Cancer survivor Nafisa Ali marks 50 years since winning Miss India crown

Former beauty queen, veteran actress and cancer survivor Nafisa Ali has celebrated 50 years of being crowned Miss India 1976, and reminisced about how she represented the country at the Miss International 1976 pageant in Tokyo, where she was named as the second runner-up.

Nafisa, who in April 2026 shared a picture of her surgical scar in her abdomen and also shared details about her chemotherapy later on, shared a string of sepia-hued images from her time in the beauty pageant as she walked down the memory lane.

For the caption, the 69-year-old actress, who was diagnosed with stage 3 peritoneal and ovarian cancer in 2018, wrote: "50 years ago I was crowned ‘ Miss India ‘ 1976 & went on to be 2nd. Runner up in ‘Miss International 1976 held in Tokyo.”

Nafisa first stepped in front of the camera in 1979 with the Shyam Benegal film Junoon, starring Shashi Kapoor.

Over the years, she has been seen in films such as Major Saab starring Amitabh Bachchan, Bewafaa, Life In A… Metro, Guzaarish and Yamla Pagla Deewana. She also appeared in the Malayalam film Big B with Mammootty.

Nafisa contested in the Lok Sabha elections in 2004 from South Kolkata but was unsuccessful.

She was last seen in the 2022 film "Uunchai” directed by Sooraj Barjatya. The film also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Parineeti Chopra, Neena Gupta, Sarika, Danny Denzongpa and Nafisa Ali.

Just last month, the actress had shared a few glimpses from her trek at an altitude of 11,000 feet and went on to describe her experience as one that made her feel "brand new" after surgery and multiple chemotherapy sessions.

She posted a string of videos and pictures of her trekking at 11,000 feet near Rohtang Pass.

She shared: "Trekking at 11,000 feet for a super picnic with friends and family. See me being helped by my son in law and grandson helping me down the track . It made me feel brand new after surgery and my many chemos.”

The actress then shared a string of images with her family and friends as she reached 11,000 feet and called it a "super fun day.”

"A super fun day at 11,000 feet - Rohtang Pass side - with friends and family,” she wrote.

Indo-Asian News Service