The ultimate enigma

Sadhana Shivdasani — or Sadhana, as she was famously known in Hindi cinema — passed away quietly on Friday at the Hinduja hospital in Mumbai. She lived and died a recluse. Fortunately, a nephew was with her in her final hours.

I remember the one time that I managed to interview her, Sadhanaji was reluctant to talk and after a few questions, quickly excused herself, saying she had to rush to the bank.

Sadhana was the ultimate enigma. No wonder director Raj Khosla repeatedly cast her as the mystery woman in Woh Kaun Thi, Mera Saaya and Anita. In the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, Sadhana excelled in roles that required a naturalistic approach. This, at a time when Indian mainstream cinema required exaggerated drama.

Says Sanjay Leela Bhansali, “Sadhanji preferred mellow drama to melodrama. Her performance in films like Bimal Roy’s Parakh, Dev Anand’s Hum Dono and Raj Khosla’s Woh Kaun Thi was the pinnacle of underplayed acting. I wish I could have worked with her.”

Sadhana began her career in 1960 with the quirky romance, Love In Simla. It was directed by R.K. Nayyar who invented the actress’ famous ‘Sadhana fringe’ hairstyle . The “fringe benefits” continued for many years, as love blossomed between Sadhana and her director.

In the late 1960s, health issues impeded her career considerably. But she bounced back post-illness with a bevy of blockbusters like Aap Aaye Bahaar Ayee, Ek Phool Do Mali, Inteqam and Geeta Mera Naam, which her husband produced and she directed.

After Geeta Mera Naam, Sadhana retired from films — never to look back. Her marriage with R.K. Nayyar lasted 34 years, until his death. As one close friend put it, “Sadhana’s entire universe revolved around her husband. After his death, she became a recluse, stepping out of her home only for an occasional lunch with her friends Waheeda Rehman and Helen.”

In recent times, Sadhana grappled with multiple court cases pertaining to the property on which she lived. Last year she underwent surgery for a lesion in her mouth and had not been in the best of health since then.

Says Asha Parekh, who was a close friend of the actress, “Sadhana had called Waheedaji a few days ago. She had heard a lot about Bajirao Mastani and wanted to see it. Her death is sudden and shocking. She suffered a lot because of the legal issues which forced her into the public eye again. She hated that.”