Unsung and forgotten, actor-singer Sulakshana Pandit, known for films such as Uljhan and Sankoch in the 1970s, was given a final adieu on Friday, a day after she died of a cardiac arrest. She was 71.
Sulakshana, among the few Bollywood personalities who made an equally successful career as a singer, died late Thursday at her sister Vijayata Pandit's home where she had been living since 2006.
Her last rites were performed at Pawan Hans crematorium in suburban Juhu in the afternoon.
Among those in attendance were actors Shabana Azmi and Poonam Dhillon as well as family members Vijayata Pandit, and music composer brother Lalit Pandit, one half of the Jatin-Lalit duo. Sulakshana, who has to her credit songs like Tu Hi Sagar Tu Hi Kinara (Sankalp, 1975) and Bandi Re Kaahe Preet (Sankoch, 1976), was born into a musical family that included her uncle, the legendary vocalist Pandit Jasraj.
She was born in 1954 in Raigarh. The musical family originally hails from Hissar, Haryana. Her uncle was Pandit Jasraj. The eldest among three brothers and four sisters, Sulakshana had to step into the limelight at an early age after the death of her father and guru Pratap Narain Pandit. She recorded her career's first duet Saat Samandar Par with Lata Mangeshakar for the 1967 hit Taqdeer.
Eight years later, she made her acting debut with the 1975 hit Uljhan opposite Sanjeev Kumar. She fell in love with him but it wasn't reciprocated and Sulakshana, heartbroken after his untimely death in 1985, never got married.
The showbiz career soared.
She worked with all the top stars and singers of her era, including Rajesh Khanna, Shashi Kapoor, Jeetendra and Vinod Khanna. The film list has Hera Pheri, Khandaan, Apnapan and Bundlebaaz.
But singing remained her first love and she continued it parallel to her acting career. Her hit songs are Pardesiya Tere Desh Mein, Bekrar Dil Tut Gaya and Somvaar Ko Hum Mile.
Vijayata said in a recent interview that her sister had long been unwell.
"She has been staying with us for a long time now. She was in a bad state, she was retired and had no money to maintain the house. So I brought her to my house and got her property sold off. From the money, I got her a flat in Lokhandwala... She also got my sister Sandhya and Maya a house," Vijayata told Lehren Retro last year.
Vijayata, who shot to fame with her film Love Story and was married to late musician Aadesh Srivastava, said she even hid the death of their sister, Sandhya, from her.
Sandhya Singh had gone missing from her house in Navi Mumbai in December 2012. In January 2013, human remains were found in the marshes 200 metres away from her home. DNA tests confirmed that they were Sandhya's remains.
"Sulakshana till date doesn't know that she is no more. I haven't told her. If she gets to know about her death, she won't be able to handle it. I tell her that she is fine and lives in Indore," Vijayata revealed last year.
Singer and cousin Durga Jasraj, Pandit Jasraj's daughter, said Sulakshana was the "the first star" and the strongest pillar in the family.
"While the 3 brothers Sangeet Mahamohpadhyay Pandit Maniram ji, Sanget Acharya Pandit Pratap Narayan ji (Sulakshana jiji's father) and Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj ji dedicated their lives to Hindustani Classical Music, Sulakshana jiji dedicated her entire life towards bringing the family to the forefront with her limitless talent...
"She sang, acted, performed explored every aspect of her personality and became the 1st star in our Pandit family," Durga posted on X.
Sulakshana's niece Shweta Pandit mourned her death on Instagram.
"My guru, my guide, my lifeline… she was the prettiest angel I got to spend some of my most beautiful musical memories with. Her music journey was phenomenal and her acting journey was unforgettable.. and she did all of it on her own. 100% self made artist. Pranaam to her incredible self. She left all of us with all her beauty and all her talent - still all within her. All deep inside.. so much yet to explore… her story is left unsaid. Love you my shining star," Shweta wrote on Instagram.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)