By Vikas Datta By numbers, her contribution in the Hindi film industry is thin — with only 33 films in about an entire decade and an hour.However, the numbers do not reveal that, with the exception of five, all of them were box office successes and some of them set new standards and made her one of the most well-known and successful actors of all time and a fashion icon too.
Although she hit gold in her first film as a female lead and then went to be an “in the market” actress for every genre from romantic comedy to tear-jerkers Sadhana is most well-known for her signature hairstylethe infamous “Sadhana cut” of fringes or short bangs (itself inspired by the charming and elfin Audrey Hepburn) — and for her pioneering form-fitting kurtas as well as Churidar pajamas.
However, in her relatively limited appearances, Sadhana, who was born on this day in 1941, displayed her acting skills.
She could play roles of wealthy heiress to a village princess with the same aplomb and flair she was able to compete with all the top male actors of her time, from Dev Anand to Sunil Dutt to Rajesh Khanna.She also she topped it all off by acting as the role of the “mystery woman” in a trilogy of suspenseful thrillers that were taut and tense.
Her acting career was marked by many other landmarks -she was the only actress to have a starring role in the film – she could be the only actress to have starred with all three Kapoor brothers.She has been being ranked among the top three highest paid actresses for more than a decade, and demonstrated she could be a standout female leading lady even after marrying and also overcome health issues.
Born in Karachi in 1941, Sadhana Shivdasani seemed fated to enter the film business.In addition, she named for her father’s favorite dancer and heroine Sadhana Bose (a contemporary of Uday Shankar), she was the niece of Hari Shivdasani — an actor who was a prominent character in Hindi films in the 1930s until the mid-1980s.
The daughter of Hari Babita was an actress too as was the mother of Karisma and Kareena Kapoor, which makes Sadhana their maternal aunt.
After the family moved to Bombay following Partition, Sadhana could indulge in her favorite pastimewatching two or three movies per week.She was particularly influenced by Nutan.
Sadhana was able to break into the limelight as a non-credited chorus dancer in “Mudh mudh ke na dekh” in Raj Kapoor’s “Shree 420” and then was offered an opportunity to play a minor part in an Sindhi film, playing the sister of the heroine.
A publicity photo of her performance in the Raj Kapoor film caught the attention of producer Sasadhar Mukherjee who planned to introduce his son Joy Mukherjee.He was impressed with Sadhana enough to give her the role of the heroine’s part in “Love in Simla” (1960) -and it was her first film success.
Sadhana On the other hand, demonstrated her acting skills with her film debutshe starred in Bimal Roy’s political satire set in a village “Parakh” (1960), in which she was seen in a glamorous appearance.
It was her part in the role of one of the main heroines in Dev Anand’s “Hum Dono” (1961) However it was her role that attracted the attention of movie-goers and, from there, she went from growth to growth.
With her diverse hairstyles and sartorial choices, her delicate and sculpted appearance and her incredibly expressive and soulful eyesfor instance, in “Mere Mehboob” it’s the look of the eyes of Sadhana, who was veiled, that captivated the hero -the – Sadhana was later to appear in several of the most popular movies of the 1960s with the help of a variety of the most renowned male heroes.
She was seen with Shashi Kapoor in “Prem Patra” (1962), with Kishore Kumar in “Man Mauji” (1962), with Dev Anand again in “Asli Naqli” (1962), with Rajendra Kumar in “Mere Mehboob” (1963), with Shammi Kapoor in “Rajkumar” (1964), with Raj Kapoor in “Dulha Dulhan” (1964), Sunil Dutt (and a little with Raj Kumar) in “Waqt” (1965), with Balraj Sahni in “Ek Phool Do Mali” (1969), with Dharmendra in “Ishq Par Zor Nahin” (1970) as well as Rajesh Khanna in “Dil Daulat Duniya” (1971).
Her best work will be the trilogy of supernatural-themed thrillers of Raj Khosla — “Woh Kaun Thi?” (1964) with Manoj Kumar; “Mera Saaya” (1966) with Sunil Dutt; and “Anita” (1967) with Manoj Kumar again — where it’s not an spoiler to claim that she played two roles.
As the 1970s continued, Sadhana had come to realize that her time as the leading heroine was drawing to an end.Unwilling to change roles to supporting or character roles, she chose to make her graceful exit with her debut film as a director “Geeta Mera Naam” (1974) in which she played herself (in the double role) alongside Sunil Dutt and Feroz Khan as her final performance.
She was married to “Love in Simla” director R.K.Nayyar since 1966, Sadhana occasionally dabbled in film production with him in the 1980s, but remained completely afar from the industry.She was more of an elitist following the death of her husband in 1995, with her only contact with the film industry through a few of her contemporary film stars, such as Waheeda Rehman, Nanda, Asha Parekh, and Helen.
She was only seen once — walking down the ramp in an event in 2014 to raise awareness about cancer and AIDS awareness.
She was with the help of Ranbir Kapoor who is a cousin through marriage.She died at the time of Christmas Day the following year.
Although her film, which don’t even reach three dozen, aren’t outdated and can be viewed at any time, the songs featuring her will be enduring.
The exquisite “Barkha bahar Aayi” (“Parakh) and the romantically subdued “Abhi na jaao chhodkar” (“Hum Dono”), the soothing “Tujhe jeevan ki dor” as well as “Tera mera pyar” (“Asli Naqli”) as well as the warm and ethereal “Mere Mehboob tujhe” , which is the most perfect instance of an Urdu “sarapa” — or the description of the beloved and beloved “Janeman ek nazar dekhle” (“Mere Mehboob”) as well as the haunting “Naina barse” and the hauntingly sombre “Lag jaa gale” (“Woh Kaun Thi”), “Hum jab simat ke”Aapki” (“Waqt”) and the crowd-pleasing “Jhumka gira re”, “Mera saaya saath ho” and “Nainon mein badra chhaye” (“Mera Saaya”), “Tumne pukara aur hum chale”aaye” and “Is rang badalti duniya my” (“Rajkumar “)”, the playful “Budtameez kaho ya kaho janwar” and “Mujhe mohabbat teri”sahara” (“Aap Aaye Bahaar Aayi”) will ensure that her memory is fresh.
(Vikas Datta may be reached via [email protected])
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