Nafisa Joseph
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Nafisa Joseph (March 28, 1978 - July 29, 2004) was an Indian model and MTV video jockey. She was the winner of Miss India Universe 1997.
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Early Days
Nafisa Joseph was brought up in the city of Bangalore. She was the younger of two daughters born to father Nirmal Joseph, a Keralite and mother Usha Joseph, a Bengali, who was a descendant of Tagore and first cousin of Sharmila Tagore. Nafisa studied at Bishop Cotton School and St. Joseph's College, both at Bangalore. She was Catholic, but owed her Islamic name to the fact that her paternal grandmother was a Muslim.
Career
Modelling
She started modelling at age 12 when her neighbour got her an opportunity to model for a Wearhouse ad. She was groomed as a model by Prasad Bidapa. Nafisa was the youngest participant at the Miss India pageant in 1997, which she won.
Television
In 1999 she was a judge for the MTV (Music TeleVision) VJ Hunt. A week later she herself was called for a screen test to host a show on MTV . She ran the MTV House Full show for close to five years. She also acted in a television series C.A.T.S, an Indian version of Charlie's Angels for Sony Entertainment Television. In 2004, She hosted a show Style on Star World. She also launched a television programming unit 2's Company with the help of her fiancé, Gautam Khanduja. She edited a magazine called Gurlz.
Animal Activist
She was a lover of animals and campaigned for Welfare of Stray Dogs (WSD), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and People for Animals (PFA), organizations for animal protection, and wrote a weekly column called Nafisa for Animals in the Bangalore edition of the Times of India .
Last Days
Nafisa Joseph committed suicide in her flat in Mumbai. She was engaged to be married on August 7, 2004. According to her parents, Nafisa took the step because her marriage with Gautam Khanduja was called off. In September they filed a police report accusing her fiancé for abetting in her death, and sought his custodial interrogation. Khanduja was arrested on November 28, but was immediately released on bail by the High Court.
External links
- Nafisa Joseph profile (http://www.mtvindia.com/mtv/mymtv/vjs/nafisa/) on MTV
- Nafisa Joseph profile on Femina Miss India (http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/22458123.cms)
- Interview with Nafisa in India Today (http://www.india-today.com/ttoday/102000/shunt.htm)de:Nafisa Joseph