Early life

Singh was born to a Sikh family. She is the daughter of Rukhsana Sultana, who was a political activist and Shivinder Singh Virk, who was an army officer, and himself from a landowning family (his sister married a former ruling prince). Through her paternal grandmother Mohinder Kaur, Amrita is the great-granddaughter of Sobha Singh, OBE, of Hadali, Sargodha, one of the builders of New Delhi, and the great-niece of the late novelist Khushwant Singh. The Singh dynasty, descended from Sobha Singh and his brother, is wealthy but stays out of the public eye.

Her maternal grandmother Zarina, was the elder sister of actress Begum Para, mother of actor Ayub Khan. Zarina and Begum Para was also the daughter of Mian Ehsan Ul Haque, who came from a landowning family. He was a judge and the Chief Justice of the highest court in the princely state of Bikaner, northern Rajasthan. Her mother Rukhsana Sultana's father was a Punjabi Hindu, Group Captain Madan Mohan Bimbet, but Zarina took her daughter back after the marriage failed and the child was renamed Rukhsana Sultana and became a Muslim, thus inheriting most of Ehsan Ul Haque's property.

Singh attended Modern School in New Delhi and is fluent in the English, Punjabi and Hindi languages.

Film career

1983-1993

Singh made her Bollywood debut in 1983 with Betaab, a vastly successful film in which she was paired with Sunny Deol. This was quickly followed by a succession of hits, such as: Sunny in 1984, Mard (which was the biggest hit of that year) and Saaheb in 1985, Chameli Ki Shaadi and Naam in 1986 and Khudgarz in 1987. Singh made a successful pair in several films not only with Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt, but also with Anil Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan, two leading actors of the 1980s.

As well as playing leading roles, she also played supporting negative roles in films such as Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992) and Aaina (1993). She also won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for the latter. These successes did not dissuade her from her resolve to retire into family life and she quit acting after 1993.

2002-present

Singh returned to acting in 2002 with the film 23rd March 1931: Shaheed, in which she played the mother of Bhagat Singh (played by Bobby Deol). She joined the television industry with Ekta Kapoor’s family drama Kkavyanjali aired on Star Plus in 2005. Singh was seen in a negative role in the show that soon gained immense popularity. Later that year, she won acclaim for her performance in yet another negative role for the film Kalyug.

In 2007, Singh played the role of gangster Maya Dolas' mother, Ratnaprabha Dolas, in the Sanjay Gupta film Shootout at Lokhandwala, directed by Apoorva Lakhia. Vivek Oberoi played the role of Maya. Later on she appeared in the anthology film Dus Kahaniyaan, where she appeared in the short story Poornmasi.

Continuing her acting journey, Singh played in the film Kajraare in 2010 and also appeared in Aurangzeb under the Yash Raj Films banner where she was paired with Jackie Shroff after almost two decades. In 2014 she was seen in the film 2 States produced by Dharma Productions portraying the role of co-actor Arjun Kapoor's mother. The film released on 18 April 2014.

Personal life

In 1991, Singh married actor Saif Ali Khan in an Islamic wedding ceremony and converted to Islam before marriage. Twelve years younger than her, Khan is the son of cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, the ninth Nawab of Pataudi and actress Sharmila Tagore. In 1993, she gave up acting for a family life with her husband. Together they have two children, a daughter named Sara Ali Khan (born September 1993) and a son named Ibrahim Ali Khan (born October 2001). After thirteen years of marriage, they divorced in 2004. Khan is now married to fellow actress Kareena Kapoor.

Singh was seen as part of a Marathi Nrutya-Naatika (dance-play). Khan attended the show to see his daughter's dance performance.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1983	Betaab	Roma (Dingy)
1984	Sunny	Amrita
1984	Duniya	Roma Verma
1985	Saaheb	Natasha 'Nikki'
1985	Mard	Ruby
1986	Mera Dharam	Durga Thakur
1986	Chameli Ki Shaadi	Chameli
1986	Kala Dhanda Goray Log	Mrs. Ramola Gauri Shankar / Pooja
1986	Karamdaata	Pinky
1986	Naam	Rita
1987	Naam O Nishan	Vanisha
1987	Khudgarz	Mrs. Sinha
1987	Thikana	Shaila
1988	Mulzim	Mala
1988	Kabzaa	Rita
1988	Tamacha	Maria
1988	Shukriyaa	Neema
1988	Waaris	Shibo
1988	Charnon Ki Saugandh	Kanchan Singh
1988	Agnee	Tara
1989	Sachai Ki Taqat	Mrs. Ram Singh
1989	Hathyar	Suman
1989	Galiyon Ka Badshah	Cameo
1989	Ilaaka	Sub-Inspector Neha Singh
1989	Batwara	Roopa
1989	Toofan	Pickpocketer
1989	Jaadugar	Mona
1990	Veeru dada	Meena
1990	Maut Ke Farishtey
1990	Aag Ka Dariya
1990	Kroadh	Matki
1990	CID	Meghna Saxena
1991	Sadhu Sant	Meena Kapoor
1991	Paap Ki Aandhi	Reshma
1991	Dharam Sankat	Madhu
1991	Akayla	Sapna
1991	Rupaye Dus Karod	Aarthi Saxena
1991	Pyaar Ka Saaya	Maya Gangadhami
1992	Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman	Sapna L. Chhabria
1992	Suryavanshi	Princess Suryalekha
1992	Kal Ki Awaz	Principal Nahim Bilgrami
1992	Dil Aashna Hai	Raj
1993	Aaina	Roma Mathur	Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
1993	Rang	Indu
2002	23rd March 1931: Shaheed	Vidya
2005	Kalyug	Simi Roy
2007	Shootout at Lokhandwala	Aai
2007	Dus Kahaniyaan	Mala	Pooranmasi (story)
2011	Kajraare	Zohra Baano
2013	Aurangzeb	Neena Wadhwa
2014	2 States	Kavita Malhotra	Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award

Television

• Kavyanjali as Nitya Nanda

Awards and nominations

• 1994: Won, Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Aaina
• 2005: Won, Indian Telly Award For Best Actress in a Negative Role (Jury) for Kavyanjali
• 2006: Won, Star Parivaar Award for Favorite Khalnayak for Kavyanjali
• 2006: Nominated, Filmfare Best Villain Award for Kalyug
• 2014: Nominated: Stardust Award for Best Supporting Actress for 2 States
• 2015: Nominated: Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for 2 States

[ Source: Wikipedia ]