Nadira Babbar, who was earlier Nadira Zaheer, is a well-known name in theatre and Hindi cinema. Born in Mumbai on January 20, 1948, Nadira started a Hindi theatre group called Ekjute. She was also honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2001. Nadira met Raj Babbar in the National School of Drama. At the time, Nadira was Raj’s senior and used to write and direct plays.
Raj got an opportunity to work in one of Nadira’s plays, and that’s how they started seeing each other. Their love blossomed with time and Nadira married Raj in 1975 while he was still struggling to make a name in Hindi cinema. Raj and Nadira’s first child, their daughter Juhi Babbar, was born in Delhi. To meet the needs of the family, Raj turned to Mumbai. After some struggle when the polished theatre actor got work in Mumbai, he brought Nadira as well.
Their son Arya Babbar was born in Mumbai. In 1982, Raj worked in the film Bheegi Palkein with Smita Patil. During the shoot of this film, Raj fell in love with Smita. When the news about their relationship became a buzz, it also reached Nadira. Initially, Nadira could not believe it but the worst happened when Raj himself accepted his love for Smita in front of Nadira.
In an interview, Nadira said that when she heard Raj’s love story from his mouth, she was shocked. She was broken but then calmed herself down because of her children. Nadira then engrossed herself in her children and theatre.
Smita died at the age of 31 due to illness after Prateik Babbar was born. After Smita’s demise, Nadira helped a broker Raj cope with the loss.
