Sadhana, Indian star turned recluse, passes away at 74
Sadhana, Indian star turned recluse, passes away at 74
Sadhana Shivdasani, known by her first name/screen name, succumbed to cancer on Christmas day in Mumbai.
Born in Karachi in 1941, British India, Sadhana was named after her father's favorite, actress-dancer Sadhana Bose. Her father was the brother of actor Hari Shivdasani, father of actress Babita. The family fled from Karachi during the post-Partition riots and settled in Mumbai.
Sadhana aspired to be an actress from childhood. Her father helped her enter films. In 1955, she played a chorus girl in Raj Kapoor's Shree 420. When she was 16 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 (1958), where she played the role of Sheila Ramani's younger sister.
A photograph of her in the advertisement of the film appeared in the movie magazine, Screen. It was noticed by Sashadhar (S.) Mukerji. She joined Mukherjee's Filmalaya acting school, along with her debutant co-star Joy Mukerji, who was Sashadhar’s son. R. K. Nayyar, who had previously worked as an assistant director on a few films, directed the film that launched Joy and Sadhana, Love in Simla. He also created her trademark look, called the Sadhana cut, inspired from Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn. On his suggestion, she went to a Chinese hair-dresser and got a fringe done, which hid her large fore-head. The film was successful at the box office. Sadhana played the role of a simple girl who is transformed by her grandmother into a beautiful young woman and encouraged to pursue the hero. In the film, Sadhana wins a beauty contest and is awarded a three-year film contract with Filmalaya, which was the case in real life too. During this period, she would again work under the same banner opposite Joy Mukerji in Ek Musafir Ek Haseena.
Alongside Love in Simla, Sadhana was signed by acclaimed director Bimal Roy for his satirical film on Indian democracy, Parakh. She portrayed a simple village girl in this acclaimed film. In 1961's other hit film Hum Dono, she played the love interest of Dev Anand. This black-and-white film was colourised and re-released in 2011. In 1962, she was again paired with Dev Anand in Asli-Naqli by director Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The same year saw director Raj Khosla casting her opposite Joy Mukerji in his musical film Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, made for Filmalaya.
In 1963, Sadhana played her first role in a technicolour film, Mere Mehboob, directed by H.S.Rawail. Sadhana in 1964 played her remarkable double role in the first of the suspense-thriller trilogy, Woh Kaun Thi? This white-sari-clad performance opposite Manoj Kumar earned her first Filmfare nomination as Best Actress. Raj Khosla cast her in two more mystery films, Mera Saaya (1966) and Anita (1967), thus making her famous as the "Mystery girl". Mera Saaya saw her playing a double role, now opposite Sunil Dutt.
The second Filmfare nomination as Best Actress came to Sadhana for the role of Meena in Yash Chopra directorial saga Waqt (1965). Sadhana had a health problem with her thyroid, which she got treated at a hospital in Boston, in the US. After returning from the US, she starred in the successful movies Intaquam (1969), Ek Phool Do Mali (1969), and Geeta Mera Naam (1974), which she also directed.
She married her Love in Simla director R.K. Nayyar on 7 March 1966. Their love had already blossomed on the film set. But as she was very young then, and her career was taking off, her parents opposed it. “My parents were against my marriage. But my father said ‘Jab miya biwi raazi to kya karega kazi?’ My mother finally gave in.” She was married to him for nearly thirty years, till his death in 1995, from asthma. The couple had no children.
Shah Rukh Khan has voted the ‘Abhi na jaao chhod kar’ number, filmed on her and Dev Anand in Hum Dono, as his most romantic song! In her later years, she refused to be photographed simply because she wants to be remembered the way she was.
In 2014, a seventy-two-year-old Sadhana made a rare public appearance walking the ramp in a pink sari at a fashion show to support the cause for cancer and AIDS patients. She was escorted by her relative (her cousin Babita is married to Randhir Kapoor), actor Ranbir Kapoor.
In her words: “When I was shooting the song ‘O sajna barkha bahar aayee’ (Parakh), Bimalda said I reminded him of Nutanji. I admired her very much. She was a natural and had such sadness on her face.”
“Burqas came handy for me,” she smiles. “Once I went to Chor Bazar in a burqa with some friends. Suddenly, there was a buzz and we heard the shopkeeper saying, ‘Yeh Sadhana hai... (Someone had recognised her by the small toe which overlaps the longer one on her feet)’,” she narrates, pointing to the natural peculiarity which she was born with. “We quickly huddled in the car and fled.”
Filmography (About 35 films)
1955 Shree 420 Chorus girl in the song "Mud mud ke na dekh mud mud ke"
1958 Abana First Sindhi film, based on the theme of partition
(Two other films are mentioned as having Sadhana in bit roles: Bus Conductor and Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai. Both could not be verified)
1960 Love in Simla, first Hindi film, Sonia , directed by R.K. Nayyar
1960 Parakh
1961 Hum Dono
1962 Prem Patra
1962 Man-Mauji
1962 Ek Musafir Ek Hasina
1962 Asli-Naqli
1963 Mere Mehboob
1964 Woh Kaun Thi? Sandhya / Seema (Double Role) Nominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actress
1964 Rajkumar
1964 Picnic
1964 Dulha Dulhan
1965 Waqt Meena Mittal Nominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actress
1965 Arzoo Usha
1966 Mera Saaya (Double Role)
1966 Gaban
1966 Budtameez
1967 Anita
1969 Sachaai
1969 Intaquam
1969 Ek Phool Do Mali
1970 Ishq Par Zor Nahin
1971 Aap Aye Bahaar Ayee
1972 Dil Daulat Duniya
1973 Hum Sab Chor Hain
1972 Geeta Mera Naam (Double Role) also directed (unofficially directed by R.K. Nayyar)
1974 Chhote Sarkar (Opposite Shammi Kapoor, who had double role)
1974 Vandana
1975 Amaanat
1978 Mehfil (Double Role) Late Release
1994 Ulfat Ki Nayee Manzilein Late release
Her Top 20 Songs
1. Jahan mein aisa kaun hai (Hum Dono)
2. Lag jaa gale (Woh Kaun Thi)
3. Naina barsen (Who Kaun Thi)
4. Mera saaya saath hoga (Mera Saaya)
5. Nainon mein badra chhaye (Mera Saaya)
6. Nainonwali ne (Mera Saaya), with some words by Sadhana
7. Jhumka gira re (Mera Saaya)
8. Mere mehboob tujhe (Mere Mehboob)
9. Aajaa, ayee bahaar (Rajkumar)
10. Main pyar ka raahee hoon (Ek Musafir Ek Haseena)
11. Ajee roothkar ab (Arzoo)
12. Ay Baby (Love in Simla)
13. O sajna barkha bahaar aayee (Parakh)
14. Zaroorat zaroorat hai (Man Mauji)
15. Tera mera pyar amar (Asli Naqli)
16. Kaise rahoon chup (Intequam)
17. Yeh dil diwana hai (Ishq Par Zor Nahin)
18. Koyal kyun gaye (Aap Aaye Bahaar Ayee)
19. Suniye zaraa dekhiye na (Geeta Mera Naam)
20. Chehre pe khushee chha jaatee hai (Waqt)
21. Kaun aayaa ke nigahon men (Waqt)
Pictures from Pointer, a film fortnightly that was edited by my Guru, Mr. Ameen Sayani, and after he moved on, by my brother, late Riaz.
Mr. Sayani has some rare recordings of Sadhana, which he will include in a future sponsored programme. Watch out for it!
