Sadhana Shivdasani (born 2 September 1941[1]), better known mononymously as Sadhana, is an Indian
actress who was one of the top stars in the 1960s and the early 1970s.
Beside becoming the fashion icon for young Indian girls with her
specific hair style, still known as "Sadhana cut", she became famous as
Mystery Girl with her three suspense thriller films namely Woh Kaun Thi? (1964), Mera Saaya (1966) and Anita (1967), all directed by Raj Khosla.
Sadhana was nominated for prestigious Filmfare Award for Best Actress for film Woh Kaun Thi? and Waqt in 1965 and 1966. She retired from films in the mid-1970s after also directing and co-producing a few films.
Early Life
Born in a Sindhi family[2] in Karachi, British India, Shivdasani was named after her father's favorite actress-dancer Sadhana Bose. Her father was the brother of actor Hari Shivdasani. Sadhana is a cousin of the actress Babita, who is the daughter of actor Hari Shivdasani and mother of actresses Karisma Kapoor & Kareena Kapoor.
The family fled from Karachi during the post-Partition riots and settled in Bombay.
Her mother home-schooled her until she was 8 years old and she later on
did her schooling from Auxilium Convent, Wadala and further education
from Jai Hind College.[3]
Career
Beginning
Sadhana
aspired to be an actress from childhood. Her father helped her enter
films. In 1955 she played a chorus girl in the song "Mur mur ke na dekh
mur mur ke" in Raj Kapoor's Shree 420.[4][5]
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 (1958), where she played the role of actress Sheila Ramani's younger sister.[4] She was paid a token amount of 1 rupee.[citation needed] A photograph of her publicizing the film appeared in a movie magazine Screen. It was then that Sashadhar Mukherjee,
one of cinema's major producers at that time, noticed her. She joined
Mukherjee's acting school along with her debutant co-star Joy Mukherjee, who is Sashadhar’s son. R. K. Nayyar, who had previously worked as assistant director on few films, directed this film. He also created her trademark look called Sadhana cut inspired from Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn.[4][6] The Filmalaya Production banner thus introduced Joy, Sadhana and her iconic hairstyle Sadhana cut in their 1960's 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.[7]
Shivdasani played the role of a simple, bespectacled girl who is
transformed by her grandmother into a beautiful young woman and
encouraged to pursue the hero. In the film, Shivdasani 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 Mukherjee in Ek Musafir Ek Haseena.[8]
Breakthrough
Alongside Love in Simla, Shivdasani was signed by acclaimed director Bimal Roy for his satirical film on Indian democracy, Parakh. She portrayed a simple village girl's role in this multi-award-winning film. In 1961's other hit[9] film Hum Dono she played the love interest of Dev Anand. This black-and-white film was colourized and re-released in 2011. Rediff.com
in the film's review writes about Shivadasani; "Her eyes, expressive
and captivating, do most of the work, while she balances out her
submissiveness with a firm tongue."[10] The Rafi – Asha duet "Abhi Na Jaao Chodkar" remains evergreen. In 1962, she was again paired with Dev Anand in Asli-Naqli by director Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The same year saw director-screenwriter Raj Khosla casting her opposite Joy Mukheerjee in his musical film Ek Musafir Ek Hasina. In future, Khosla would pair with Shivdasani to make their famous suspense thriller trilogy.
In 1963, Shivdasani played her first role in a technicolour film Mere Mehboob directed by H.S.Rawail. The film was the "Blockbuster" film of 1963[11] and ranked in the top 5 films of the 1960s.[12] The scene where Rajendra Kumar encounters Shivdasani for the first time and sees her eyes through her burqa stands as one of the most remarkable scenes of Hindi film industry. Notable actor Danny Denzongpa describes the visage of Sadhana in a burqa with just her eyes visible as "unforgettable."[4]
Shivdasani 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. Through this role she got to be part of Lata Mangeshkar – Madan Mohan’s all time classics like "Naina Barse" and "Lag Ja Gale". Rediff.com in their review of the film called her a show-stopper "with an intriguing Mona Lisa-like smile".[13] The film was a box office "Hit".[14] 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, a box office "Super Hit"[15] courtroom drama film again saw her playing a double role, now opposite Sunil Dutt. The song "Jhumka Gira Re" sung by Asha Bhosle and composed by Madan Mohan saw Shivdasani perform dance steps choreographed by Saroj Khan.
Khan was then an assistant to dance director Sohanlal. The song became
so popular that excited audience in cinema halls used to throw coins at
the screen.[16]
The film also had other classic songs "Naino Mein Badara Chhaye" and
the haunting theme song "Tu Jaha Jaha Chalega, Mera Saaya Sath Hoga",
both voiced by Lata Mangeshkar.
The second Filmfare nomination as Best Actress came to Shivdasani for the role of Meena in Yash Chopra directorial saga Waqt (1965). Shivdasani stood out in Bollywood’s first ever ensemble cast by bringing along the fashion of tight chudidar-kurtas.[4][17] The film proved to be 1965’s "Blockbuster".[18]
Later work
Sadhana (first from right) with Helen, Waheeda Rehman and Nanda in 2010
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.
In Intaquam she played the role of a woman who allures the son
of her own boss who cheated her to be put behind the bars for a crime
which she did not commit, for revenge.[19]
After that, she retired from acting as she did not want to be cast as a side-actress or do character roles.[4] Later, she and her husband formed a production company. She also directed a movie starring Dimple Kapadia in 1989.[20]
Personal life
Sadhana married her Love in Simla director Ram Krishna Nayyar on 7 March 1966.[16]
Their love blossomed on the film set. But as she was very young then,
her parents opposed it. She was married to him for nearly thirty years,
till his death in 1995 from asthma. She has no children. She suffered
from a disorder of her eyes due to hyperthyroidism and got treatment for the same in Boston. She returned to films and made a success of Intaqam, Ek Phool Do Mali, Aap Aaye Bahaar Ayee, etc.[3][5][6]
But after her retirement, she chooses to remain far from the film
industry and has never made a comeback. She also refuses to be
photographed simply because she wants to be remembered the way she was.[6] Living in Santacruz, Mumbai, she is a tenant in an apartment building owned by singer Asha Bhosle.[21]
Fashion icon
Shivdasani in a chudidar-kurta from film Arzoo, the Bollywood style of 1960s and 70s for which she is credited.
Sadhana Shivdasani introduced the fringe hairstlye in Indian film industry in her first film Love in Simla.
Nayyar, her husband and director of the film, suggested the fringe
style in order to make her forehead look narrow. Shivdasani says, "They
tried to stick a strip near the hair-line, but it didn’t work out."[3] Nayyar then suggested she go for the fringe style as was then practiced by the Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn.[4][6][20] The fringe soon became popular and a fashion fad in 1960s.[1][22] The style was copied by girls in India and is still known by the same name.[23] This look suited the role of naughty, pretty, glamourous Sonia that she played. But when Shivdasani went on the shoot for Bimal Roy's Parakh,
Roy was disappointed to see her modern look. She had to stick her
fringe back in order to match the simple village girl she played here.[3] In 1963, when signed to play a role of simple Muslim girl from Aligarh in Mere Mehboob,
Shivdasani undid her famous "Sadhana Cut" to fit the bill. She went in
plain plait look with centre-parting her hair; which was immediately
discarded by the director H.S. Rawail. He said that the audience wanted
to see her signature "Sadhana cut" and demanded it.[2] Recently, the Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone sported the same fringe in her films Om Shanti Om (2007) and Chandni Chowk To China (2009).[24]
Shivdasani is also credited for bringing in fashion tight chudidar-kurta.[2][22] She went with this concept of gracefully changing the traditional loose salwar kameez to her director Yash Chopra for 1965's film Waqt. Chopra felt insecure and thought that it would not be accepted. But Shivdasani with the help of her fashion designer Bhanu Athaiya showed him a sample, which he agreed to.[3] The trend lasted well in the 1970s and can be seen to be adopted by many actresses.[25] Lately, in a song sequence of "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte" for the film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), actress Bipasha Basu dressed herself in a white chudidar-kurta and also frolicked with the famous fringe as a tribute to Sadhana.[26]
Awards
Despite the fact that many of Shivdasani's films fared very well at
the box office, she did not receive any of the leading awards of the
film industry. She was nominated for the Filmfare Award in Best Actress category for her roles in Woh Kaun Thi? and Waqt. For her contribution towards the film industry, she was awarded with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) in 2002.[27][28]
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Shree 420[4] | Chorus girl | Cameo role in the song "Mur mur ke na dekh mur mur ke" |
| 1958 | Abana[4] | First Sindhi film | |
| 1960 | Love in Simla[4] | Sonia | |
| 1960 | Parakh[4] | Seema | |
| 1961 | Hum Dono[4] | Mita | |
| 1962 | Prem Patra[4] | Kavita Kapoor | |
| 1962 | Man-Mauji | Rani | |
| 1962 | Ek Musafir Ek Hasina[4] | Asha | |
| 1962 | Asli-Naqli | Renu | |
| 1963 | Mere Mehboob[4] | Husna Banu Changezi | |
| 1964 | Woh Kaun Thi?[4] | Sandhya / Seema | Nominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 1964 | Rajkumar[4] | Princess Sangeeta | |
| 1964 | Picnic | ||
| 1964 | Dulha Dulhan | Rekha / Chanda | |
| 1965 | Waqt[4] | Meena Mittal | Nominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 1965 | Arzoo[4] | Usha | |
| 1966 | Mera Saaya[4] | Geeta / Nisha (Raina) | |
| 1966 | Gaban | Jalpa | |
| 1966 | Budtameez | Shanta | |
| 1967 | Anita[4] | Anita | |
| 1968 | Stree | Oriya film | |
| 1969 | Sachaai | Shobha Dayal | |
| 1969 | Intaquam[4] | Reeta Mehra | |
| 1969 | Ek Phool Do Mali[4] | Somna | |
| 1970 | Ishq Par Zor Nahin | Sushma Rai | |
| 1971 | Aap Aye Bahaar Ayee | Neena Bakshi | |
| 1972 | Dil Daulat Duniya | Roopa | |
| 1973 | Hum Sab Chor Hain | ||
| 1974 | Geeta Mera Naam[4] | Kavita / Neeta / Geeta | |
| 1974 | Chhote Sarkar | ||
| 1974 | Vandana | ||
| 1975 | Amaanat | Suchitra | |
| 1978 | Mehfil | Shalini / Ratnabai | |
| 1987 | Nafrat | ||
| 1988 | Aakhri Nishchay | ||
| 1994 | Ulfat Ki Nayee Manzeelein | Late release |
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