Sonya Jehan

Early life

Jehan was born and grew up in Lahore, Pakistan to Pakistani father Akbar Hussain Rizvi and French mother Florence Rizvi. Her original name is Sonya Rizvi but she changed her last name to Jehan in honour of her grandmother, Noor Jehan. She is the sister of actor Sikander Rizvi, granddaughter of subcontinent's legendary singer Noor Jehan and producer Shaukat Hussain Rizvi, niece of singer Zille Huma and cousin of actor Ahmed Ali Butt. Jehan had her early education in O-levels from the Centre of Advanced Studies and A-Levels from The Lyceum School, both located in Karachi. She then went to London for higher studies and received a degree in design from Central St Martins College of Art and Design. She returned to Pakistan the same year in which she received her graduation degree.

Career

Jehan made her film debut with the romantic historic film Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story in 2005 opposite Kabir Bedi. Jehan played the role of Mumtaz Mahal, who is betrayed by the film's central character. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and was moderately successful at the box office; however, Jehan's performance was praised by film critics. Jehan's second release, was Sudhir Mishra's romantic drama Khoya Khoya Chand with Shiney Ahuja. The film revolves around the lifestyle of celebrities with aplomb with the 1950s film industry as its backdrop. The film received positive reviews from critics, and Jehan earned critical acclaim for her performance. Jehan next appeared as religious American Muslim professor Haseena, in the social drama My Name Is Khan, her first collaboration with Karan Johar. The film set in America received positive feedback from critics and her performance was praised in particular. The film was the most expensive Bollywood film of 2010 and also the highest-value buy over for any Indian film, surpassing the previous record of INR900 million (US$14 million) and was declared as the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2010. In addition to acting in films, she is also the owner of one of Karachi's French restaurants, Cafe Flo.

Mira Nair's political thriller drama film The Reluctant Fundamentalist, was Jehan's first Hollywood production. The film was based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Mohsin Hamid. Jehan played role of professor Nadia, alongside Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson and Meesha Shafi. Her performance was critically praised. The film mixed reviews from critics, however, her performance was praised. Commercially, the film performed really well, with a grossing revenue of $2,028,731.

Jehan next starred in the musical drama Ho Mann Jahan. Directed by Asim Raza, she was cast alongside Sheheryar Munawar, Mahira Khan and Adeel Hussain. Her portrayal was a Sabina, an outspoken independent women. Upon release, the film as well as her performance received praise. The film was a commercial success as well, with a worldwide earning of ₨21.26 crore (US$2.0 million), Ho Mann Jehan was the top-grossing productions of the year, and ranks among one of the highest-grossing Pakistani films of all the time.

Personal life

Jehan is married to Vivek Narain, an Indian banker and lives in Mumbai, India.