12 Bollywood Divas Who Belong To Royal Families In Real Life
Posted On: 17 Nov 2021 | Last Updated : 16 Mar 2022 | Views : 6.6k
Post-independence the estates of maharajas were taken away by the government calling for equality among our people but some continued to live a royal life in India as well as abroad. Each one of us fantasizes to live a royal life with all sorts of luxuries usually associated with royalty like fancy cars, extravagant lifestyles, luxurious homes, etc. but all this is only possible on the big screen or in our dreams which are short-lived. But many of us don’t know that a few of our Bollywood celebrities actually belonged to royal families. Except for Saif Ali Khan and his Pataudi lineage, how many other celebs do you know who belong to royal families? Let’s look at some of Bollywood female celebs who had a royal connection or should we say Bollywood female celebs belonging to Royal families.
1. Sonal Chauhan - Royal Rajput Family
The stunningly beautiful model, singer and actress Sonal Chauhan belongs to the Royal Rajput family. She is one of the descendants of the Royal Rajput family of Manipuri, Uttar Pradesh. The actress made her Bollywood debut in 2008 opposite Emraan Hashmi in Jannat and thereafter did a decent number of films in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada as well as Tamil. Though the actress prefers to underplay her lineage and make her performances do the talking for her.
2. Parveen Babi - Royal Babi Dynasty
Who can forget the glamourous and queen of hearts of the 70s - Parveen Babi? Parveen Babi made her Bollywood debut in Charitra in 1973 and was one of the Bollywood beauties from the Royal Family who was blessed with the Royal ancestry of the Babi Dynasty of Junagadh in Gujarat. She was one of Bollywood’s top-rated actresses who romanced most of the then-leading heroes on-screen like Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Shatrughan Sinha, Dev Anand, Vinod Khanna, Shashi Kapoor, etc. Her notable films have been Deewaar, Amar Akbar Anthony, Suhaag, Shaan, Bullet, Sitamgar, etc. She never married and died in 2005 under mysterious circumstances.
3. Soha Ali Khan - Royal Pataudi Dynasty
If at all there was a list of top 10 Bollywood celebrities who belong to the royal family then Soha Ali Khan along with brother Saif Ali Khan would easily figure in it. Saif Ali Khan who is the 10th Nawab of Pataudi after his father late Nawab Mohammad Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi is the brother of Soha Ali Khan who obviously is a part of the Pataudi dynasty. In fact, Saif’s paternal grandmother, Sajida Sultan was once the Begum of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Soha Ali Khan who is married to actor Kunal Khemu has acted in films like Dil Maange More, Shaadi No. 1, Rang De Basanti, Mumbai Meri Jaan, etc.
4. Bhagyashree - Royal Sangli Dynasty
Bhagyashree Patwardhan who is known for films like Maine Pyar Kiya, Qaid Mein Hai Bulbul, Tyagi, Paayal and Humko Deewana Kar Gaye hails from the royal family of Sangli in Maharashtra where her father, Vijay Singhrao Madhavrao Patwardhan is the Raja of Sangli. Bhagyashree has two younger siblings Madhuvanti Patwardhan and Purnima Patwardhan who also worked as actresses in Bollywood films like Do Ankhen Barah Hath and Hum To Chale Pardes, respectively. Bhagyashree’s husband Himalay and son Abhimanyu Dassani are actors in Bollywood.
5. Kiran Rao & Aditi Rao Hydari - Royal Hyderabadi & Wanaparthy Dynasty
The ex-wife of actor Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao is a producer, screenwriter and director who also comes from a royal family that belongs to Mahbubnagar. Kiran’s grandfather J. Rameshwar Rao was the Raja of Wanaparthy, the leader of the Royal Wanaparthy family. Notably, she is also the first cousin of actress Aditi Rao Hydari, who has not one but two royal family connections. Aditi Rao is the great-granddaughter of Akbar Hydari and the grandniece of Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari who was also the former Governor of Assam.
6. Alisa Khan - Royal Mohammad Nawab Ghaziauddin Khan Family
Alisa Khan is one of Bollywood’s lesser-known actresses who initially was seen in several music videos before making her acting debut in Vinod Chhabra’s My Husband’s Wife in 2010. The actress belongs to the royal family of Mohammad Nawab Ghaziauddin Khan aka Wazir Ghazi-ud-din who founded the city of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.
7. Sagarika Ghatge – Royal Kahal Family of Kolhapur
Known for acting in films like Chak De! India, Fox, Miley Naa Miley Hum, Rush, etc., Sagarika Ghatge hails from a royal family of Kahal of Kolhapur in Maharashtra. The actress was born to Vijaysinh and Urmila Ghatge in Kolhapur and is the descendant of Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur. She is married to former Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan.
8. Manisha Koirala - Royal Koirala Family
Born in the royal family of Nepal, Manisha Koirala too happens to be a part of the list of the top 10 Bollywood actresses from Royal Family. The actress who had a dream debut with Subhash Ghai’s Saudagar in 1991 went on to become one of the leading actresses of Bollywood in the 90s. Her father who belonged to the Royal Koirala family of Nepal had served as the minister of environment in Nepal, while her ancestors too had held high positions in the government including her grandfather and two of her uncles who served as the Prime Minister of Nepal.
9. Riya Sen & Raima Sen - Royal Family of Tripura
Granddaughters of yesteryear actress Suchitra Sen and daughters of actress Moon Moon Sen, Riya, and Raima Sen are part of the royal family of Tripura. Their late paternal grandmother, Ila Devi was the daughter of King Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda while her mother Indira Raje was the princess of Cooch Behar, and the elder sister of Gayatri Devi, the Maharani of Jaipur. Hence, the Royal connection.
10. Chitra – Royal Nawabi Family of Hyderabad
Chitra who changed her name from Afsar Unissa Begum before entering Bollywood was a famous actress of the 50s and 60s. Born in 1937 and famous for action-adventure films with Azad, Chitra appeared in over 100 films including Mayurpankh (1954), Zimbo (1958), O Tera Kya Kahna (1959), Zimbo Comes to Town (1960), Maya Jaal (1962), Patel Nagri (1962), Khufia Mahal (1964), Tarzan and Captain Kishore (1964), and Tarzan Aur Circus (1965), etc. She belonged to the Royal Nawabi family of Hyderabad who had come to Bombay for holidays where she was offered to act in movies which she accepted gleefully.
11. Shakila Begum - Royal Families of Afghanistan & Iran
The Begum sisters that included Nasreen, Shakila and Noor were well-known actresses of the silver screen during the 40s, 50s and 60s. Shakila who was the most famous of the three belonged to the royal families of Afghanistan and Iran. The three sisters’ paternal grandparents and mother were killed during family feuds while their father and his sister Feroza Begum brought them as children to Mumbai. Shakila was known for acting in popular movies like Aar Paar, CID, Kali Topi Lal Rumal and China Town. Her elder sister Nasreen too was an actress who did films like Shahjehan (1946), Shriman Satyawadi (1960) and Tel Malish Boot Polish (1961). Youngest sister Noor (Noorjahan) too was an actress who appeared in Anjan Hai Koyee (1969), Adhikar (1954) and Hulchul (1971) and later married well-known comedian-actor, Johnny Walker.
12. Zudeida, Sultana & Shahzadi - Sachin State of Nawabs
Zudeida Begum, Sultana Begum, and Shahzadi Begum were well-known actresses of the 20s, 30s & 40s. Born to actress and director Fatma Begum, the sisters belonged to the Sachin State of Nawabs. Though acting in films was not considered an appropriate profession then but Zubeida a.k.a. Zubeida Begum Dhanrajgir went on to become one of the top lead actresses of Bollywood who appeared in films like Sati Sardarba (1924), Bulbul-E-Paristan (1926), Alam Ara (1931), Veer Abhimanyu (1931), Devdas (1937), Mirza Sahiban (1939), etc. Younger sister Sultana Begum acted in movies like Gul-E-Bakavali (1924), Indrasabha (1925), Bulbul-E-Paristan (1926), Bhola Shikar (1930), Noor-E-Watan (1930), while youngest sister Shahzadi appeared in films like Shikari (1932), Insaf Ki Tope (1934), Sinhal Dweep Ki Sundari (1937), Hurricane Special (1939), Jhoola (1941), etc.
