Date of Birth
1941 
Birth Name
Sadhana ShivdasaniNickname
Mystery GirlMini Biography
Sadhana was born in 1941 and named after her father's favorite actress Sadhona Bose. Her father and actor Hari Shivdasani were brothers, and Hari's daughter is actress Babita Kapoor. Sadhana was an only child and her parents made her the center of their lives; in fact, her mother home-schooled her until she was 8 years old. The family fled from Karachi in Pakistan during Post Partition riots. Although they encountered difficult times, their daughter was allowed to see as many as two films a week. When she was 15 years old, she was discovered by some producers who had seen her act in a college play. They cast her in India's first Sindhi film titled Abana (1960), where she
played the heroine's younger sister for which she was paid a token of Rps. 1 and the film became a major hit. A photograph of her publicizing the film appeared in a movie magazine. Subodh Mukherji, one of India's leading producers at that time, saw the magazine and gave her the lead role in her first Hindi film Love in Simla (1959), opposite his newcomer son, Joy Mukherjee. The film was directed by another newcomer, R.K. Nayyar, who created her trademark look called 'the Sadhana fringe.' It was modeled after Audrey Hepburn's hairstyle to cover up Sadhana's flaw, her broad forehead. The film became a great success and Sadhana became a overnight star. She also fell in love with the film's director, but she was only 16 years old, and her parents threatened the 22-year-old Nayyar with legal action if he didn't end the relationship. He became scared and backed away.
Sadhana continued making films and became the one of the biggest stars of the 1960s with hits like Parakh, Man-Mauji, Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai, Mere Mehboob, Hum Dono, Asli-Naqli, Ek Musafir Ek Hasina from 1960-62. In addition to the 'Sadhana fringe,' she started the trend of the churidar pyjama and kameez with saleem shai in the film Waqt (1965). Her acting in that film was appreciated too, as she was nominated for a Film Fare Award as Best Actress.
Sadhana had stated that she subconsciously modeled her acting style after her idol, Nutan. Most of her films were major hits, and many of them still remembered as all time classics. Her films such as Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, Raaj Kumar, Budtameez and Arzoo were known for their romantic plots and beautiful music, but Raj Khosla, her director in Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, saw an enigmatic, mysterious side to Sadhana and cast her in Woh Kaun Thi (1964).The film became a huge hit with its themes of the Alfred Hitchcock film Vertigo (1958) and gave Sadhana her signature role of the "mystery girl," where her performance kept everyone guessing till the very end. She was nominated for a Film Fare Awardas Best Actress, and later in the genre of mystery suspense thriller Khosla directed her in two more box-office hit suspense thrillers, Mera Saaya (1965)and Anita (1968).
Sadhana also worked well with her leading men, Shammi Kapoor, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, and Raj Kapoor. Raj Kapoor reintroduced her to her first film director, R.K. Nayyar. They fell in love again and wanted to get married. Her mother was against it, since Nayyar wasn't a Sindhi and wanted someone who looked like actor Rajendra Kumar, but Sadhana was adamant and with her father backing her up, her mother eventually came around. Sadhana and Nayyar married in 1966 and it seemed like she retired from films. At first, she was content to be a housewife and took cooking lessons and became well-known in the film industry for her culinary skills. But she had serious health problems with her thyroid, and she went to Boston for treatment and she recovered. She did one Oriya film in 1968 - Stree which became a commercial success.Her husband's financial problems propelled her return to films after a two-year absence and delivered the hit film Inteqam (1969)directed by her husband followed by Ek Phool Do Mali (1969), Aap Aye Bahaar Ayee(1971), Dil Daulat Duniya (1972). She and Nayyar went through a difficult time when she suffered a miscarriage. Later they had no children. From 1960 to 1977, she starred in 30 Hindi films and of them except for Prem Patra, Picnic, Ishq Par Zor Nahin, Hum Sab Chor Hain, Chhote Sarkar,Amaanat and Gaban - rest of the 23 Hindi films were blockbusters. She directed and starred in her last film playing dual roles in Geeta Mera Naam (1974), which was a box office hit. She wanted to end her acting career in Hindi films just as she started, in a starring role as a young heroine. She didn't want to play supporting character roles as a old mother or a bhabhi (sister-in-law), so she retired as an actress and formed a production company with her husband. Their marriage lasted until his death in the 1990s. She has not remarried, quietly living the life of a widow. The real-life "mystery girl" rarely gives interviews and doesn't prefer to be photographed saying that she wants her fans to remember her as a young, beautiful, heroine. Today, Sadhana lives as an tenant in an apartment building owned by singer Asha Bhosle. She also meets regularly with friends but otherwise keeps a low profile.
played the heroine's younger sister for which she was paid a token of Rps. 1 and the film became a major hit. A photograph of her publicizing the film appeared in a movie magazine. Subodh Mukherji, one of India's leading producers at that time, saw the magazine and gave her the lead role in her first Hindi film Love in Simla (1959), opposite his newcomer son, Joy Mukherjee. The film was directed by another newcomer, R.K. Nayyar, who created her trademark look called 'the Sadhana fringe.' It was modeled after Audrey Hepburn's hairstyle to cover up Sadhana's flaw, her broad forehead. The film became a great success and Sadhana became a overnight star. She also fell in love with the film's director, but she was only 16 years old, and her parents threatened the 22-year-old Nayyar with legal action if he didn't end the relationship. He became scared and backed away.
Sadhana continued making films and became the one of the biggest stars of the 1960s with hits like Parakh, Man-Mauji, Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai, Mere Mehboob, Hum Dono, Asli-Naqli, Ek Musafir Ek Hasina from 1960-62. In addition to the 'Sadhana fringe,' she started the trend of the churidar pyjama and kameez with saleem shai in the film Waqt (1965). Her acting in that film was appreciated too, as she was nominated for a Film Fare Award as Best Actress.
Sadhana had stated that she subconsciously modeled her acting style after her idol, Nutan. Most of her films were major hits, and many of them still remembered as all time classics. Her films such as Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, Raaj Kumar, Budtameez and Arzoo were known for their romantic plots and beautiful music, but Raj Khosla, her director in Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, saw an enigmatic, mysterious side to Sadhana and cast her in Woh Kaun Thi (1964).The film became a huge hit with its themes of the Alfred Hitchcock film Vertigo (1958) and gave Sadhana her signature role of the "mystery girl," where her performance kept everyone guessing till the very end. She was nominated for a Film Fare Awardas Best Actress, and later in the genre of mystery suspense thriller Khosla directed her in two more box-office hit suspense thrillers, Mera Saaya (1965)and Anita (1968).
Sadhana also worked well with her leading men, Shammi Kapoor, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, and Raj Kapoor. Raj Kapoor reintroduced her to her first film director, R.K. Nayyar. They fell in love again and wanted to get married. Her mother was against it, since Nayyar wasn't a Sindhi and wanted someone who looked like actor Rajendra Kumar, but Sadhana was adamant and with her father backing her up, her mother eventually came around. Sadhana and Nayyar married in 1966 and it seemed like she retired from films. At first, she was content to be a housewife and took cooking lessons and became well-known in the film industry for her culinary skills. But she had serious health problems with her thyroid, and she went to Boston for treatment and she recovered. She did one Oriya film in 1968 - Stree which became a commercial success.Her husband's financial problems propelled her return to films after a two-year absence and delivered the hit film Inteqam (1969)directed by her husband followed by Ek Phool Do Mali (1969), Aap Aye Bahaar Ayee(1971), Dil Daulat Duniya (1972). She and Nayyar went through a difficult time when she suffered a miscarriage. Later they had no children. From 1960 to 1977, she starred in 30 Hindi films and of them except for Prem Patra, Picnic, Ishq Par Zor Nahin, Hum Sab Chor Hain, Chhote Sarkar,Amaanat and Gaban - rest of the 23 Hindi films were blockbusters. She directed and starred in her last film playing dual roles in Geeta Mera Naam (1974), which was a box office hit. She wanted to end her acting career in Hindi films just as she started, in a starring role as a young heroine. She didn't want to play supporting character roles as a old mother or a bhabhi (sister-in-law), so she retired as an actress and formed a production company with her husband. Their marriage lasted until his death in the 1990s. She has not remarried, quietly living the life of a widow. The real-life "mystery girl" rarely gives interviews and doesn't prefer to be photographed saying that she wants her fans to remember her as a young, beautiful, heroine. Today, Sadhana lives as an tenant in an apartment building owned by singer Asha Bhosle. She also meets regularly with friends but otherwise keeps a low profile.
Spouse
| R.K. Nayyar | (1966 - 1995) (his death) |
Trade Mark
Short bangs/fringe haircut known as the "Sadhana cut"
Trivia
Her hairstyle was a trend-setter during her time as a leading lady - called the "Sadhana cut". She is cousin of movie actress Babita (now Babita Kapoor).
She did several films with director Raj Khosla: "Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962), "Woh Kaun Thi" (1964), "Mera Saaya" (1966), "Anita" (1967), and an uncompleted film co-starring Dev Anand, titled "Sajan ki Galiyan."
Acted with Guru Dutt in the film "Picnic" which was left incomplete due to Dutt's untimely death in 1964.
Sadhana was highest paid actress along-with Vyjanthimala from 1963-67 and Sadhana with Nanda was 2nd highest paid Hindi actress from 1961-1962 and 3rd highest paid Hindi actress in 1969-1973 along-with Nanda.
Personal Quotes
On director Raj Khosla who directed her in the maximum number of films: "He had become a sort of family friend, and he knew my strengths and weaknesses as an actress. I felt comfortable working with him. We vibed well together."