Behind the dazzle of the arclights lie dark shadows. Behind the raucous adulation hide gnawing silences. A dark reality that perhaps the sensitive denizens of showbiz have to surmount and which some even succumb to… Like the’70s singing star, the beautiful Sulakshana Pandit.
When the young actor first hit the silver screen with Uljhan, audiences were delighted to have found someone who could fill the void left behind by the ebullient Mumtaz. Curvaceous and cute, Sulakshana, perfectly fit the model of a Hindi film heroine. What’s more she also sang and could have hailed the era of singer stars once again. Romancing the top heroes of her time, she went on to act in several hits … until she fell hopelessly in love…
Allegedly, her unrequited romance with Sanjeev Kumar and his eventual passing away brought her world crashing down. The loss of her mother, her dwindling career and her fragile mental and physical condition distanced her further from reality. Today, the 60-plus actor lives a quiet life with younger sister and actor Vijeta Pandit, seeking solace in listening to her songs. In fact, her popular numbers like Beqaraar dil tu gaaye jaa, Baandhi re kahe preet piya ke sang anjane mein, Mana teri nazar mein tera pyaar hum
nahin and Tuhi saagar hai tu hi kinara… uncannily sum up her emotional graph and her tale of regret and redemption…
EARLY TUNES
Sulakshana hailed from a musical family based in Hissar (now Fatehabad) district of Haryana. While her father Pratap Narain Pandit was an accomplished classical vocalist, renowned classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj is her uncle. Sulakshana has three brothers Mandheer, Jatin and Lalit Pandit. Her younger sisters are Maya Anderson and actress Vijayta Pandit. Her third Sandhya Singh is no more
Sulakshana began playback singing at the age of nine. Her first track was Saat samundar paar ke with Lata Mangeshkar for Taqdeer (1967). She also sang in concerts with Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi. She sang the soulful Beqarar dil tu gaaye jaa with Kishore Kumar for Door Ka Rahi (1971), which was filmed on Tanuja.
FILMS & FAME
Sulakshana’s career kick-started in 1975 with Raghunath Jhalani’s Uljhan opposite Sanjeev Kumar. The thriller revolved around a police officer (Sanjeev), who heads a murder investigation only to discover that the killer is closer home. While Lata Mangeshkar sang the title song Apne jeevan ki uljhan, Sulakshana sang the duet Aaj pyaare pyaare se lagte hain. The film became a precursor to a spate of films she did with Sanjeev and also to her rumoured off-screen romance with him.
Next, Anil Ganguly’s emotional drama Sankoch (1976), based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Parineeta, had her portray Lolita opposite Jeetendra and Vikram. Her rendition of Baandhi re kahe preet composed by Kalyanji-Anandji, written by MG Hashmat won her a Filmfare nomination.
The glamorous looking Sulakshana was eye candy for commercial cinema as well. She was cast in Prakash Mehra’s potboiler Hera Pheri (1976) opposite Vinod Khanna. Gradually, her forte became family dramas. In J Omprakash’s Apnapan (1977) she played wife to Jeetendra and a doting stepmom to his son from his relationship with Reena Roy. While all the numbers here were sung by Lata, Sulakshana’s duet with Kishore Kumar – Somwar ko hum mile from the film was popular.
Anil Ganguly’s Khandaan (1979) was another popular drama she featured in along with Jeetendra and Bindiya Goswami. Extending her versatility, Sulakshana did Harmesh Malhotra’s whodunit Raaz (1980) with Raj Babbar. She played a woman who happens to witness a murder in a train. The fantasy drama, Ravee Nagaich’s Thief of Baghdad (1977), paired her with Shatrughan Sinha and Kabir Bedi. She was part of multi-starrers as well. For instance Chehre Pe Chehra (1981), a Dr Jekyl Mr Hyde take-off, directed by Raj Tilak starred her with Sanjeev Kumar, Vinod Mehra, Shatrughan Sinha and Rekha. While Sultan Ahmed’s Dharam Kanta (1982), a dacoit narrative had her with an ensemble cast of Raaj Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Jeetendra and Reena Roy. Waqt Ki Deewar (1981), one of her last popular films, a cop and crook saga, directed by Ravi Tandon, starred her with Sanjeev Kumar, Jeetendra and Neetu Singh. Interestingly, she acted opposite Uttam Kumar in the Bengali movie, Bondi (1978) a fictional tale of kings and empires, as well.
ON A SONG
Music being the backdrop of her growing up years, Sulakshana was keen to be a singing star. But given the sway that legends Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle had over the audiences and the music industry, opportunities were scarce. Nevertheless, the song Tu hi sagar tu hi kinara in Ramesh Saigal’s Sankalp (1974) written by Kaifi Azmi and composed by Khayyam, won Sulakshana her first Filmfare Award for Best Playback (Female). She played a poojaran in the film and the song was filmed on her.
There were films where she gave the playback for other actresses as well. Like Mana teri nazar mein (Ahista Ahista, 1981), which she sang for Padmini Kolhapure, Boliye surili boliyaan for Priyadarshini in Griha Pravesh (1979), Mausam mausam for Padmini Kolhapure in Thodi Si Bewafaii (1980), Khali pyala chalka in Sparsh (1980) for Shabana Azmi and Jiske liye sabko chhoda for Rekha in Saajan Ki Saheli (1981). She also sang songs in Bengali, Marathi, Oriya and Gujarati. She cut a ghazal album Jazbaat in 1980. Her voice was last heard in the alaap in the song Saagar kinare bhi do from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), which was composed by her brothers Jatin-Lalit.
LOVE & LOSS
Given their easy chemistry, Sanjeev Kumar and Sulakshana worked in seven films. Reportedly, Sulakshana fell in love with Sanjeev during the filming of Uljhan (1975). However, Sanjeev, who reportedly could never overcome the heartbreak after Hema Malini allegedly turned him down, was not receptive to the idea of marriage. Sanjeev Kumar, through the course of time, developed cardiac problems. And his excessive consumption of alcohol, an indulgent diet and emotional turmoil only added to his ill health. After his first heart attack, he underwent a bypass in the US. However, on November 6, 1985, at the age of 47, the talented actor passed away after a massive heart attack. Naturally, it left Sulakshana devastated. Around the same time film offers dwindled and her playback career reached a standstill. Her mother’s death further propelled the sensitive Sulakshana’s breakdown. “These deaths had a lasting impact on me. They took a toll on my health. I was mentally disturbed and shaken for the longest time,” she was quoted saying.
In fact, in an exclusive interview to Filmfare, she once shared, “I have never loved anyone as much as I loved him.” She confided, “One day, after his bypass operation, we had gone to a Hanuman mandir in Delhi. I told Sanjeevji that I loved him and asked him to put sindoor in my parting.I asked him to marry me so that I could look after him. But he refused, saying he could never forget his first love.” She had added, “After Sanjeevji died, I went into acute depression... I watch beautiful films, listen to beautiful music and write poetry. I am gathering the courage to face life and the world again!” What also troubled her was that that she was not even getting offers to sing. “I know I can no longer return to lead roles but my voice is still good,” she had said wistfully adding, “Zindagi veeran hogayi hai.”
THE SUCCOUR
While she was happy to see her brothers Jatin-Lalit grow to become successful composers, her grouse was that they didn’t offer her playback opportunities. But she always valued their support otherwise. Overcome by a financial breakdown, she was forced to sell her apartment in 2002 and clear her debts. Younger sister Vijeta and her husband and music composer Aadesh Srivastava (passed away in 2015) brought her to their home in 2006. “She was broken when Sanjeevji passed away. Yes, she was in love with him. Whether it was one-sided, I don’t know. She surely loved him but how much he liked her I wouldn’t be able to tell,” Vijeta confided in an interview to Filmfare. “Today Didi is absolutely normal. People said she had gone mad. But she was suffering from depression,” she added.
An accident where Sulakshana broke her hip bone further incapacitated her. “Didi doesn’t like meeting anyone and prefers listening to the radio and the CDs of her earlier radio programmes and songs. In us, she has found a family – she loves my sons Avitesh and Anivesh. It’s my good kismet that I can look after her,” said a concerned Vijeta. The sad demise of their sister Sandhya Singh, where she was allegedly murdered in 2012, was also kept from Sulakshana keeping her frail condition in mind. “Didi doesn’t meet anyone, she hardly ever steps out of her room, unless it is to visit our farm-house in Lonavala, which she loves,” said Vijeta summing up the life of a once shining star.
Sulakshana's POPULAR SONGS
Saat samundar paar ke Taqdeer (1967)
Beqarar-e-dil tu gaaye ja Door Ka Raahi (1971)
Tu hi sagar hai tu hi kinara Sankalp (1974)
Aaj pyare pyare se
lagte hain
Uljhan (1975)
Baandhi re kahe preet
Sankoch (1976)
Somwar ko hum mile
Apnapan (1977)
Boliye surili boliyaan
Griha Pravesh (1979)
Mana teri nazar mein Ahista Ahista (1981)
Jiske liye sabko chhoda Saajan Ki Saheli (1981)
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