Sadhana Shivdasani

Sadhana Shivdasani (2 September 1941 – 25 December 2015), known mononymously as Sadhana, was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films.

Regarded as one of the finest actresses of Indian cinema, Sadhana was noted for her exquisite beauty and trend-setting fashion statements.

Born as Anjali Shivdasani in a Sindhi Hindu family in Karachi, British India on 2 September 1941, she was the only child of her parents Shivram Shivdasani and Lali Devi.

However, as her father used to be a big fan of Bengali actress-dancer Sadhana Bose, he renamed his daughter as Sadhana at the age of 5.

Her father was the elder brother of actor Hari Shivdasani, father of actress Babita.

The family migrated from Karachi during the partition of India and settled in Bombay (now Mumbai).

Her mother home-schooled her until she was 8 years old, after which she studied at Auxilium Convent School, Wadala.

After her schooling, she went ahead to pursue her education in Arts Degree at Jai Hind College.

During her college days she used to act in several plays, but when the family was finding it difficult to make both ends meet, Sadhana started working as a typist in Colaba, in order to support her family.

She attended the morning college and used to work in the second half of the day.

However, she wasn't able to complete her degree and later joined films.

She aspired to have a career in films right from childhood and actress Nutan was said to have been her inspiration.

After making an uncredited appearance in Shree 420 (1955), Sadhana became the protègè of the director Sashadhar Mukherjee, who cast her in Love In Simla (1960), where her distinctive hairstyle became a rage and came to be known as "Sadhana Cut".

In 1955, she played a chorus girl in the song "Mur mur ke na dekh mur mur ke" in Raj Kapoor's Shree 420.

When she was 15 years old, she was approached by some producers who had seen her act in a college play.

They cast her in India's first Sindhi film titled Abaana (1958), where she played the role of Sheila Ramani's younger sister.

She was paid Re 1 for this movie.

A photograph of her taken during the promotional shoot for the film Abaana (1958) appeared in the movie magazine Screen.

It was then that Sashadhar Mukherjee, one of Hindi cinema's leading producers at that time, noticed her.

She joined Mukherjee's acting school along with her debutant co-star Joy Mukherjee, Sashadhar's son.

Ram Krishna Nayyar (R.K. Nayyar), who had previously worked as assistant director on a few films, directed this film.

He also created her trademark look, called the Sadhana cut, inspired by British actress Audrey Hepburn.

She was popularly known as "The Mystery Girl" for her stint as the "Mystery Girl" in the suspense thriller trilogy films directed by Raj Khosla during the mid 1960s.

Born in Karachi, Sadhana and her family migrated to Bombay during the partition of India when she was 7 years old.

Following this success, Sadhana went on to establish herself as a leading actress with films like - Parakh (1960), Hum Dono (1961), Asli-Naqli (1962), Ek Musafir Ek Haseena (1962), Mere Mehboob (1963), Woh Kaun Thi? (1964) and Arzoo (1965), Waqt (1965), Mera Saaya (1966) and Anita (1967).

Sadhana's health deteriorated in the latter half of 1960s due to hyperthyroidism, which forced her to take a brief break from work.

The Filmalaya Production banner thus introduced Joy, Sadhana and her iconic hairstyle in their 1960 romantic film Love in Simla.

The film was declared a hit at the box office and was listed in the top 10 films of 1960.

During this period she would again work under the same banner opposite Joy in Ek Musafir Ek Haseena.

Besides 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 multi-award-winning film.

The film was a semi hit at box office and is known for the song "O Sajna Barkha Bahar Aai" sung by Lata Mangeshkar.

She was also a big fan of actor Dev Anand, with whom she had worked in Hum Dono (1961) and Asli-Naqli (1962).

Sadhana aspired to be an actress since childhood.

Sadhana was married to her Love in Simla director R.K. Nayyar on 7 March 1966.

She went to Boston for her treatment and returned to acting in 1969, starring in two consecutive box-office hits — Ek Phool Do Mali and Intaqam.

In 1974, the actress made her directorial debut with the crime thriller Geetaa Mera Naam, and later withdrew from acting.

Her final screen appearance was in the delayed release Ulfat Ki Nayi Manzilein (1994).

In 2002, she received the IIFA Lifetime Achievement Award.

She was admitted to Hinduja Hospital on 24 December 2015, following which she died on 25 December 2015.