on Indian esoteric rites titled “Witchcraft in Western India.”

Her career extended to television, where she anchored shows for channels like Doordarshan and Omni Television. She also served as an anchor-journalist for Lok Sabha TV.

As a playwright, Sohaila has penned several plays, with her directorial debut in 2002 with the musical “Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan,” which premiered at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh. One of her acclaimed works is the play “Rumi: Unveil the Sun,” which received both critical and popular acclaim and was nominated for best play and best play director at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards in 2008 in New Delhi.

Sohaila has also made appearances in television series like “Banegi Apni Baat,” which aired on Doordarshan in the 1990s.

In personal life, Sohaila was initially married to Anirudh Limaye, with the marriage ending in divorce. She later married Anil Charnalia, a Chartered Accountant based in Ontario. Tragically, her husband Anil Charnalia passed away on 23 October 1999, during a flight due to a massive heart attack, leading to a legal battle against the airlines for negligence.