BOLLYWOOD ACTRESS SADHANA ,
THE LEGEND BORN 1941 SEPTEMBER 2
Sadhana was born on September 2, 1941 and was named after her father's favorite actress Sadhona Bose. Her father and actor Hari Shivdasani were brothers, and Hari's daughter is actress Babita Kapoor.
Sadhana was an only child and her parents made her the center of their lives; in fact, her mother home-schooled her until she was 8 years old. The family fled from Karachi in Pakistan during Post Partition riots. Although they encountered difficult times, their daughter was allowed to see as many as two films a week.
When she was 15 years old, she was discovered by some producers who had seen her act in a college play. They cast her in India's first Sindhi film titled Abana (1960), where she played the heroine's younger sister for which she was paid a token of Rps. 1 and the film became a major hit.
A photograph of her publicizing the film appeared in a movie magazine. Subodh Mukherji, one of India's leading producers at that time, saw the magazine and gave her the lead role in her first Hindi film Love in Simla (1959), opposite his newcomer son, Joy Mukherjee.
The film was directed by another newcomer, R.K. Nayyar, who created her trademark look called 'the Sadhana fringe.' It was modeled after Audrey Hepburn's hairstyle to cover up Sadhana's flaw, her broad forehead. The film became a great success and Sadhana became a overnight star. She also fell in love with the film's director, but she was only 16 years old, and her parents threatened the 22-year-old Nayyar with legal action if he didn't end the relationship. He became scared and backed away.
Sadhana continued making films and became the one of the biggest stars of the 1960s with hits like Mere Mehboob, Hum Dono, and Asli-Naqli. In addition to the 'Sadhana fringe,' she started the trend of the churidar pyjama and kameez with saleem shai in the film Waqt (1965). Her acting in that film was appreciated too, as she was nominated for a Film Fare Award as Best Actress.
Sadhana had stated that she subconsciously modeled her acting style after her idol, Nutan. Most of her films were major hits, and many of them still remembered as all time classics. Her films such as Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, Raaj Kumar, Budtameez and Arzoo were known for their romantic plots and beautiful music, but Raj Khosla, her director in Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, saw an enigmatic, mysterious side to Sadhana and cast her in Woh Kaun Thi (1964).
The film became a huge hit with its themes of the Alfred Hitchcock film Vertigo (1958) and gave Sadhana her signature role of the "mystery girl," where her performance kept everyone guessing till the very end. She was nominated for a Film Fare Award as Best Actress, and Khosla later directed her in two more box-office hit suspense thrillers, Mera Saaya (1965)and Anita (1968).
Sadhana also worked well with her leading men, Shammi Kapoor, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, and Raj Kapoor. In fact, it was Raj Kapoor who reintroduced her to her first film director, R.K. Nayyar. They fell in love again and wanted to get married. Her mother was against it, since Nayyar wasn't a Sindhi and wanted someone who looked like actor Rajendra Kumar, but Sadhana was adamant and with her father backing her up, her mother eventually came around.
Sadhana and Nayyar married in 1966 and it seemed like she retired from films. At first, she was content to be a housewife and took cooking lessons and became well-known in the film industry for her culinary skills.
Her husband's financial problems propelled her return to films after a two-year absence and delivered the hit film Inteqam (1969)
She and Nayyar went through a difficult time when she suffered a miscarriage. Later they had no children.
She directed and starred in her last film playing dual roles in
She wanted to end her acting career in Hindi films just as she started, in a starring role as a young heroine.
She didn't want to play supporting character roles as a old mother or a bhabhi (sister-in-law), so she retired as an actress and formed a production company with her husband. Their marriage lasted until his death in the 1990s. She closed down the production company and retired, quietly living the life of a widow. The real-life "mystery girl" rarely gave interviews and didn't like to be photographed saying that she wants her fans to remember her as a young, beautiful, heroine.
She faced turbulent times in her later years. Sadhana lived as an tenant in an apartment building for many years, when the builder wanted to evict her in 2012. Suddenly, she was thrust into the public eye when she went to the police station to file a complaint against the builder. Several court cases came out of this incident, and the stress took a toll on her fragile health. She also was estranged from her niece Babita Kapoor because of a family problem.
She did keep in touch with her friends Waheeda Rehman, Asha Parekh, Helen, and Nanda. She once said that she and Nanda were alike, since they don't step out at public events. However, when Nanda died in 2014, she lost her comrade, and thus she suddenly changed her stance on public events. Just a few weeks later, she invited her relative, actor Ranbir Kapoor, to escort her on the ramp of a fashion show for charity.
She wore a beautiful pink sari and took center-stage on the arm of the handsome young Kapoor. She looked cheerful and glamorous being in the limelight with the audience applauding her. That turned out to be her last public event, and the star that she was, she wanted that to be her lasting impression on her fans. It also left a lasting impression on her, since she kept a framed picture of her and Ranbir from that fashion show on her nightstand. A year-and-a-half later, on December 25, 2015, she died from a high fever. Her friends, fans, and the film industry veterans all attended her funeral.
Personal Quotes (11)
On director Raj Khosla who directed her in the maximum number of films: "He had become a sort of family friend, and he knew my strengths and weaknesses as an actress. I felt comfortable working with him. We vibed well together."
[When asked whether she keeps in touch with her niece Babita Kapoor in 2013] No, there's a family problem there and if and when we cross each other's path, we don't even acknowledge each other.
[on her marriage to director R.K. Nayyar]My marriage was a hurricane, there were good and bad moments, but we didn't part ways. If he felt that I was too dominating and I felt that he brought too many friends home, we decided to give each other space.
There were three of us, Saira Banu, Asha Parekh and me. If the producers wanted someone pretty and decorative they took Saira. If they wanted a dancer they'd take Asha, if they wanted histrionics they'd sign me. So there was no rivalry. Asha and I kept in touch. We'd wish each other on our birthdays. But today Waheeda Rehman, Asha, Nanda, Helen and I meet regularly over lunches. When five ladies meet we always have something to talk about. Nanda and I are two of a kind, we don't step out at public events at all.
The problem was they were all married - Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Sunil Dutt, Manoj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar. We worked from 9.30 am to 6 pm. By the time I returned home, removed the spray from my hair and washed off the make-up, I was too tired. There was no time for a social life. It was strictly work and home. My heroes also knew I was a no nonsense girl. They were scared to make a pass at me. I enjoyed working with all my heroes though Sunil Dutt, Shammi Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar were my favorites.
[on whether she missed not having children in 2012] Yes, I do fear that if something happens to me, no one would be around. But even those who have children can't depend on them. I know so many mothers who're distressed about their children and daughters-in-law, that I think God has been kind to me. I've adopted (though not officially) a baby when she was five minutes old.
She and her parents live with me. Her name is Rhea and she's 10 now. She's added a zing to my life. I don't expect anything from her yet she gives me so much love. She calls me Nani. I've planned for her education and marriage.
Nayyarsaab (her husband) told me, 'You have three voices. One is your natural every day voice, another voice that you use to scream at me, and the third is the voice you have cultivated for screen'.
After the India-Pakistan Partition in 1947, my family came to India. I was only six years old. We moved from Delhi to Benaras to Calcutta before settling down in Mumbai in 1950. Now, I can't imagine living without the Mumbai sea. In Mumbai, people give you space and yet rally around in your hour of need. Besides, it's the only place where, even in the '60s I could announce that I wanted a whiskey with coke without raising eyebrows.
[on cultivating her image as the 'Mystery Girl'] I have always believed that an artiste should maintain a certain mystique. He or she shouldn't become too familiar, the public shouldn't see them too often. The charisma grows in that way, and that's what's called star-power.
After I signed Sunghursh (1968), my thyroid problem cropped up. So I called Mr. Rawail and told him to sign another heroine. Mr. Rawail dismissed it with, "If I could wait so long for you for Mere Mehboob (1963), I can wait for Sunghursh too."
However, five days later, I read a huge ad in Screen newspaper declaring Vyjayanthimala as the heroine of the film. It hurt. I didn't talk to Mr. Rawail thereafter.
Rajendra Kumar , Devanad and Rajesh Khanna were my favorite co-stars. Rajendra Kumar and my pair always gave hits - Mere Mehboob, Arzoo, Aap Aaye Bahar Aayee. Raj Khosla remains my favourite director. . Ek Phool Do Mali, Anita, Mera Saaya, Woh Kaun Thi...each of them blockbusters. Dev was always special - Asli Naqli and Hum Dono were blockbusters. In 1970s at peak of his career superstar Rajesh Khanna accepted comedy picture Dil Daulat Duniya which was a sleeper hit. That was very gracious of him. Lucky to have 28 blockbusters of 33 films as heroine. I thank God for giving me a good spouse R.K Nayyar.
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