Sana Khan

Sana Khan (born 21 August) is an Indian businesswoman and former actress. She primarily worked in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu language films before retiring from the industry in 2020.

Early and personal life
Sana Khan, born on 21 August, hails from Bombay, (Dharavi). Her father is a Malayali Muslim originally from Kannur, Kerala, while her mother, Saeeda, is from Mumbai.

In February 2019, Khan publicly acknowledged her relationship with choreographer Melvin Louis. However, the relationship came to an end in February 2020.

On 8 October 2020, Khan took to Instagram to announce her decision to step away from the entertainment industry saying that she was quitting the entertainment industry and would "serve humanity and follow the order of her Creator."

On 21 November 2020, Khan married a muslim cleric Mufti Anas Sayed in Surat. The couple had their first child, a boy named Saiyad Tariq Jamil, on 5 July 2023.

Early work and acting debut (2005–2009)
Khan made her acting debut in the 2005 low-budget adult Hindi film Yehi Hai High Society. In 2006, Khan made her Tamil film debut with E in a special item number, 'Theepori Parakkum'. She subsequently started appearing in television commercials and other ads.

Khan has acted in over 50 ad films, including a cosmetic commercial directed by Shirish Kunder in July 2007. She has also done ads for the deodorant brand Secret Temptation, Yatra.com, and the Xbox 360 video game console.

In March 2007, Khan's TV commercial for the men's underwear brand Amul Macho showed her provocatively scrubbing and washing some underwear, simulating an orgasm. It created great controversy and was banned by the Indian government on the grounds of sexual profanity. Khan remarked, "Forget about the ban and people taking out morchas (protests) against me and burning my posters in Bombay. At the end of it people from the creative field have loved it." The company rehired Khan, shot a sequel to the commercial with a different theme, and released it in February 2008.

In July 2007, Khan appeared in the film, Journey Bombay to Goa directed by Raj Pendurkar in a special item number, "Lawani" sung by Sonu Kakkar. In November 2007, Khan appeared in the film Goal in the hit item number "Billo Rani", which became a biggest claim to fame. In 2020, Khan recalled her experience with working in the film talking about Saroj Khan, the choreographer of the song.

In January 2008, Khan appeared in the film Halla Bol as Sania. Khan's debut Tamil film Silambattam, produced by Lakshmi Movie Makers, was released in December 2008. Silambarasan, the film's lead actor, who had previously signed and then dropped her for a role in his film Kettavan, called her again for the female lead role in Silambattam after seeing her ad with Shah Rukh Khan. She said in an interview with The Hindu, "Silambarasan came to Mumbai looking for a fresh face for his film Silambattam. There he saw me and selected me. I knew I had to work hard to make it big in the Tamil film industry". Khan regards the film as her first break. She received praise for her portrayal of Janu, a talkative, tomboyish brahmin village girl, and won the 2009 ITFA Best New Actress Award in Singapore.

In 2009, Khan acted in the film Tom, Dick, and Harry: Rock Again... as a cameo appearance which gave her more recognition.

Further success and Bigg Boss (2010–2013)
In March 2010, her next Tamil film, Thambikku Indha Ooru, was released. Later that year, Khan ventured into the Telugu film industry, appearing in Nandamuri Kalyan Ram's Kalyanram Kathi, released in November 2010. Khan's next release was the February 2011 bilingual thriller Gaganam / Payanam – shot in Telugu and Tamil, respectively – which was based on an aircraft hijack theme.

In May 2011, Khan stepped into Kannada films with Golden Movies' Kool...Sakkath Hot Maga. In September 2011, her next Tamil film, Aayiram Vilakku, was released, in which she played a Madurai girl. In the March 2012 Telugu film Mr. Nookayya, Khan played a waitress in a pub, adding glamour to the film. Khan made her Malayalam film debut with Climax, loosely based on the Hindi film The Dirty Picture, playing the South Indian actress Silk Smitha. Khan was also signed to her sixth Tamil film, Thalaivan, produced by Blue Ocean Pictures.

In October 2012, Khan was a celebrity contestant in the sixth season of the Indian version of the reality TV show Big Brother, Bigg Boss. Before entering the show, she said, "I am going to flaunt my age and the fact that I am the youngest. I am going into the house without any preparation. I want to be spontaneous and show the world the real me." She gained a lot of popularity from the show and managed to stay in the show till the end, though she finished in third place. She told PTI, "I am happy to have reached top three. I did not expect this." In 2013, Khan appeared in the film, Grand Masti playing the role of Anika.

Established actress and further success (2014–2019)
Khan played the daughter of main antagonist Danny Denzongpa in the Bollywood film Jai Ho, released on 24 January 2014. In July 2014, Khan participated in the celebrity dance reality series, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 7 as a contestant. He entered as a wild card entrant and got eliminated later.

In January 2015, Khan participated in Bigg Boss Halla Bol, spin off of Bigg Boss 8 as one of the challengers. The spin-off series officially launched on 4 January, She got evicted in the second week. In February 2015, she participated in the celebrity stunt reality show, Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 6 as a contestant. The shoot of the series started in November 2014 and wrapped up a month later. Khan got eliminated in March 2015. In May 2015, Khan starred in a Punjabi music video song "BLack Till" sung by Girik Aman and produced by Dr Zeus.

In 2016, she acted in the film Wajah Tum Ho opposite Sharman Joshi and Gurmeet Choudhary. The film was a flop at Box Office India. Her bold scenes with Gurmeet and Rajneesh Duggal in the film were much discussed after the trailer was released on YouTube. Khan did a special appearance in Toilet: Ek Prem Katha in which she was seen portraying Akshay Kumar's girlfriend. She also appeared in Tom, Dick and Harry 2 with Aftab Shivdasani and Sharman Joshi.

Business ventures
Khan is the founder of two business ventures, "Face Spa by Sana Khan" and "Haya By Sana Khan". Also owns the "Hayat Welfare Foundation" with her husband, Anas Sayed.