Nanda
(8 January 1939 – 25 March 2014) was an Indian film actress who
appeared in Hindi and Marathi films.She was best known for her
performances in films like Ittefaq, Joru Ka Ghulam, Neend Hamare
Khwab Tumhare, Kanoon, Pati Patni, Gumnaam, Akashdeep, Bedaag and
Raja Saab.
Early
life :
Nanda
was born in a Maharashtrian show-business family to Vinayak Damodar
Karnataki (Master Vinayak), a successful Marathi
actor-producer-director and his actress wife Meenaxi. Her father died
in 1947, aged 41, four days after India became an independent nation,
when Nanda was eight years old. The family faced hard times. She
became a child actress, helping her family working in films in the
early 1950s. She made her debut with Mandir in 1948.
On
the silver screen she was first recognized as "Baby Nanda".
In films like Mandir, Jaggu, Angaarey, and Jagriti, she was a child
actor between 1948-56. As a result of her involvement in movies, her
studies suffered, and she was coached at home by renowned school
teacher and Bombay Scouts commissioner, Gokuldas V. Makhi. By taking
up a career in films, she supported and educated her six other
siblings. One of her brothers is Marathi film director Jaiprakash
Karnataki. Actress Jayashree Talpade is her sister-in-law.
Career
:
Nanda
in 2010
Nanda's
paternal uncle V. Shantaram gave Nanda a big break by casting her in
a successful brother-sister saga Toofan Aur Diya (1956).It was the
saga of an orphaned brother and sister pair that is buffeted by a
series of tragic setbacks, including the girl losing her sight. She
received her first Filmfare Award nomination as Best Supporting
Actress for Bhabhi (1957); she claims that the reason she didn't win
was because there was lobbying involved. She played supporting roles
to stars like Dev Anand in Kala Bazar, and played second lead in
Dhool Ka Phool.
She
played the title role in L.V. Prasad's Chhoti Bahen (1959). The movie
was a big hit, making her a star. In this commercially successful
1959 film, Nanda played the blind younger sister looked after by two
elder brothers, played by Balraj Sahni and Rehman. She then played
lead roles, such as one of Dev Anand’s heroines in Hum Dono (1961)
and Teen Deviyan. Both films were acclaimed as "hits". She
was the heroine in B R Chopra's Kanoon (1960), a film with no songs,
which was then rare.
She
won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Anchal (1960).She
was paired with Raj Kapoor in Aashiq(1962) and she worked with
Rajendra Kumar in 3 films - Toofan Aur Diya(1956), Dhool Ka
Phool(1961), Kanoon(1960). In one of her interviews she said she
avoided films with Shammi Kapoor because of his “wild” reputation
from 1959-72, but later did accept work with him in Prem Rog in
1982.She had quoted in one of here interviews "Many of my great
performances were in films that failed or did average business, like
‘Usne Kaha Tha’, ‘Char Diwari’, ‘Nartaki’, and Aaj Aur
Kal. She was the second highest paid Hindi actress along with Nutan
from 1960-65, and the second highest paid Hindi actress between
1966-69 along-with Nutan and Waheeda, and the third highest paid
Hindi actress, along-with Sadhana, from 1970-73.
Nanda
was known to encourage newcomers. She signed 8 films with Shashi
Kapoor at a time when he was yet to become successful in Hindi
Cinema. Their first 2 films as a pair - the critically acclaimed
romantic film Char Diwari (1961) and "Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath"
(1962) - did not work but the rest were successful at the box office.
Shashi, who though had achieved success in English films in 1963 and
in 2 Hindi films in 1965, had 5 flops as solo lead hero from his
debut in 1961 till 1965 in Hindi films. In Jab Jab Phool Khile
(1965), Nanda played a westernised role for the first time and it
helped her image. Her favorite song that was famously picturized on
her in the film was "Yeh Samaa." Shashi would later declare
that Nanda was his favorite heroine. Nanda, too, declared Kapoor as
her favourite hero. In the period 1965-1970, the successful films of
the pair Shashi-Nanda include Mohabbat Isko Kahete Hain (1965), Jab
Jab Phool Khile (1965), Neend Hamari Khwab Tumhare (1966), Raja Saab
(1969) and Rootha Na Karo (1970). In the early 1970s, Nanda suggested
Rajendra Kumar, co-producer of The Train, to take Rajesh Khanna as
the main lead.
She
had another hit film in 1965 with Gumnaam, which helped put her in
the top league of heroines. With Dharmendra, she worked in Mera
Kasoor Kya Hai and Akashdeep. She played lead heroine roles beginning
with Choti Bhehan and Kanoon from 1959-60 and continued to get roles
as the main female lead till 1973. She signed with new leading man
Rajesh Khanna in the songless suspense thriller Ittefaq (1969) for
which she received a Filmfare nomination as Best Actress and which
became successful at the box office. After Khanna became a
super-star, he signed two more films with her: the thriller The Train
(1970) and a comedy Joroo Ka Ghulam (1972) which became hits.
Jeetendra, too, had some hit films with her like Parivar, Dharti Kahe
Pukarke Ke; with Sanjay Khan, she had a hit in Beti and Abhilasha,
but offers dried up from 1973 as her pairing with other younger
actors like Navin Nischol, Vinod Mehra, Deb Mukerji and Parikshat
Sahni did not work. Rajesh Khanna's 3 films Ittefaq, The Train and
Joru Ka Ghulam - earned more than her earlier hits opposite Shashi
Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, Dev Anand, Sanjeev Kumar and Jeetendra.
After
a small role in Manoj Kumar's Shor (1972), Nanda did few more
critically acclaimed films such as Chhalia (1973), Naya Nasha (1974),
which flopped and she then stopped acting. In 1982, she came back
with three successful films, all coincidentally having her play
Padmini Kolhapure's mother in Ahista Ahista, Mazdoor and Raj Kapoor's
Prem Rog. Then she permanently retired.
Personal
life :
Nanda
(first from left) with Waheeda Rehman, Helen, and Sadhana in 2010
In
1965, while filming Jab Jab Phool Khile, director Suraj Prakash
recalled that a Maharashtrian lieutenant colonel was smitten by Nanda
and had asked him to forward his marriage proposal to her mother. In
the end, nothing came of it. Nanda's brothers brought home many
suitors for her, but she turned them all down.
In
1992, a middle-aged Nanda became engaged to director Manmohan Desai
at the urging of Rehman. But he died after falling from the terrace
of his rented flat in Girgaon, just a year after her mother died of
cancer. According to reports, the railing he was leaning on
collapsed. Nanda remained unmarried.
Nanda
lived in her residence in Mumbai interacting only with family and
close friends. Her close friends from the film industry included
Waheeda Rehman, Nargis Rabadi, Asha Parekh, Helen, Saira Banu, Mala
Sinha, Shakeela and Zabeen Jaleel. After a long time she made a
public appearance with Waheeda Rehman for a screening of the Marathi
film Natarang (2010).
She
died in Mumbai on 25 March 2014 at her Versova residence, aged 75,
following a heart attack.
Nanda's
Filmography with Super Star Rajesh Khanna :
- Joroo
Ka Ghulam (1972) … Kalpana
- The
Train (1970) … Neeta / Geeta / Kalavati / Priya
- Ittefaq
(1969) … Rekha
