Sadhana Shivdasani (1941-2015)

Through 1960s and 70s, she captivated viewers of Hindi cinema with her beauty and powerful performances in hits like “Hum Dono”, “Love in Shimla” and “Waqt” and became hairstyle statement for young girls and women. 

On Friday, yesteryears actress Sadhana died at a hospital in Mumbai at the age of 74 after a brief illness.

“She was admitted to the hospital day a couple of day ago due to high fever. She was okay...She had her tea in the morning. Suddenly I got a call from her secretary that she collapsed and passed away.” Sadhana's close associate and advocate Ameet Mehra said.

Sadhna Shivdasani, who popularised the fashionable 'Sadhana cut', was one of the most charming leading ladies of Hindi cinema 1960s and 70s. Her prime career spanned over a decade-and-a- half and she was paired opposite all big heroes of her time including Joy Mukherjee, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, Manoj Kumar and Dev Anand with whom she shared screen space in “Hum Dono” and “Asli Naqli”.

Her memorable roles also include those in “Arzoo”, “Mere Mehboob”, " and “Woh Kaun Thi”.  

Born in a Sindhi family, Sadhana was named after her father's favourite actress-dancer Sadhana Bose. Her father was the brother of actor Hari Shivdasani, father of actress Babita. Sadhana aspired to be an actress since childhood and it was her father who helped her to chase her dream.

Filmmaker RK Nayyar, whom Sadhana married later, directed the romantic movie “Love in Shimla” starring Sadhana and Joy Mukherjee in 1960. The film also introduced the actress's iconic hairstyle.

Her remarkable double role in suspense thriller “Woh Kaun Thi”, opposite Manoj Kumar, earned her first Filmfare nomination as Best Actress. Sadhana got her second Filmfare nomination as the Best Actress for Yash Chopra's blockbuster “Waqt” (1965), where she stood out in Bollywood's first ever ensemble cast, bringing along the fashion of tight 'churidar-kurtas'.

Not only her films but the songs from her movies too are remembered, most notably “Jhumka Gira Re”, “Abhi Na Jaao Chhodkar”, “Lag Ja Galey”.

Sadhana retired from acting nearly four decades back as she did not want to be cast as a side-kick or do character roles and chose to lead a reclusive life.

She was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the IIFA in 2002 for her contribution towards the film industry.