Mumbai, Jan 20 : Actor Anup Soni wished his mother-in-law, theatre stalwart Nadira Babbar, on her 78th birthday.

He went on to heap praise on her as a legend of the stage, highlighting her passion, generosity, and unwavering support for the arts that have inspired generations.

Anup took to Instagram, where he shared a picture posing next to Nadira and wrote in the caption: â??Happy Birthday Ma,my mother-in-law,Nadira Babbar Ji. A theatre legend whose passion, generosity and lifelong support for the arts have inspired generations.â??

Talking about Nadira, she started her theatre group Ekjute in 1981 in Delhi, which came out with its first production Yahudi Ki Ladki in 1981, which revived the Parsi theatre style.

Over the last 30 years, Ekjute has given Indian theatre over sixty plays, including Sandhya Chhaya, Look Back in Anger, Ballabpur Ki Roop Katha, Baat Laat Ki Halaat Ki, Bharam Ke Bhoot, Shabash Anarkali, and Begum Jaan.

Nadira played mother to actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's character in Gurinder Chadha's Bride and Prejudice in 2004, and M. F. Hussain's Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities.

She also portrayed the mother of Salman Khan's character in Sohail Khan's Jai Ho and the mother of Raj Bansal in Sunny Deol's 2016 movie Ghayal Once Again.

Anup is married to actress Juhi Babbar. He began his career with roles in television serials such as Sea Hawks and Saaya.

He then took a break from television to work in cinema and appeared in the 2003 films Kharaashein: Scars From Riots, Hum Pyar Tumhi Se Kar Baithe and Hathyar.

In 2004, he appeared in Ashoke Pandit's film Sheen. But he returned to television to work in CID: Special Bureau. Anup continues working both in films and television, and he previously worked in the serial Crime Patrol.

He was recently seen in the series Saare Jahan Se Accha, which follows a resilient Indian spy who must defeat his counterpart across the border in Pakistan, in a battle of wits and tradecraft to sabotage its nuclear program.

Anup was also seen in a cameo appearance in the film The Great Shamsuddin Family directed by Anusha Rizvi. It stars an ensemble cast including Kritika Kamra, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Sheeba Chaddha, Farida Jalal and Purab Kohli.

/IANS