Nimrat Kaur: The Actress Who Overcame Tragedy to Honor Her Father’s Legacy
Born on March 13, 1982, into a Sikh family in Pilani, Rajasthan, Nimrat Kaur’s life was deeply affected by her father’s tragic fate. Her father, Major Bhupinder Singh, was an Indian Army officer, whose job required the family to move frequently. Nimrat’s early years were spent changing cities and schools, living a transient lifestyle typical of an army family.
The Kaur family was residing in Patiala when their lives were irreversibly altered. In 1994, when Nimrat was just 11 years old, her father was kidnapped and killed by terrorists. This devastating event forced Nimrat, her mother Avinash Kaur, and her younger sister Rubina Kaur to relocate to Noida. Despite the trauma, Nimrat pursued her education with determination, attending Delhi Public School, Noida, and later Shri Ram College of Commerce at Delhi University.
After completing her education, Nimrat moved to Mumbai to chase her dream of becoming an actress. She started her career as a model and simultaneously honed her acting skills in theater. In 2004, she appeared in two popular music videos: Kumar Sanu’s “Tera Mera Pyar” and Shreya Ghoshal’s “Yeh Kya Hua.”
Nimrat’s first foray into film came with a minor role in Shoojit Sircar’s war drama “Yahaan” in 2005. She made her film debut the following year in the English film “One Night with the King.” Her significant break came in 2012 with Vasan Bala’s “Peddlers,” produced by Anurag Kashyap, though the film was never released.
In 2013, Nimrat gained widespread recognition for her outstanding performance in “The Lunchbox,” directed by Ritesh Batra and co-starring Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The film is celebrated as one of the finest Indian films of the 21st century. However, it was her role opposite Akshay Kumar in the 2016 film “Airlift” that catapulted her to fame. Since then, Nimrat has been selective about her projects. She appeared in the 2022 film “Dasvi” alongside Abhishek Bachchan and in the 2023 movie “Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video.”
Nimrat has also made a mark in international television, featuring in shows like “Homeland,” “Wayward Pines,” and “Foundation,” as well as in Indian web series such as “The Test Case” and “School of Lies.”
In a 2015 interview with the Times of India, Nimrat opened up about her father’s tragic death and how she found closure 19 years later. She recounted, “My father was a young Army major, an engineer posted with the Border Roads in a place called Verinag. During our winter vacation in January 1994, we were visiting him in Kashmir when Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorists kidnapped him from his workplace. They made unreasonable demands for the release of some terrorists, which he refused. After seven days, he was killed. He was just 44.”
Nimrat vividly remembers the aftermath, “We received the news and flew back to Delhi with his body. That was the first time I saw him after his death. We moved to Noida and lived with my grandparents for a few months before my mother bought a place with my father’s pension and our savings. We never returned to Patiala, except once to collect our belongings. The government awarded my father a piece of land in Rajasthan and posthumously honored him with the Shaurya Chakra.”
The award coincided with Nimrat’s birthday, “Coincidentally, he was awarded the Shaurya Chakra on my birthday, March 13. His name now includes the initials SC, for Shaurya Chakra. When ‘The Lunchbox’ premiered at Cannes, I felt a shift in my life and decided to revisit Kashmir for closure. In June 2013, I spent 10 days in Kashmir, visiting Verinag where there’s a memorial dedicated to my father. This visit was deeply personal and cathartic.”
To honor her father, Nimrat got a tattoo on her wrist reading “Zenab,” meaning a father’s precious jewel that brings glory to his name. This tribute serves as a constant reminder of her father’s legacy and the resilience she has shown in overcoming personal tragedy to achieve professional success. Nimrat Kaur’s journey from a grief-stricken child to a celebrated actress is a testament to her strength and perseverance.