# Anita Ayoob

Anita Ayoob (also Known as Anita Ayub and Aneeta Ayoob) is a Pakistani actress and model. She appeared in Bollywood films and Lollywood films also working in television dramas and advertisements in the 1980s and 1990s.

## Early life

Anita was born in Karachi at Pakistan and she studied from a Private Girls College and graduated from University of Karachi with a master's degree in English literature. Anita's family were close friends with Waheed Murad's family. She was discovered by a modeling agent to model for advertising and she agreed.
Anita also went to India to study acting and was studying acting in Roshan Taneja School of Acting at Mumbai there she was trained in acting by Roshan Taneja.

## Career

She started working as a model in her early teens and also worked in Hindi and Urdu films. In 1987 she made her debut as an actress in drama Gardish which was aired on PTV then she worked in drama Hasina-E-Alam with Rizwan Wasti, Amber Ayub and Rabia Noreen.
As a model, she represented her country in Miss Asia Pacific International beauty pageant held in Manila, Philippines in 1989.
In 1993 she went to India for a commercial shooting and there Dev Anand, who was looking for a new actress, saw her commercial and he cast her for his film Pyaar Ka Tarana. She made her Bollywood debut in 1993 with film Pyaar Ka Tarana, which was written and directed by Dev Anand the film received averaged reviews but later turned out to be successful at the box office.
Then she was offered a lead role in film Bulund with Salman Khan before it was called Nihatta and then she completed some shooting scenes with Salman Khan but after sometime she refused to work in the movie because director M.R. Shahjahan made many changes and she couldn't accept it so she left it then Somy Ali was cast in the lead role instead she signed a film with Dev Anand.
In 1994 she was cast by Salim Chandan in his production film Prem Chakra co-starring with Deepak Tijori, Ashok Saraf, Sophia Khan, Arun Bakshi, Jackie Bhantu and Musaddique the film's music was composed by Rajesh Roshan and directed by Mustanseer but the film was shelved.
Later she worked with Dev Anand again in film Gangster in 1995 which was a box office success.
She had a long and successful career in India and Pakistan after appearing in some movies and she also worked in popular dramas in Pakistan which aired on PTV and then she moved to New York and settled there with her family.
In New York she hosted morning shows and guest shows on AT&T TV.

## Personal life

Ayoob married Saumil Patel, an Indian Gujarati businessman in 1995. After her marriage, she moved to New York. She has a son named Shazer with Saumil Patel. After her divorce with Patel, she married Subak Majeed, a Pakistani businessman. She also has a half brother and actress Amber Ayub is her sister.

## Filmography
### Television series

| Year | Title | Role | Network |
| 1987 | Gardish | Shahida | PTV |
| 1992 | Hasina-E Alam | Naila | PTV |
| 1992 | Eid Flight | Nida | PTV |
| 1993 | Yes Sir, No Sir | Herself | PTV |
| 1995 | Hip Hip Hurray Season 1 | Herself | STN |
| 1995 | Doosra Raasta | Simi | PTV |
| 1997 | Waqt Ka Aasman | Marilee | PTV |
| 1998 | Yeh Jahan | Fariha | PTV |

### Film

| Year | Film | Language |
| 1993 | Pyaar Ka Tarana | Hindi |
| 1994 |
| 1994 | Sub Ke Baap | Urdu |
| 1994 | Chalti Ka Naam Gari | Punjabi |
| 1994 | Maria | Urdu |
| 1995 | Gangster | Hindi |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Result | Title | Ref. |
| 1995 | STN Awards | Best New Talent | Won | Hip Hip Hurray Season 1 | |

## Controversies

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".
Ayoob has been reported to have a close association with Dawood Ibrahim. In 1995, producer Javed Siddique was allegedly shot dead by members of Dawood's gang after he refused to cast Anita in a Hindi film.