Gritty sister, adoring girlfriend, doting wife In an industry known for portraying women actors as objects of desire, Nanda was a glorious exception. Never a seductress, she was the gritty sister orphaned in a storm, a god fearing sister-in-law who sided with the hero, an adoring girlfriend you could take home and a doting wife you could count upon. In the world of imagery, Nanda had a largely sanitised image. Her sensuality lay not in her dress sense but her simplicity and whispering dialogue delivery. And tragedy was a running leitmotif both in her screen and off screen life.Child artistDaughter of popular Marathi actor-director Master Vinayak, she made an entry as a child artist when the family ran into bad times after the death of her father. After a couple of films as a child artist, she was introduced to showbiz by her illustrious uncle, V. Shantaram, in Toofan Aur Diya (with Rajendra Kumar). The film celebrated the brother-sister bond and the image stuck as she went on to do family entertainers like Bhabhi, Chhoti Behan, Chaar Deewari, Badi Didi and Beti. The song “Bhaiya Mere Rakhi Ke Bandhan Ko Nibhana” from Chhoti Behan established her as the perfect sister material and she went on to play Dev Anand’s sister in Kala Bazar. But Nanda took a promise from Anand that he would cast her opposite him in his next film. The result was Hum Dono. However, when she romanced with the top stars of the time she usually provided the third, sedate, sacrificing angle. She was perfect in supporting roles for which she was nominated many times for the Filmfare awards. She grabbed the award for Aanchal in 1960. The turn of decade brought her meatier roles with Aashiq (with Raj Kapoor) Gumnaam (with Manoj Kumar) and Jab Jab Phool Khile, establishing her as a heroine to reckon with. A rage in 1960sHer bouffant and tight-fitting kurta-pyjama were a rage in the mid 1960s. Her chemistry with Shashi Kapoor in the musical hit, Jab Jab Phool Khile, is part of industry folkore. She later forged a bond with Rajesh Khanna with some off-beat stuff like Ittefaq and The Train. In the former, she played a negative role, in the latter she was the glam doll. She continued to experiment with films like Naya Nasha (1973), in which she played a drug addict, but by then a younger crop had emerged at the box office. She returned as mother with Ahista Ahista and made an impact. She went on to do Raj Kapoor’s Prem Rog but her last hurrah came when she got a chance to play Dilip Kumar’s wife in Mazdoor. Someone who protected her privacy all through her career, Nanda settled down with Manmohan Desai in 1992. When Desai passed away two years later, she became a total recluse.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 14:16:04 +0000
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