Veteran actor Achala Sachdev passes away

Mumbai: Yesteryear actress Achala Sachdev, who featured in the popular song ‘Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen’ from the film “Waqt”, has died following a prolonged illness. She was 88. For the last seven months, the actress was bed-ridden at the Poona Hospital and Research Centre (PHRC), Pune. “She passed away due to respiratory failure at 5.30pm yesterday. She was bed-ridden for about six months after she suffered a cerebrovascular (brain attack),” said Sachdev’s physician Vinod Shah, who tended to her for more than seven months, told PTI. [caption id=“attachment_293656” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Sachdev was living alone in Pune. Screen grab from CNN IBN”]  [/caption] Sachdev is survived by son Jytoin, who is in the US and will be coming to Pune for the last rites, Shah said. Sachdev, who was staying in Pune for several years, had broken her leg after she fell down in her house about six months ago. She was treated but four days later she suffered a brain infarction in which she lost her vision and movements of upper and lower limbs. Since then, she was being treated at the Poona Hospital and Research Centre, Shah said. Born in Peshawar, Sachdev, who acted in around 150 films, made her film debut with “Fashionable Wife” (1938). Her most memorable role was as Balraj Sahani’s wife in the 1965 blockbuster “Waqt”, where she was part of the legendary song “Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen”. She was also a part of films like “Prem Pujari”, “Mera Naam Joker”, “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” and “Andaz”. More recently, she played Kajol’s grandmother in “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” and Amitabh Bachchan’s mother in “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham”. She was last seen in Hrithik Roshan starrer “Na Tum Jaano Na Hum” (2002). The funeral will be held tomorrow at Pune. PTI