Mumbai: Veteran actor and playback singer Sulakshana Pandit, known for movies like “Uljhan” and “Chehre Pe Chehra”, died on Thursday due to cardiac arrest, her brother Lalit Pandit confirmed the news. She was 71.
Sulakshana was being taken to Nanavati Hospital when she breathed her last.
“She passed away due to cardiac arrest around 7 pm. She had complained of breathlessness and seemed a bit unwell. We were taking her to Nanavati hospital but she died before we could reach the hospital,” Lalit Pandit told PTI.
Born in 1954, Sulakshana Pandit hailed from a family deeply rooted in music. Her uncle was the legendary classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj, and her brothers were Jatin and Lalit, one of Bollywood’s most popular music composer duos.
Pandit began her career in the music industry at the age of nine and as a playback singer in 1967. Later, she made her acting debut in the 70s. Her acting career took off during the mid-1970s, becoming one of the popular faces on the big screen.
Her first film was Uljhan (1975) opposite Sanjeev Kumar and went on to star in films like Sankalp, Raaja, Hera Pheri, and more, co-starring Rishi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Rajesh Khanna, and others. She played the role of Lolita in Anil Ganguly’s Sankoch (1976), inspired by the novel Parineeta. Some of her other notable films include Apnapan, Khandaan, Chehre Pe Chehra, Dharam Kanta, and Waqt Ki Deewar.
Besides Hindi films, Sulakshana also worked in the Bengali film Bandie (1978) alongside Uttam Kumar.
Alongside acting, Sulakshana also carved a niche for herself in the music industry. Her first major break came as a child singer with the song, Saat Samundar Paar Se in Taqdeer (1967), sung with Lata Mangeshkar. In 1975, she bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song, Tu Hi Sagar Hai Tu Hi Kinara from Sankalp.
Over the years, she delivered several hit songs with legendary artists like Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Yesudas, and Mahendra Kapoor, and worked under iconic music directors such as Shankar–Jaikishan, Laxmikant–Pyarelal, Kalyanji–Anandji, Khayyam, and Bappi Lahiri. She also released a ghazal album in the 80s and sang in multiple languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Oriya, and Gujarati.
Her final playback was in Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), composed by her brothers Jatin and Lalit.
Despite her artistic achievements, Sulakshana Pandit’s later life was marked by solitude and struggle, as per reports. She never married. Her unspoken bond with actor Sanjeev Kumar, who also remained unmarried, is still remembered by her fans. Over time, reportedly, Pandit faced health and financial challenges, withdrawing from public life. Her passing marks the end of an era.
