Sangeeta Bijlani


Sangeeta Bijlani is an Indian former Bollywood actress and Miss India winner in 1980. She started her Bollywood career with lead role in Qatil in 1988 and was one of the three female leads in the multi-starrer blockbuster action film Tridev.

Early life

Sangeeta was born on 9 July 1960 in Mumbai in a Sindhi family.

Modelling and commercials

Sangeeta started her modelling career at the age of 16. She went on to do many commercials including ads of Nirma and Pond's soap. Sangeeta received her popular name "Bijli" from her modelling days.

Miss India Universe and international recognition

She was crowned Miss India Universe Title in 1980. Sangeeta represented India at the Miss Universe pageant in Seoul, South Korea where she won Best National Costume award designed by her mother Poonam Bijlani.

Bollywood debut and success

Sangeeta was spotted by director Rajiv Rai while on the ramp in a fashion show who convinced her to join Bollywood. She made her Bollywood debut in 1987 with Qatil, opposite Aditya Pancholi and then went on to do blockbusters like Tridev, Hathyar, Jurm, Yodha, Yugandhar, Izzat and Lakshman Rekha. She did a bilingual in Hindi & Kannada opposite popular south star Vishnu Vardhan. She was nominated by the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress category for Jurm opposite Vinod Khanna and was directed by Mahesh Bhatt and scripted by Salim Khan. She has worked with renowned directors like Mahesh Bhatt, Mukul Anand, J.P. Dutta, Rahul Rawail and N. Chandra.

Television career

Sangeeta made her small-screen debut with Chandni - "a tale of power, revenge and love" in early 1996 opposite actor Shahbaz Khan. She also went on to produce popular comedy serial Hasna Mat, with Kader Khan on Star Plus and Kinarey Milte Nahi on Zee TV.

Personal life

Sangeeta and Salman Khan started dating each other in 1986 when they were still modelling and their relationship lasted 10 years.
On 14 November 1996, Sangeeta married cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin at a star-studded reception at the Taj Mahal Hotel attended by the Bollywood and cricket fraternity in Mumbai. The marriage ended in a divorce in 2010, reportedly due to Azhar's alleged affair with badminton player Jwala Gutta, which was denied by the player.

Filmography