Neena

Shahida Begum (12 July 1919 – April 1990), better known by the screen name Neena, was an actress born in British India who worked in Hindi-language films in the 1940s and later in Pakistani cinema.

She made her film debut in W. Z. Ahmed's thriller Ek Raat (1942),

Neena with her then-husband, Mohsin Abdullah (mid), and her future second husband, W. Z. Ahmed (right), in Karachi, Neena was born Shahida Begum on 12 July 1919 in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, where she also completed her graduation. She was a close friend of actress Begum Khurshid Mirza. Neena married Mirza's brother, Mohsin Abdullah.

Neena divorced Abdullah in 1946 and subsequently married filmmaker W. Z. Ahmed. The film was released in 1942, with The Times of India reviewing it under the headline: "Neena's Sensational Debut In 'Ek-Raat ' Deftly Directed By Ahmed".

Neena subsequently starred opposite P. Jairaj in the musical Prem Sangeet (1943). She was then cast opposite newcomer Shyam in Ahmed's Man Ki Jeet (1944). Although the film was commercially successful, her performance as the village milkmaid Arsi received a mixed assessment from critic Baburao Patel. Patel found her too refined for the part, writing that she looked "a bit too thin for a milkmaid" and that her "fine, cultured and sophisticated features" were difficult to associate with a village milkmaid. In 1945, she was voted the "best-dressed Beauty of the Indian film-world" by the Indian Film Journalists Association (IFJA).

Neena reunited with Kapoor in Ahmed's historical film Prithviraj Sanyukta (1946), in which she portrayed the Rajput queen Sanyukta. Film critic R. A. Shaikh praised her performance, writing that "as Sanyukta [she] has become the very embodiment of the Princely charms of the Glory that was Ind[ia]."

Following the Partition of India in 1947, Neena and Ahmed moved to the newly-created Pakistan and settled in Lahore. She appeared in the film Akeli (also known as Akaely, 1951), directed by Madan Mohan Mehra, before retiring from cinema.

Filmography Ek Raat (1942) Prem Sangeet (1943) Man Ki Jeet (1944) Prithviraj Sanyukta (1946) Meera Bai (1947) Akeli (1951) — Pakistani release