Nafisa Joseph
Encyclopedia
Nafisa Joseph (28 March 1978 − 29 July 2004) was an India
n model and MTV
video jockey. She was the winner of Miss India
Universe 1997 and was a semi-finalist in the Miss Universe
pageant.
. She was the younger of two daughters born to father Nirmal Joseph, a Keralite Syrian Christian and mother Usha Joseph, a Bengal
i, 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 first name to the fact that her paternal grandmother was a Muslim.
. Joseph was the youngest participant at the Miss India pageant in 1997, which she won.
Joseph participant in the Miss Universe Pageant in Miami, Florida on May 16, 1997, she was in the 10 semifinalists in the pageant.
In 1999 she was a judge for the MTV India
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.
In addition to modeling and hosting duties, Joseph 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 .
on 29 July 2004. She was to marry businessman Gautam Khanduja in a few weeks' time. According to her parents, Joseph took the step because her marriage was called off. This was due to Joseph having discovered that Khanduja was still married, although having told her he had been divorced for two years. When confronted, Khanduja refused to answer questions about his marital life or produce divorce papers that he had previously claimed he had filed. Instead, press reports at the time mention that he then threatened her with blackmail, probably after she threatened to confront his wife.
Joseph's parents filed a police report accusing her fiancé of abetting her death, claiming that Khanduja had been desperate to get out of the wedding for some time, and sought his custodial interrogation. In November 2005, the trial against Khanduja was stayed by the Bombay High Court
until January 2006. The Supreme Court ordered that the case be put on a fast-track court, but as of March 2006, the case was yet to come up for hearing.
Khanduja claimed that there was no evidence to prove that breaking off the engagement had led to Joseph's suicide. He pointed out that Joseph's earlier engagements to Sameer Malhotra and Samir Soni
had also ended.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n model and MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
video jockey. She was the winner of Miss India
Miss India
Miss India or Femina Miss India is a national beauty pageant in India, one of the most recognized contests to produce international beauty queens in the 90s, which annually selects three winners to compete globally. It is organized by Femina, a women's magazine published by Bennett, Coleman & Co...
Universe 1997 and was a semi-finalist in the Miss Universe
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....
pageant.
Biography
Nafisa Joseph was brought up in the city of BangaloreBangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
. She was the younger of two daughters born to father Nirmal Joseph, a Keralite Syrian Christian and mother Usha Joseph, a Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
i, who was a descendant of Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
and first cousin of Sharmila Tagore
Sharmila Tagore
Sharmila Tagore is an Indian film actress. She has won National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards for her performances.She has led the Indian Film Censor Board from October 2004 till March 2011...
. Nafisa studied at Bishop Cotton School and St. Joseph's College, both at Bangalore. She was Catholic, but owed her Islamic first name to the fact that her paternal grandmother was a Muslim.
Career
Joseph 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 BidapaPrasad Bidapa
Prasad Bidapa , a well-known fashion designer has specialised in training models for the Miss India beauty pageants. Many of the past beauty queens are his students. He hails from Kodagu.-Brief:...
. Joseph was the youngest participant at the Miss India pageant in 1997, which she won.
Joseph participant in the Miss Universe Pageant in Miami, Florida on May 16, 1997, she was in the 10 semifinalists in the pageant.
In 1999 she was a judge for the MTV India
MTV India
MTV India is the Indian version of MTV , a channel specialising in music and youth culture programming. It was launched in 1996 and is now part of the Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd based in Mumbai. . "MTV India" is one of the oldest Music Television Networks in Asia...
VJ Hunt
MTV VJ Hunt
The MTV VJ Hunt is a search conducted by certain MTV channels in Asia for their respective channels' newest VJs.-Indonesia:-MTV Philippines winners:...
. 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
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
for Sony Entertainment Television
Sony Entertainment Television (India)
This article is about the SET channel in India. For the Indian version broadcasted worldwide, see Sony Entertainment Television Asia.Sony Entertainment Television, or SET, is a Hindi-language based general entertainment television channel in India. It was launched in October 1996 and is owned by...
. In 2004, She hosted a show Style on Star World
STAR World
STAR World is an Asian English language cable and satellite television network owned by Star TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation. The channel is the successor of STAR Plus, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
. She also launched a television programming unit 2's Company with the help of her fiancé, Gautam Khanduja. She edited a magazine called Gurlz.
In addition to modeling and hosting duties, Joseph was a lover of animals and campaigned for Welfare of Stray Dogs (WSD), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
(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 .
Death
Joseph hanged herself in her flat in MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
on 29 July 2004. She was to marry businessman Gautam Khanduja in a few weeks' time. According to her parents, Joseph took the step because her marriage was called off. This was due to Joseph having discovered that Khanduja was still married, although having told her he had been divorced for two years. When confronted, Khanduja refused to answer questions about his marital life or produce divorce papers that he had previously claimed he had filed. Instead, press reports at the time mention that he then threatened her with blackmail, probably after she threatened to confront his wife.
Joseph's parents filed a police report accusing her fiancé of abetting her death, claiming that Khanduja had been desperate to get out of the wedding for some time, and sought his custodial interrogation. In November 2005, the trial against Khanduja was stayed by the Bombay High Court
Bombay High Court
Bombay High Court at Mumbai, Maharashtra, is the High Court of India with jurisdiction over the states of Maharashtra & Goa, and, the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli...
until January 2006. The Supreme Court ordered that the case be put on a fast-track court, but as of March 2006, the case was yet to come up for hearing.
Khanduja claimed that there was no evidence to prove that breaking off the engagement had led to Joseph's suicide. He pointed out that Joseph's earlier engagements to Sameer Malhotra and Samir Soni
Samir Soni
Samir Soni is an Indian actor and a model who appears in Bollywood films.- Biography :Soni was born on 1970 to a Punjabi Hindu family in London, United Kingdom and attended school at St. Xavier's School, Delhi...
had also ended.
See also
- Suicide in IndiaSuicide in IndiaSuicide in India is slightly above world rate. Of the half million people reported to die of suicide worldwide every year, 20% are Indians, for 17.% of world population. In the last two decades, the suicide rate has increased from 7.9 to 10.3 per 100,000, with very high rates in some southern regions...
- List of models who died during their careers in the 21st century