Bollywood's ‘mystery girl' died poor and alone, entangled in legal battles and failing health

Indian Express

22-06-2025

Far beneath the glossy surface, beyond all the glitz and glam, lies a layer in Bollywood stained by the blood, sweat and tears of countless people who are now long forgotten. While the 'hard work' of those at the top is often spotlighted and hailed, the gruelling struggles of many others rarely reach the public eye, simply because they didn't succeed. They are unfairly judged as 'failures' and subsequently ignored. But history does not belong to the victors alone; it belongs to those who couldn't finish the race as well. And one such star, who once soared higher than any of her peers but eventually died a forgotten figure, was veteran actor Sadhana Shivdasani (known mononymously as Sadhana), whose life was nothing short of a tragic tale.
'Death proved to be a salvation for her,' late actor and talk show host Tabassum emotionally told SCREEN when Sadhana passed away at the age of 74 in 2015. Tabassum wasn't wrong. Not only had Sadhana's health significantly deteriorated by then, but she was also struggling financially, with no one to support her. Both the industry and her so-called 'fans' turned a blind eye to her, and Bollywood's 'Mystery Girl' took her last breath in desolation. Tabassum revealed that only a few from the industry, friends and relatives came to bid her farewell.
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Born on September 2, 1941, in Karachi to a Sindhi family, Sadhana's family moved to India after the Partition in 1947, when she was just six years old. 'We moved from Delhi to Benaras to Calcutta before settling down in Mumbai in 1950,' author-columnist Dinesh Raheja quoted her in a 2012 article for Rediff.com. 'Main apne mohalle ki dada hua karti thi (I was a bully in my neighbourhood). I was a tomboy. I made the best maanja, and I would fly kites while an aide of mine would hold the firki.'
After settling in Mumbai, she was enrolled at the Auxilium Convent School in Wadala. 'Even while in school, I had made up my mind that as soon as I finished my schooling, I would become an actress,' she once told Star and Style magazine. With that firm dream, she eventually joined the Filmalaya School of Acting, where she met director RK Nayyar — whom she later married — while he was preparing to direct Love in Simla (1960). It was Sashadhar Mukherjee, the owner of Filmalaya Studio, who spotted her in an advertisement and got her enrolled in the acting school.
Interestingly, Love in Simla, which Mukherjee himself produced, marked the debut of both his son Joy Mukherjee and Sadhana as leading stars. Although she had previously made an appearance in a song in Raj Kapoor's Shree 420 (1955) as a child artiste, and in the Sindhi film Abana, it was Love in Simla that gave her her first major break. The film was a massive success, and her Audrey Hepburn-inspired 'Sadhana fringe' became a trendsetter, establishing her as a fashion icon.
From Bimal Roy's Parakh (1960) and Amarjeet's Hum Dono (1961), where she starred opposite Dev Anand, to Krishnan–Panju's Man-Mauji (1962) with Kishore Kumar and Raj Khosla's Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962), which marked her reunion with Joy Mukherjee, everything she touched turned to gold. Of the 19 releases she had in the 1960s, a whopping 11 were reportedly hits. Thus, she quickly became a formidable force in Bollywood. In her early days, she was bound by a three-year contract with Filmalaya. 'I was paid Rs 750 a month for the first year, Rs 1,500 a month for the second year, and Rs 3,000 a month for the third year,' she recalled, highlighting her rapid ascent to stardom.
Even at the peak of her fame, she maintained warm relationships with her co-stars, particularly Rajendra Kumar, with whom she worked in HS Rawail's Mere Mehboob (1963). She once shared that he often called her 'Bhapa' (elder brother in Punjabi). Her mother even expressed a desire to see her married to 'someone like Rajendra Kumar.' But by then, Sadhana had fallen deeply in love with RK Nayyar. In fact, Rajendra Kumar shared a close bond with both of them.
She once named Rajendra Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Shammi Kapoor as her favourite heroes to work with. She also described Dev Anand, her Asli Naqli and Hum Dono co-star, as 'like a charged battery — a mini dynamo.' 'I really cannot talk much about my female co-stars because I cannot make friends very easily. And even when I made friends, I preferred the males to the females. Sitting and talking about household chores was not interesting to me then. I hardly knew anything about it. So at parties and premieres, I was always with the male crowd,' she told Star and Style magazine.
Amid all this, her love for RK Nayyar endured. They eventually tied the knot in 1966. 'I was friendly with Nayyar right from my first film, and though we lost touch with each other for a couple of years in between, it was always only Nayyar for me. I remember how my parents put their foot down and said no initially. After all, I was just 17 when I married him.'
But her happiness was short-lived. In the late 1960s, she began battling hyperthyroidism. Not only did it affect her health, but it also forced her to step away from acting to begin treatment, costing her several roles that would have helped her soar more. Although a sport, she was hurt when director HS Rawail replaced her in Sunghursh (1968) without informing her. 'After I signed Sunghursh, my thyroid problem cropped up. So I called Mr Rawail and told him to sign another heroine. He dismissed it with 'If I could wait so long for you for Mere Mehboob, I can wait for Sunghursh too.' However, five days later, I read a huge ad in the SCREEN newspaper declaring Vyjayanthimala as the heroine of the film. It hurt. I didn't talk to Mr HS Rawail thereafter.' Sunghursh featured legendary actor Dilip Kumar as the male lead.
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During this period, she also lost the chance to work in Raj Kapoor's Around the World (1967). Though she returned with hits like Intaqam (1969) and Ek Phool Do Mali (1969) after the treatment, offers gradually began to dry up in the 1970s. Before slowly stepping away from acting, she tried her hand at direction as well with Geetaa Mera Naam (1974), featuring herself, Sunil Dutt, Feroz Khan and Helen. Soon, Sadhana quietly exited the limelight. Her final film, Ulfat Ki Nayi Manzilein, was released much later in 1994.
Tragedy struck her again in 1995 when RK Nayyar passed away due to asthma, leaving her completely alone, as the couple had no children. Sadly, this wasn't by choice. 'I have very few regrets — losing my baby was one of them,' she told Raheja, revealing yet another painful chapter of her life.
Though she once preferred male company, in her final years she grew close to contemporaries like Waheeda Rehman, Nanda, Asha Parekh and Helen, who became her emotional support system. The group met for lunch every month, offering her some solace.
In her last years, however, she also became entangled in legal battles. There were three cases involving Sadhana. While one was filed against her by the landlord of her Santacruz building, Yusuf Lakdawala, another was filed by her against the same landlord, alleging harassment. The third was a defamation case that emerged from the dispute, filed by Lakdawala against her. By then, Sadhana was struggling both financially and physically, unable to keep up with her health expenses and legal costs. Though she pleaded for help, no one came to her aid. Sadhana breathed her last at a Mumbai hospital on December 25, 2015, after a brief illness.