Nisha Kalema

Born in the Kampala suburb of Kawempe in 1993, Nisha Kalema was the only child of her mother and father who both had children with other partners. From the age of two Nisha Kalema grew up with her step-mother and step-siblings. She did not know her mother, not even her name, until she was a teenager. Nisha Kalema's father was a Christian, but in acknowledgment to Nisha's biological mother's Muslim faith, Nisha attended both the local mosque on Friday as well as church on Sunday and studied at Kawempe Muslim School and Oxford Muslim High School (Kawempe). When she was old enough to choose for herself Nisha Kalema opted for her mother's Muslim faith. Nisha's ambition was to be a footballer - the female Messi. This was not to be, as by aged 15 Nisha Kalema was a mother. Nisha recalls that "After giving birth, it seemed like a new page had opened in my life, and I had to just get on with it. With a more mature mind, I decided to go back to school in a bid to show my dad, that after all that had happened, I could still be useful in one way or another." Nisha's father died in 2012 and on the day of her father's funeral one of her step-brothers was killed in a car accident. Despite the double tragedy and the economic turmoil that followed her father's death, Nisha completed her education and in 2013 graduated from the Buganda Royal Institute of Business and Technical Education with a certificate in journalism and creative writing. Unable to find work, friends persuaded Nisha Kalema to try acting and the rest is, as they say, history. In 2015 Nisha Kalema won the BEST ACTRESS award at the Uganda Film Festival for her role as Grace, the film THE TAILOR (2015). Again in 2016 Nisha Kalema won the BEST ACTRESS award at the Uganda Film Festival for her role as the orphan Amelia in the movie FREEDOM (2016), for which she also wrote the screenplay. FREEDOM (2016) went on to win six awards at the Uganda Film Festival including BEST PICTURE and FILM OF THE YEAR. Nisha Kalema's latest movie VERONICA'S WISH (2018) has gained twelve (12) nominations at the 2018 Uganda Film Festival, including a third BEST ACTRESS nomination for Nisha Kalema for her role as Veronica.