Anita Ayoob

Anita Ayoob (also written as Anita Ayub and Aneeta Ayoob) is a former Pakistani actress and model, who appeared in Bollywood films, Pakistani films, television and advertisements in the 1980s and 1990s.[1][2] She had a brief, but a controversial career in India and Pakistan and was rumoured to have a close relationship with underworld don, Dawood Ibrahim.[3][4] She made her Bollywood debut in 1993 with film Pyar Ka Tarana, which was written and directed by Dev Anand. However, she made her acting debut with a Pakistani television serial Gardish. She acted again in Dev Anand's 1994 film, Gangster. She also appeared in Pakistani TV series, Hasina-E Alam in 1992.[5]

Anita Ayoob
NationalityPakistani
Other namesAneeta Ayoob, Anita Ayub, Anita Ayub Majeed
OccupationActress
Spouse(s)Saumil Patel
ChildrenShezap
FamilyAmber Ayub (sister)

As a model, she represented her country in Miss Asia Pacific International beauty pageant held in Manila, Philippines in 1989. She was forced to withdraw from the beauty contest when she made a controversial remark on polygamy during the contest.[6][7][8]

After appearing in some movies in India and Pakistan, she has settled in New York, when she could not get her working visa extended in India.[9][10][11][12]

Fashion Central, a Pakistan based online fashion magazine wrote that Ayub was blamed to be Pakistani spy, was allegedly involved in Bombay blast.[13]

Filmography and television
  • 1995, Doosra Raasta (TV Series)
  • 1994, Sub Ke Baap
  • 1994, Gangster (as Anita Ayoob)
  • 1994, Chaltee Ka Naam Gaari
  • 1994, Maria (Short)
  • 1993, Pyaar Ka Tarana
  • 1992, Hasina-E Alam (TV Series)
  • 1987, Gardish (TV Series)

Personal life

Ayoob married Saumil Patel, an Indian Gujarati businessman in the late 1990s. After her marriage, she shifted to New York. She has a son named Shazer with Saumil Patel. After her divorce with Patel, she was married to Subak Majeed, a Pakistani businessman.[14]

The underworld connection

Ayoob was reported to be very close to Dawood Ibrahim.[10] A producer named Javed Siddique was allegedly shot dead by Dawood's gang in 1995, when the producer refused to cast Anita in a Hindi film.[15]

Controversy

In 1989, she participated in the Miss Asia Pacific International beauty pageant, where she made a controversial remark on polygamy during the contest in Manila, Philippines. She was quoted as saying, "Muslim women should be allowed to have four spouses, just as Muslim men can take four wives at any one time." After her statement, she was forced to withdraw from the contest. She was accused of preaching immorality by outraged Pakistanis. In January 1989, 22 lawyers demanded that she should clarify her statement. A case was filed against her in Pakistan, terming her alleged statement "illegal and immoral".[7][6]

In 1995, producer Javed Siddique was allegedly killed by Dawood's gang when he refused to cast Ayoob in his film.[15]

References
  1. "Anita Ayub's back". Dawn. 4 July 2010.
  2. Nazir Ali, Rashid (3 September 2014). "Aneeta Ayoob approached by television producers". Reviewit.pk.
  3. Mandal, Suchayan (29 June 2015). "Mafia wars of heart". BusinessInsider.
  4. Bhattacharya, Rohit (11 August 2015). "10 Times Bollywood Actors Crossed Paths With The Underworld". ScoopWhoop.
  5. "Anita Ayub". Nettv4u.
  6. Asiaweek, Volume 19, 1993]
  7. Andrew Rippin (1993). Muslims: The contemporary period. Taylor & Francis. pp. 105, 104. ISBN 9780415045285.
  8. "Miss Asia Pacific 1980-1989 - Pageantopolis".
  9. "Cancelled". India Today. 15 December 1993.
  10. Jha, Shefali (7 January 2020). "Mamta Kulkarni to Monica Bedi: Actresses with underworld connection". IBTimes. She later quit Bollywood and moved to New York over visa issues.
  11. Srinivasan, V S (18 May 1998). "Jinxed!". Rediff.com. Worse was the case of Anita Ayub, another Pakistani who had hoped to make it big in Bollywood. Unfortunately, her sister was caught on the India-Pakistan border along with a man with a string of espionage cases against him. Anita, who had exposed her physique generously in a Dev Anand film, was taken away for questioning, her passport was impounded and she was warned in the nastiest possible terms that she couldn't leave the country.
  12. Mir, Amir (16 September 2006). "Row over bikini contestant rages". Gulf News.
  13. Saher (7 January 2012). "Pakistani Stars Troubled In India". Fashion Central. Anita Ayub is another controversial character who was blamed to be Pakistani spy and was involved in Bombay blast. Even spending a long and successful career she was forcefully sent out by the orthodox shiv sena.
  14. Nazir Ali, Rashid (15 October 2018). "Pakistanis Who Married Indians From Across The Border". Reviewit.pk.
  15. Sen, Somit (20 February 2005). "Girlfriend: Smokescreens for mafia". The Times of India.
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