Sadhana – We can’t believe it; it is shocking beyond words. We knew you were battling with cancer; but, still it is shocking beyond words to let you go.
Last night, my wife Marilyn and I returned from what should have been Midnight Mass for Christmas, at 10:30 PM. Silent night, holy night, cannot be allowed to break the peace of Mumbaites beyond 10 PM, once in a year, since they are a very silent community. They never make noise during any of the other religious festivals beyond 10 PM, not on the roads, not in the parks and other public places in the open and hence cannot make an exception for Christmas.
Anyway, our Midnight Mass having finished at 10 PM, I had lot of time at home and so I thought of seeing this Raj Khosla movie that I had missed seeing during my young days: Woh Kaun Thi (Who Was She)? Sadhana played Sandhya in the movie and carried the movie virtually on her shoulders with the strength of her histrionics and enigmatic charm.
My hair now stand on their ends when I think of the fact that when she sang, in the movie: “Lag jaa gale ke phir ye haseen raat ho na ho, shaayad is janam mein mulaqaat ho naa ho“, she actually meant that it was her last night in real world too.
I have never come across such a strange coincidence in my life; the kind that makes me shiver now after hearing about her demise a few hours ago.
The best of Lata Mangeshkar songs have been picturised on her including the three (the first three in the list) from the movie that I finished seeing at about 1:37 AM today:
- Lag jaa gale se.
- Naina barse rimjhim rimjhim.
- Jo hamane dastaan apani sunaayi aap kyun roye.
- Chanda ja re ja re (from Manmauji that she did with Kishore Kumar).
- Main to tum sang nain mila ke (from Manmauji).
- Naino mein badra chhaye (Mera Saya with Sunil Dutt).
- Tera mera pyaar amar phir kyun mujhako lagata hai dar (Asli Naqli with Dev Anand).
- O sajana barkha bahaar aayi (Parakh with Motilal).
- Tu jahan jahan chalega mera saya saath hoga (Mera Saya)
And, hold your breath, my most liked song in Hindi movies: Mere mehboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki kasam is also acted upon by her in the movie Mere Mehboob that had one of her best roles as Husna to Rajendra Kumar as Anwar. Indeed, you need to see this song from Mere Mehboob and another one: Yaad mein teri jaag jaag ke ham, to see the dignity, charm, elegance and beauty that she brought to acting. Anwar only saw her through the burqa (veil) once and that changed his life; that was supposed to be the effect of her striking beauty.
I am shocked beyond words.
Here is how I shall always remember her. This song that is probably her best was written by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan and had been composed in the Raag of my place: Raag Pahadi by none other than Madan Mohan and sung by Lata for her; each word now has another sublime meaning after she left us suddenly.
Please listen to this in Sadhana’s memory: Lag jaa gale ke phir ye haseen raat ho na ho….
Lag jaa gale ki phir ye hasii.n raat ho na ho
Shaayad phir is janam me.n mulaaqaat ho na ho
Lag jaa gale se …
Hamako milii hai.n aaj, ye gha.Diyaa.N nasiib se
Jii bhar ke dekh liijiye hamako qariib se
Phir aapake nasiib me.n ye baat ho na ho
Phir is janam me.n mulaaqaat ho na ho
Lag jaa gale ki phir ye hasii.n raat ho na ho
Paas aaiye ki ham nahii.n aae.nge baar-baar
Baahe.n gale me.n Daal ke ham ro le.n zaar-zaar
Aa.Nkho.n se phir ye pyaar ki barasaat ho na ho
Shaayad phir is janam me.n mulaaqaat ho na ho
Lag jaa gale ki phir ye hassii.n raat ho na ho….
Dil Abhi Bhara Nahin
You decided to leave us, Sadhana on this Christmas day; but, the fact is that we wish we could sing, as Dev Anand did in Hum Dono, for you: Abhi na jaao chhod kar ke dil abhi bhara nahin.
And how can dil bhar jaata? When we loved you so much. You brought in your acting so much of charm, romanticism, elegance and beauty that to call you stunning would be an understatement. Coincidentally, for all of us who hail from Simla, the first major movie of yours was Love in Simla with Joy Mukherjee in 1959. Woh Kaun Thi and Anita were also shot in Shimla in parts.
You dared to be different and not just with your haircut which came to be known as Sadhana cut.
This was the most popular duet of our times and I was fortunate to have heard Rafi and Asha Bhosle live singing it.
Being an evening song, Jaidev composed it in Raag Kalyan. It has the lyrics by a favourite poet and lyricist: Sahir Ludhianvi.
Here is to you Sadhana, a plea that you cannot hear anymore: Abhi naa jaao chhod kar ke dil abhi bhara nahin…..
ra: abhii na jaao chho.D kar ke dil abhii bharaa nahii.n – (2)
abhii abhii to aaii ho – abhii abhii to
abhii abhii to aaii ho, bahaar banake chhaaii ho
havaa zaraa mahak to le, nazar zaraa bahak to le
(ye shaam Dhal to le zaraa – 2), ye dil sambhal to le zaraa
mai.n tho.Dii der jii to luu.N, nashe ke ghuu.NT pii to luu.N
nashe ke ghuu.NT pii to luu.N
abhii to kuchh kahaa.Nahii.n, abhii to kuchh sunaa nahii.n
abhii na jaao chho.Dakar ke dil abhii bharaa nahii.n
aa: sitaare jhilamilaa uThe, sitaare jhilamilaa uThe, charaaG jagamagaa uThe
bas ab na mujhako Tokanaa
bas ab na mujhako Tokanaa, na ba.Dhake raah rokanaa
agar mai.n ruk ga_ii abhii to jaa na paauu.Ngii kabhii
yahii kahoge tum sadaa ke dil abhii nahii.n bharaa
jo khatm ho kisii jagah ye aisaa silasilaa nahii.n
ra: abhii nahii.n abhii nahii.n
aa: nahii.n nahii.n nahii.n nahii.n
ra: abhii na jaao chho.Dakar ke dil abhii bharaa nahii.n
ra: adhuurii aas, adhuurii aas chho.Dake, adhuurii pyaas chho.Dake
jo roz yuu.Nhii jaaogii to kis tarah nibhaaogii
ki zi.ndagii kii raah me.n, javaa.N dilo.n kii chaah me.n
ka_ii muqaam aae.nge jo ham ko aazamaae.nge
buraa na maano baat kaa ye pyaar hai gilaa nahii.n
aa: haa.N, yahii kahoge tum sadaa ke dil abhii nahii.n bharaa
ra: haa.N, dil abhii bharaa nahii.n
aa: nahii.n nahii.n nahii.n nahii.n
For an actress who started as a chorus girl in one of the songs in a Raj Kapoor movie, the 1955 movie Shree 420 (the song being Mud mud ke naa dekh mud mud ke), you came a long way off to become one of the most loved actresses of your times. After the release of your 1959-60 movie Love in Simla wherein you acted opposite Joy Mukherjee (in his debut movie) since the movie was directed by his uncle Sashadhar Mukherjee (Ashok Kumar, Kishore Kumar and Anoop Kumar’s brother in law), you acted in Bimal Roy’s Parakh (1960 movie) opposite Motilal.
Another best song of Lata Mangeshkar was picturised on you and that song happens to be the best in Hindi movies on rain. The song was penned by the great lyricist Shailendra (Raj Kapoor’s find in the movies) and composed in Raag Khammaj by Salil Chowdhury who composed many of his songs on Western Classical beats.
Yes, I am talking about the song: O sajana, barkha bahaar aayi….(its composition is so great that when it comes to Aise rimjhim mein ho sanam, pyaase pyaase mere nayan, you can actually imagine the pitter patter of rain even if you don’t understand the words).
Here is, remembering you, Sadhana, with the best rain song ever: O sajana, barkha bahaar aayi…
(o sajanaa, barakhaa bahaara aaI
rasa kii phuhaara laaI, a.Nkhiyo.n me pyaar laaI ) – 2
o sajanaa
tumako pukaare mere mana kaa papiharaa – 2
miiThii miiThii aganii me.n, jale moraa jiyaraa
o sajanaa …
(aisI rimajhima me.n o saajan, pyaase pyaase mere nayana
tere hii, khvaaba me.n, kho gae ) – 2
saa.nvalii salonii ghaTaa, jaba jaba chhaaI – 2
a.Nkhiyo.n me.n rainaa gaI, nindiyaa na aaI
o sajanaa …
https://youtube.com/watch?v=zSEV7-CqhwI
At a very early stage in her acting career, she acted in a Bimal Roy movie and Bimal Roy’s movies used to have focus on women such as Bandini and Madhumati. However, the person who made a trilogy on her in movies based on the mystery woman was Raj Khosla. He took her in the 1964 movie Woh Kaun Thi, 1966 movie Mera Saya and 1967 movie Anita.
Mera Saya repeated the Lyricist – Music Director team of Raja Mehdi Ali Khan (my second most favourite lyricist after Shakeel Badayuni) and they gave some beautiful songs picturised on her: Jhumka gira re, the title song: Tu jahan jahan chalega mera saya saath hoga, and my favourite: Naino mein badra chhaye.
Naino mein badra chhaye was composed by Madan Mohan in Raag Bhimpalasi and till today remains one of the top songs of Lata Mangeshkar.
Please enjoy, thinking of Sadhana: Naino mein badra chhaye…
naino.n me.n badaraa chhaae, bijalii sii chamake haae
aise me.n balam mohe, garavaa lagaa le
naino.n me.n…
madiraa me.n Duubii a.Nkhiyaa.N
cha.nchal hai.n dono.n sakhiyaa.N
Dhalatii rahe.ngii tohe
palako.n kii pyaarii pakhiyaa.N
sharamaa ke de.ngii tohe
madiraa ke pyaale
naino.n me.n…
prem diivaanii huu.N me.n
sapano.n kii raanii huu.N mai.n
pichhale janam se terii
prem kahaanii huu.N mai.n
aa is janam me.n bhii tuu
apanaa banaa le
naino.n me.n…
Sadhana was born in a Sindhi family in Karachi on 02 Sep 1941. Post partition riots saw the family shift from Karachi to Bombay and that is where all her life was spent. Sadhana married her Love in Simla (her first movie as heroine) director Ram Krishna Nayyar on 7 March 1966. They were married for nearly thirty years, until his death in 1995 from asthma. The couple had no children. After her retirement from the movies (Geeta Mera Naam was her last movie in 1974, a film that she directed), she declined to be photographed and lived like that in her Santa Cruz flat. And the reason for not being photographed post retirement was because she wanted to be remembered as she was in the movies. And that’s why, in today’s tribute, within a few hours of her death, I have tried to remember her by some of the roles that she did.
Here is one that has stayed in my mind. It is from her 1969 movie Inteqaam (Revenge) (directed by her husband RK Nayyar) in which she acted as Rita Mehra a poor girl looking after her sick mother. She was out to take revenge because after her refusal to entertain a rich businessman, her boss managed to send her to jail for one year on trumped up charges of theft.
And here is her revenge song that was quite popular in our era (she feigned drunkenness to bring the high society to mother earth). The song was penned by Rajinder Krishan (responsible with Madan Mohan for half of Lata’s Top Ten songs) and it was composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal.
Please see Sadhana perform in feigned drunken stupor: Kaise rahun chup ke maine pi hi kyaa hai hosh abhi taq hain baaqi…aur zara si dede saaqi…
kaise rahuu.N chup ki maine pii hii kyaa hai
hosh abhii tak hai baaqii
aur zaraa sii de-de saaqii aur zaraa sii aur
kaise rahuu.N chup …
muddato.n kii pyaas aaj ek jaam ban ga_ii
ye Kushii kii shaam shaam-e-intaqaam ban ga_ii
jo baat hamame.n tumame.n thii vo baat aam ban ga_ii
kaise rahuu.N chup …
pataa hai tumako raaz kyaa hai mere is suruur kaa
ke is suruur me.n zaraa saa ra.ng hai Guruur kaa
jo maine pii to kyo.n nashaa utar gayaa huzuur kaa
kaise rahuu.N chup …
The 1963 movie Mere Mehboob saw her at her elegant best. The title song in Raag Jhinjhoti was sung separately, in the movie, by both Rajendra Kumar and Sadhana. It was such a great song by Shakeel, Naushad, Rafi and Lata, that I can never bring myself to actually post it lest I should do dishonour to the song by my ignorance or inanity.
However, in order to depict her characteristic elegance in the movie, I am able to give you another song: Yaad mein teri jaag jaag ke hum….
yaad me.n terI jaag-jaag ke ham
raat bhar karavaTe.n badalate hai.n
har gha.Dii dil me.n terI ulfat ke
dhiime dhiime chiraaG jalate hai.n
jabase tUne nigaah pherii hai
din hai suunaa to raat a.ndherii hai
chaa.Nd bhI ab najar nahii.n AtA
ab sitaare bhI kam nikalate hai.n
yaad me.n terI jaag-jaag ke ham …
luT gayii vo bahaar kI mahafil
chhuT gayii hamase pyaar kI ma.nzil
zi.ndagii kI udaas rAho.n me.n
terI yaado.n ke sAth chalate hai.n
yaad me.n terI jaag-jaag ke ham …
tujhako paakar hame.n bahaar milii
tujhase chhuTakar magar ye baat khulii
baaGabaan hii chaman ke phuulo.n ko
apane pairo.n se khud masalate hai.n
yaad me.n terI jaag-jaag ke ham …
kyA kahe.n tujhase kyuu.n huii duurii
ham samajhate hai.n apanii majabuurii
tujhako maaluum kyA ke tere liye
dil ke gam aa.Nsuo.n me.n Dhalate hai.n
yaad me.n terI jaag-jaag ke ham …
Fianlly, to remember her by, let me give you a song from her 1962 movie Manmauji that she did with Kishore Kumar. Old timers would remember Kishore Kumar’s comic and popular number from the movie: Zaroorat hai zaroorat hai zaroorat hai, ik shrimati ki, kalawati ki, sewa kare jo pati ki; a vacuous fantasy in the modern world.
This song put together by Rajinder Krishan, Madan Mohan and Lata Mangeshkar for her continues to be the kind of song Sadhana would have wanted to be remembered by: young, romantic, intense and with histrionics that made her fans like me lose their hearts to her.
Please enjoy: Main to tum sang nain mila ke….
mai.n to tum sa.ng, nain milA ke ##(slow)##
hAr gaI sajanA, ho, hAr gaI sajanA
mai.n to tum sa.ng, nain milA ke
hAr gaI sajanA, ho, hAr gaI sajanA
kyU.N jhUThe se prIt lagAI – 2
kyU.N chhaliye ko mIt banAyA
kyU.N A.ndhI me.n dIp jalAyA
mai.n to tum sa.ng …
sapane me.n jo bAG lagAe
nI.nd khulI to vIrAne the
ham bhI kitane dIvAne the
mai.n to tum sa.ng …
nA milatI.n ye bairan a.NkhiyA.n
chain na jAtA dil bhI ne rotA
kAsh kisI se pyAr na hotA
mai.n to tum sa.ng …
Truly Sadhana, abhi gayi ho tum chhod ke, par dil abhi bhara nahin.
RIP SADHANA
RIP Sadhana. Great article and her performance on songs picturized on her is truly memorable.
Thank you ma’am
A .nice tribute to the great actress Sadhna ji . RIP.
Thank you Jaswant
Very nicely put, thank you for sharing this, we will always remember sadhana, she is immortal.