Born on July 16, 1989, Tina Ahuja is the daughter of actor Govinda and wife Sunita Ahuja. Tina's birth name is Narmada Ahuja and has a younger brother Yashvardhan Ahuja. Actors Krushna Abhishek, Ragini Khanna and Arti Singh are Tina's cousins. She did a course in fashion designing post her schooling. Tina Ahuja has also studied acting from the London Film Institute. (All photos/Tina Ahuja's official Instagram account)
She changed her name from Narmada to Tina, before entering the film industry. However, numerology wasn't the reason behind adopting a new moniker.
"I haven't changed my name. Tina is my nickname, which was given to me by my friends. Before joining the industry, I thought I will use this name as it is a cool name," she said.
Tina Ahuja made her Bollywood debut in 2015 with 'Second Hand Husband' in which she scared screen with Gippy Grewal and Dharmendra.
While Tina Ahuja may come across as another star kid of Bollywood, you would be surprised to know that she neither has friends in Bollywood nor was she brought up in an environment of 'filmy' parties.
'Sometimes, star kids are exposed to the film industry, whereas my upbringing was very normal. For me, it was a very different thing but there are some people who start off early As they get launched because their parents have been friends with or associated with filmmaker... So, it happened quickly for them. But it was a process for me to get into films,' she said.
In 2007, Tina had accompanied Salman during the IIFA Awards, which had triggered speculations that she would enter Bollywood. There were also reports that Salman would launch her in 'Dabangg', a 2010 blockbuster.
'It was said that my dad asked him (Salman) to launch me. But it is not true. That was just a rumour. I was never going to be launched by him. It was all created by media,' said Tina.
Salman is known for promoting newcomers in Bollywood, including Katrina Kaif, Arjun Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty. Since Salman launched actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha's daughter Sonakshi in 'Dabangg', things had reportedly turned sour between him and Govinda.
When asked about Salman, Tina Ahuja said, 'I have met him (Salman) just two-three times. I was too shy to talk to him...I don't know what to talk to him. He is my father's friend, not mine.'
Tina said she is not scared of the competition and is following her father's advice. 'I am not scared of the competition at all. My father told me, 'You do your work and don't get caught up in the competition'. I will follow just that,' she said.
Tina also received a lot of other advice from her father. 'He advised that 'don't get involved so much into your work, that you stop taking care of yourself or forget yourself. You have to keep time for exercise, gyming, your food and diet, eat while working'. A lot of people get so engrossed in work that they stop eating and that is where the fainting stories come.'
'He told me to be like an empty glass, see what your director wants out of you. Don't start flaunting your own ideas just because you have seen a lot of film shoots because things were different earlier and now they are different. You have to move with times. He told me to give my best and leave the rest. And not to bother about the other things,' said Tina.
Tina Ahuja says that there are numerous ways in which her father inspires her. 'Dad inspires me every day and in every way. It is difficult for me to express how he inspires me. Right from his passion towards his work and his sincerity towards his work, to the way he keeps himself balanced in all kinds of situations in life there are a lot of things about him that inspires me. He is just too sorted in his head and too chilled out. He is so secure as a person and that's what I really like about him,' she said.
The best advice, according to Tina, her father gave her was - 'Just have fun and be honest towards whatever you do. Whether it is a big thing or small, always give your 100 per cent,' she recalled.
After Second Hand Husband, Tina Ahuja hasn't signed any Bollywood film yet. However, the star kid turned costume designer for her father's film FryDay (2018).
In 2019, Tina Ahuja featured in the song video Ranjha. Sung by rapper Lil Golu and Rigul Kalra, Ranjha was a romantic track that saw Tina essaying the fabled Heer.
Talking about the song, Tina said: 'I always wanted to be a Heer and this song is special as my previous single with 'Milo Na Tum' with Gajendra Verma was a remake of the original Lata Mangeshkar song from 'Heer Ranjha'. It's a quirk of fate to get an opportunity of being Heer immediately in my very next single. Maybe Heer Ranjha film is waiting for me next.'
Before Heer, Tina featured in singer Gajendra Verma's single, 'Milo Na Tum', which released in September 2019. Verma shot to fame singing 'Tera Ghata' earlier and Tina's dance moves in the latter's song was praised by all. While Govinda is known for his dancing skills, fans were pleasantly surprised to see Tina's moves too.
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