Mahima Chaudhary Birthday Special: Lesser Known Facts About ‘Pardes’ Actress

On her 49th birthday, let us take a look at some of the lesser-known facts about the 'Pardes' actress Mahima Chaudhary-

Bollywood veteran actress Mahima Chaudhary is one of the most renowned actresses of her time. The actress appeared in several blockbuster hits like Dhadkan, Lajja, and more, however, the film that gave a break to the actress in the industry was her 1997 released Bollywood debut film, Pardes which starred her opposite to Shah Rukh Khan in the lead.

However, there are still many facts about the actress which are still not known among her fans, so on her 49th birthday, lets take a look at some of the lesser-known facts about the ‘Pardes’ actress Mahima Chaudhary-

  1. Mahima Chaudhary’s Real Name Is ‘Ritu’

Pardes actress Mahima Chaudhary has been known for her acting skills the actress made her debut in the Bollywood industry in 1997 and ever since then she was known among the fans by her name, Mahima Chaudhary. However, her real name isn’t Mahima but Ritu Chaudhary. The actress changed her name after the Bollywood filmmaker Subhash Ghai suggested her to change her name since all the leading ladies of the time like Madhuri Dixit and others had their names starting with ‘M’.

2. Mahima Chaudhry Was In A Relationship With A Tennis Player

Just like her real name, only a few people know about Mahima Chaudhary’s love life and relationships as the actress has not been very open about her personal life and relationships on screen. For the unversed, the Emergency actress was once in a relationship with a renowned tennis player named Leander Paes. The couple dated each other for some time in the early 2000s. However, they later decided to part ways. However, it was later reported that the actress broke up with Leander after she found out that he was having an affair with Sanjay Dutt’s ex-wife Rhea Pillai.

3. Mahima Chaudhary Accused Subhash Ghai Of “Bullying”

It was earlier speculated that the Emergency actress once accused the Bollywood filmmaker Subhash Ghai of “bullying”, she also revealed that the filmmaker asked other producers to not work with her. In an interview, Mahima said, “I was bullied by Mr. Subhash Ghai. He even took me to the court and wanted me to cancel my first show. It was quite stressful. He sent a message to all the producers that nobody should work with me! If you pick up one of the issues of Trade Guide magazine in 1998 or 1999, there was an ad that he had given which stated that if anybody wanted to work with me, that person would have to contact him. Otherwise, it would be a breach of contract. However, there was no such contract which said that I had to seek his permission.”

4. Mahima Chaudhary’s Facial Injury And Acting Break

Many people are aware of the fact that Mahima Chaudhary took a break from acting but only a few know why she took a break. In the year 1999, Mahima Chaudhary had been shooting for her film Dil Kya Kare with Ajay Devgn and Kajol when her car rammed into a truck in Bangalore after which the actress suffered some serious facial injuries after which she decided to take a break from the industry.

Talking about her accident she once told Pinkvilla, “I thought I was dying, and at that point, no one even helped me get to the hospital. It is only after reaching the hospital, much later, when my mother came, Ajay came and they went to discuss. I got up and saw my face in the mirror and saw the horror. When they did the surgery on me, they took out 67 glass pieces.”

She further mentioned that she dropped films since she did not wanted her accident to be public, talking about the same she said, “If at that time, I had discussed it and said that I had cut myself like this, they would have said… ‘oh, iska toh chehra kharab ho gaya (her face is ruined), let’s sign someone else’.”

5. Life Of A Single Mother

Without any doubt, Mahima had a very intricate personal life, after breaking up with her boyfriend Leander the actress married a businessman, Bobby Mukherji in the year 2006, soon after which she became a mother with her firstborn daughter Ariana in 2007. Unfortunately in the year 2013, Mahima decided to call it quits with her husband Bobby due to the incompatibility between the two.

Ever since then the actress has been playing both mom and dad for her daughter Ariana. Recently it was reported that the actress was diagnosed with breast cancer, but like a fighter, the actress went out public about her health issues. While as for her fans, the actress will soon appear alongside Kangana Ranaut in her film Emergency essaying the role of her friend Pupul Jayakar in the movie.

That’s a wrap!

ALSO READ: Emergency: Kangana Ranaut Introduces Vishak Nair As Sanjay Gandhi