EARLY LIFE :
Tina Munim as Ambani was born on 11 February 1957, in Bombay, Bombay State, India.
She graduated high school in 1975 from the MM Pupils Own School in Khar, Bombay. The same year, she was crowned Femina Teen Princess India 1975 and represented India at the Miss Teenage Intercontinental contest in Aruba, where she was crowned second runner-up.
CAREER :
Tina Munim made her debut in Hindi films with filmmaker Dev Anand’s Des Pardes. Her other films with Dev Anand include Lootmaar and Man Pasand. She was cast opposite Amol Palekar in Basu Chatterjee’s Baaton Baaton Mein. Her notable films with Rishi Kapoor include Karz and Yeh Vaada Raha. She starred with actor Rajesh Khanna in many films, including Fifty Fifty, Souten, Bewafai, Suraag, Insaaf Main Karoonga, Rajput, Aakhir Kyon?, Paapi Pet Ka Sawaal Hai, Alag Alag, Bhagwaan Dada and Adhikar. Her last film was Jigarwala, released in 1991. In an interview with Simi Garewal, Munim said: “Sometimes I feel [that I left films too soon] too, but then I felt that there was a lot more to the world that I wanted to explore and experience, and not just stick to movies. I decided to quit. I never regretted it. I never wanted to go back, ever”.
To offer young artists a platform to exhibit alongside seasoned veterans and acknowledged masters, she organised the first Harmony Art show in 1995. In 2008, Harmony Art Foundation showcased upcoming Indian artists at Christie’s in London, drawing attention to the wealth of talent in India. She has served on the Board of Trustees of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, the oldest continually operating museum in the US since 2008.
In addition, she has served on the advisory board of the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai and the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. She was also nominated to the reconstituted General Assembly of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
She has been actively associated with several welfare activities, such as Aseema, an NGO engaged in the rehabilitation of street children, and the restoration of Elephanta Island, a World Heritage Site near Mumbai, with the Archaeological Survey of India and UNESCO.
In 2004, Ambani established Harmony for Silvers Foundation, a Mumbai-based non-government organisation that seeks to enhance the quality of life of the elderly.
Its activities have included Harmony – Celebrate Age, the magazine, now in its 14th year; the portal www.harmonyindia.org; Harmony Interactive Centre for Silver Citizens, in South Mumbai; the Harmony Research Division; the Harmony Silver Awards; and the Harmony Senior Citizens’ Runs at the Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru marathons.
To bridge the gaps in Indian healthcare, Ambani launched the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital & Medical Research Institute (KDAH) in Mumbai in 2009, a quaternary care facility.
It is the only hospital in Mumbai to receive accreditation from the JCI (Joint Commission International, USA), NABH (National Accreditation Board for Healthcare, India), CAP (College of American Pathologists, USA) and NABL (National Accreditation Board for Laboratories, India).
Other standouts include:
- The first comprehensive centre for liver transplant and the first integrated centre for children’s cardiac care in western India.
- It’s a robotic surgery programme.
- The centres for rehabilitation and sports medicine.
- It’s initiative to open 18 cancer care centres in rural Maharashtra.
PERSONAL LIFE :
On 2 February 1991, she married Anil Ambani, the younger son of Indian business tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani who founded Reliance Industries. They have two sons, Jai Anmol (born in December 1991) and Jai Anshul (born in September 1995). The eldest, Jai Anmol, married Khrisha Shah on 20 February 2022. Munim’s brother-in-law is Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, the chairman, managing director, and largest shareholder of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). Nita Ambani, the founder of Reliance Foundation and wife of Mukesh, is her sister-in-law.
