‘She was a fighter’
Waheeda Rehman
speaks about the loss of her dear friend: “She spoke to me two days ago. I had just seen Bajirao Mastani and she wanted to know all the details. And now she’s gone.
She’s the second dear friend I’ve lost after Nanda. And the strangest thing is, Nanda passed away on March 25. Sadhana too died on the 25th. That is scary. I guess one goes when one has to...
Sadhana was a very dear friend. Like Nanda, Sadhana was a recluse.We could speak our minds and hearts to each other without fear. She was a fighter and spent most of her life struggling against odds. She had a terrific career when she fell ill with a thyroid problem. She was married, but had no children. She didn’t get much happiness in life.
We only did one film together... We shared a friendship far removed from the profession. I will miss her.”
‘I wish I got to work with Sadhanaji’ Sanjay Leela Bhansali talks about the iconic actress, and the impact she had on him:
“Sadhanaji going away like this triggered off my childhood memories. The chawl where I lived would show Sadhanaji’s film Asli Naqli but only to the point where she came on to sing Lataji’s Tera Mera Pyar Amar. As soon as she sang this melody, the film would end. I carry the image of her singing the number. According to me Sadhanaji was the epitome of beauty. She was so feminine and delicate. I love all her, films from Parakh and Woh Kaun Thi to Mere Mehboob. In the 1970s, there was Sadhanaji in Geeta Mera Naam. Her dancing to the number Suniye Zara Dekhiye Na was to me, the ultimate joy. Sadhanaji lit up every frame that she occupied.
Sadly, there wasn’t enough of her on screen. She did too few films and then just left the movies. In Hum Dono, Dev Aand saab sang “Abhi na jaao chhod kar ke dil abhi bhara nahin” to Sadhanaji. That’s exactly how I feel about her departure. Why did she have to leave so soon I wish she had seen my Bajirao Mastani. She would have known that my treatment of Mastani’s beauty is an echo of what H.S. Rawail saab did with her in Mere Mehboob. What beauty! What grace! There will never been another Sadhana.”
