Sulakshana Pandit
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''Sulakshana Pandit'' is an Indian playback singer and former Bollywood leading lady belonging to the Mewati Gharana.


Career

Sulakshana's career as an actress spanned the 1970s and early '80s. As a leading lady she has worked with most of the top actors of the 1970s like
Jeetendra Ravi Kapoor ( ; born 7 April 1942), known mononymously by his screen name Jeetendra, is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He also serves as the chairman of the Balaji Telefilms and Balaji Motion Pictures. Early life ...
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Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced əʃi kəpuːɾ (born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and film producer who is best known for his work in Hindi films. A recipient of several accolades, including four Nation ...
and
Shatrughan Sinha Shatrughan Prasad Sinha (born 9 December 1945) is an Indian actor and politician. He is a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Asansol constituency as a member of All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). Earlier he was elected as Member of Parliam ...
. Her acting career began with the suspense thriller ''
Uljhan ''Uljhan'' (Confusion) is a 1975 Hindi suspense thriller film. Produced by Sudesh Kumar and directed by Raghunath Jhalani, it stars Ashok Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Asrani, Farida Jalal, Aruna Irani, Sulakshana Pandit, and Ranjeet. The music is ...
'' in 1975, opposite Sanjeev Kumar. In
Anil Ganguly Anil Ganguly (26 January 1933 – 15 January 2016) was an Indian film director and screenwriter, who worked in Hindi cinema from 1970s to 2001. He is best known for Jaya Bhaduri starrer, ''Kora Kagaz'' (1974) and the Rakhee Gulzar, Rakhee st ...
's ''
Sankoch ''Sankoch'' () is a 1976 Indian Hindi-language drama film, produced by R. K. Soral on Suyog Films banner and directed by Anil Ganguly. Starring Jeetendra, Sulakshana Pandit and music composed by Kalyanji–Anandji. The movie is based on the n ...
'' (1976), which was based on the novel ''Parineeta'', she portrayed Lolita. Her other popular films include '' Hera Pheri'', ''
Apnapan ''Apnapan'' ( ''Kinship'') is a 1977 Indian Hindi-language drama film, produced and directed by J. Om Prakash under the FILMYUG Pvt. Ltd. banner. It stars Sanjeev Kumar, Jeetendra, Reena Roy and Sulakshana Pandit, and has music composed by Lax ...
'', ''Khandaan'', ''Chehre Pe Chehra'', ''Dharam Kanta'' and ''Waqt Ki Deewar''. She acted in a Bengali movie ''Bandie'' 1978, where she was paired opposite
Uttam Kumar Uttam Kumar ( bn, উত্তম কুমার; born Arun Kumar Chattopadhyay; 3 September 1926 – 24 July 1980), popularly known as the Mahanayak, was an Indian actor, producer, director, Screenwriter, script writer, composer, and sing ...
. Sulakshana had a singing career alongside her acting one. She began her singing career as a child singer singing the popular song "Saat Samundar Paar se" with
Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...
in the 1967 film '' Taqdeer''. Thereafter, she recorded with famed musicians such as
Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...
and
Hemant Kumar Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemant Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee, was a legendary Indian music composer and playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, as well as other Indian ...
. She sang in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Oriya and Gujarati. In 1980, she released an album titled ''Jazbaat'' (HMV), wherein she rendered
ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
s. She sang duets with accomplished singers such as
Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...
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Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...
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, Mahendra Kapoor and
Udit Narayan Udit is an Indian masculine given name that may refer to: *Udit Narayan, Bollywood playback singer *Udit Narayan (politician) (born 1960), Fijian politician of Indian descent *Udit Narayan Singh (1770–1835), Indian monarch *Udit Patel (born 1984 ...
. She sang under music directors such as
Shankar Jaikishan Shankar may refer to: People *Shankar (name), including a list of people with the name * Sankar (writer) (Mani Shankar Mukherjee), Bengali writer * L. Shankar, Indian violinist * S. Shankar, Indian film director commonly credited as Shankar *Sanka ...
, Laxmikant Pyarelal,
Kalyanji Anandji Kalyanji Virji Shah (30 June 1928 – 24 August 2000) was the ''Kalyanji'' of the Kalyanji-Anandji duo. He and his brother Anandji Virji Shah have been famous Indian film musicians, and won the 1975 Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, f ...
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and several others. In 1986, Sulakshana was one of the singers to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London to celebrate the "Festival of Indian Music" Concert along with acclaimed Music Directors Laxmikant Pyarelal and singers Manhar, Shabbir Kumar, Nitin Mukesh and Anuradha Paudwal. Her voice was last heard in an alaap in the song "Saagar Kinare Bhi Do Dil" from the movie ''Khamoshi the musical'' (1996), which was composed by her brothers Jatin and Lalit.


Personal life

Sulakshana comes from a musical family originating from Pilimandori Village in Hissar (now Fatehabad) district of
Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
state. The famous classical vocalist and legendary
Pandit Jasraj Pandit Jasraj (28 January 1930  – 17 August 2020) was an Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the '' Mewati gharana'' (musical apprenticeship lineage). His musical career spanned 75 years resulting in national and international fame ...
was her uncle. Ex Rajgarh MP &
Jan Sangh The Bharatiya Jana Sangh ( BJS or JS, short name: Jan Sangh, full name: Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh; ) (ISO 15919: '' Akhila Bhāratīya Jana Saṅgha '' ) was an Indian right wing political party that existed from 1951 to 1977 and was the pol ...
leader Vasant Kumar Pandit was also her uncle. She started singing at the age of nine. Her elder brother Mandheer Pandit (who was earlier a music composer in the 1980s with Jatin Pandit as the duo Mandheer–Jatin) was her constant companion in Mumbai; they performed and sang on stage until Sulakshana became a leading playback singer through many of their live concerts with legends such as
Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...
and
Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...
. She has three brothers (Mandheer, Jatin and Lalit Pandit) and three sisters (Late Maya Anderson, Late Sandhya Singh and
Vijayta Pandit Vijayta Pandit is an Indian actress and playback singer, most famous for her first film '' Love Story'' (1981). Early life and background Vijayta comes from a musical family originating from Pili Mandori Village in Hissar district of Haryana ...
). Her father Pratap Narain Pandit was an accomplished classical vocalist. Her nephew
Yash Pandit Yash Pandit (Yasodhan Pandit) is a Bollywood and television actor. Career In his childhood, he also performed in Chetan Anand's '' Haathon Ki Lakeeren'' as a child artist. He has acted as a lead actor in films ''Rok Sako To Rok Lo'', ''Yeh ...
is an Indian television actor. Nieces
Shraddha Pandit Shradha Pandit (born 4 July 1982) is an Indian playback singer. Career Shradha grew up in Mumbai and belongs to a large family of successful musicians, singers, music producers and actors. She learnt Hindustani Classical Music from her Grandf ...
and Shweta Pandit are playback singers. Her cousin is playback singer Hemlata. Sulakshana has never been married, after actor
Sanjeev Kumar Sanjeev Kumar (born Harihar Jethalal Jariwala; 9 July 1938 – 6 November 1985) was an Indian actor. He is well remembered for his versatility and genuine portrayal of his characters. He acted in genres ranging from romantic dramas to thrille ...
turned down her marriage proposal. She fell on hard times after she stopped getting work. Her sister
Vijayta Pandit Vijayta Pandit is an Indian actress and playback singer, most famous for her first film '' Love Story'' (1981). Early life and background Vijayta comes from a musical family originating from Pili Mandori Village in Hissar district of Haryana ...
and brother-in-law, music composer
Aadesh Shrivastava Aadesh Shrivastava (4 September 1964 – 5 September 2015) was a music composer and singer of Indian music. Initially, he had worked as a drummer to music composers including R. D. Burman, Rajesh Roshan before working independently as a music d ...
, had plans to compose a devotional album for her, but Aadesh died before he could.Quality Matters (Archived link)
/ref> She broke her hip bone when she fell in the bathroom. Sulakshana makes rare public appearances after her four surgeries that left her impaired. She has given a full length radio interview wherein she spoke about her acting & singing career to RJ Vijay Akela in July 2017.


Filmography


As singer


As actress


Awards

*
Filmfare Best Female Playback Award The Filmfare Best Female Playback Award is given by '' Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female playback singer who has delivered an outstanding performance in a film song. Although the award ce ...
in 1975 for the song "Tu Hi Saagar Hai Tu Hi Kinara" in ''Sankalp'' (1975). * Miyan Tansen Award in 1975 for the song "Tu Hi Saagar Hai Tu Hi Kinara" in ''Sankalp''. * Nominated as
Filmfare Best Female Playback Award The Filmfare Best Female Playback Award is given by '' Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female playback singer who has delivered an outstanding performance in a film song. Although the award ce ...
for rendering the classical "Bandhi Re Kahe Preet" in ''Sankoch'' (1976)


References


External links

*
Whatever happened to... Sulakshana Pandit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pandit, Sulakshana Bollywood playback singers Indian film actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema Indian women playback singers 20th-century Indian singers Living people 1954 births 20th-century Indian actresses 20th-century Indian women singers People from Raigarh Women musicians from Chhattisgarh Singers from Chhattisgarh Actresses from Chhattisgarh Filmfare Awards winners