Nafisa Khan (20 February 1988 – 3 June 2013), also known as Jiah Khan, was a British Indian actress who appeared in Bollywood movies. She changed her name to Jiah Khan before making her debut in Nishabd in 2007, and then appeared in the 2008 film Ghajini. She made her third and last film appearance in Housefull in 2010. In 2012, she changed her name back to Nafisa Khan.
On 3 June 2013, she was found dead in her apartment in Sagar Sangeet building in Juhu, Mumbai after hanging herself.
A 16-year-old Khan was to début in Mukesh Bhatt's Tumsa Nahin Dekha but backed out when both she and the director felt the role was too mature for her; she was immediately replaced by Dia Mirza. Two years later, in 2007, at the age of 18, she debuted in the controversial romantic thriller Nishabd, where she acted opposite Amitabh Bachchan. Despite the provocative content in the film, it performed poorly at the box office, and earned mixed reviews from critics.
Nonetheless, Khan received a mostly positive reception for her
performance, with critics noting her confidence, attitude, and sex
appeal. Raja Sen praised her portrayal of Jia, a seductive,
free-spirited teenager, calling her performance "nuanced" and
"impressive". Taran Adarsh
agrees, saying that "Newcomer Jiah Khan is supremely confident. Loaded
with attitude and sex appeal, the newcomer carries off her part with
flourish. Her scenes with Bachchan are superb!" Rajeev Masand adds that she is "perfectly cast" for the film. She was also nominated for a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award, however lost to Deepika Padukone.
The following year, she appeared alongside Aamir Khan in A.R. Murugadoss's psychological thriller Ghajini, the Hindi remake of its namesake. The film gathered much appreciation from critics, and went on to become the highest grossing Bollywood film of 2008, as well as earn the all-time blockbuster status. Khan's performance attracted mixed reviews, with critics agreeing that her role was "sketchy".
Despite this, Sukanya Verma compliments her performance, commenting
that Khan "continues to strike as an exquisite and expressive actress."
Khan had shot for a significant portion of Ken Ghosh's Chance Pe Dance opposite Shahid Kapoor, but was later replaced by Genelia D'souza. While both Khan and UTV (distributor of Chance Pe Dance)
have stated that the reason for her withdrawal from the film was due to
her not "suit[ing] the character", media reports suggested she was
removed from the film due to her over friendly attitude with Kapoor. Despite this, UTV Motion Pictures (who were backing Chance Pe Dance) subsequently signed the actress for a two-film deal and Ghajini producer Madhu Mantena signed her for a 3-film deal shortly after. Khan also appeared as a supporting actress in Sajid Khan's Housefull which was her last film appearance.
Khan had signed a three-film deal in the South Indian film industry and the first of those films is due to release in June 2013. According to the police, she had returned from an audition in Hyderabad on 1 June 2013.
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