Biography
Sadhana aspired to be an actress since childhood. Her father helped her enter films. In 1955 she played a chorus girl in the song "Mur mur ke na dekh mur mur ke" in Raj Kapoor's Shree 420. When she was 15 years old, she was approached by some producers who had seen her act in a college play. They cast her in India's first Sindhi film titled Abaana (1958), where she played the role of Sheila Ramani's younger sister.
A photograph of her publicizing Shree 420 appeared in the movie magazine Screen. It was then that Sashadhar Mukherjee, one of Hindi cinema's leading producers at that time, noticed her. She joined Mukherjee's acting school along with her debutant co-star Joy Mukherjee. Sashadhar's son. R.K. Nayyar, who had previously worked as assistant director on a few films, directed this film. He also created her trademark look, called the Sadhana cut, inspired by British actress Audrey Hepburn. The Filmalaya Production banner thus introduced Joy, Sadhana and her iconic hairstyle in their 1960 romantic film Love in Simla. The film was declared a hit at the box office and was listed in the top 10 films of 1960. During this period she would again work under the same banner opposite Joy in Ek Musafir Ek Haseena.
Career & Achievements
Sadhana Shivdasani (2 September 1941 – 25 December 2015), popularly known by the mononym Sadhana , was an Indian film actress, who appeared in many successful films of 1960s and 70s. Regarded as one of the finest and iconic film actresses in the history of Hindi cinema, Sadhana was the highest-paid actress of her time from early 1960s to late 1970s. Popularly known as The Mystery Girl, Sadhana was one of the most beautiful and the top actresses in the 1960s, a period regarded as Bollywood's "golden era". She was active from 1960-1981
