Yesteryear actor and style icon Sadhana passes away at the age of 74

Veteran Bollywood actress Sadhana passed away in Mumbai on Friday after a long battle with cancer, a family friend said. She was 74 and is survived by her foster daughter. “Sadhana (Shivdasani) breathed her last at her home this morning,” the friend and BJP city spokesperson Shaina NC confirmed. A top rung star in the 1960s and 1970s, Sadhana was born in Karachi. Her family moved to India and settled in Mumbai when she was barely seven years old following the partition. [caption id=“attachment_2559678” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sadhana passed away at the Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai. Screengrab from YouTube[/caption] She entered films as a child actress in 1955 with a minor appearance in Raj Kapoor’s film Shree 420. Born in a Sindhi family, Sadhana had her lineage. She was a cousin of yesteryear’s not-so-popular actress Babita. Sadhana made a non-ceremonial debut with Abana directed by Dharam Kumar in 1958, but she soon had Bus Conductor (1959), The Land Where the Ganges Flows (1960) and The Test (1960) under her credit. She was discovered by Sashadhar Mukherjee, one of the noted producers of that time who gave her a break in his production opposite newbie Joy Mukherjee in Love in Simla (1960). She soon worked opposite Dev Anand in Hum Dono (1962). Then she had starred in Prem Patra (1962) opposite Shashi Kapoor, in Man-Mauji (1962) opposite Kishore Kumar, in Rajkumar(1964) opposite Shammi Kapoor. Soon she was one of the most successful actresses. Bollywood actors have also always been a primary source changing the trend of fashion and Sadhana had a fair share of contribution in boosting this trend. A hairstyle inspired by Hollywood actor Audrey Hepburn was named after her. It was introduced in the industry as ‘Sadhana Cut’. It has its own back story. She was married to her Love in Simla director R K Nayar. It was Nayar who discovered a style icon and asked her to go for a makeover and give a fringe cut same as Hepburn. His vision turned out to be right. Named ‘Sadhana cut’, it became her signature hair style. Some of her best-known movies include Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962),  Asli Nakli (1962), Mere Mehboob (1963), Waqt (1965), Who Kaun Thi? (1964) and Mera Sayaa  (1966). Her last film was Ulfat Ki Nayee Manzilen (1994). Here are some reactions from the industry

RIP Sadhana ji. One of the finest actresses to grace the Indian screen. Will be missed. #Sadhana pic.twitter.com/qva5FWqfYS

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 25, 2015

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With inputs from IANS