7 Things You Didn’t Know About Nanda

7 Things You Didn’t Know About Nanda

The legendary actress passed away this morning and has left a void in the film industry, which can never be filled

nanda bollywood actressNanda, known for hits like Jab Jab Phool Khile and Gumnaam, died this morning at her Versova residence after suffering a heart attack. She was 75. The actor has shared screen space with Bollywood legends like – Dev Anand, Shashi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna, Manoj Kumar and Jeetendra and has lived her life under the limelight for almost four decades.  Here are some of the lesser known facts about the actor. Read on…

1. Nanda’s paternal uncle V Shantaram gave the actor her first big break by casting her in a successful brother-sister saga Toofan Aur Diya (1956).

2. Nanda received her first Filmfare Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor (Female) for Bhabhi (1957); she claims that the reason she didn’t win was because there was lobbying involved.

3. Nanda played the title role in L V Prasad’s Chhoti Bahen (1959), which made her a star over night.

4. Nanda won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor (Female) Award for Anchal (1960).

5. Nanda signed eight films with Shashi Kapoor at a time when he was yet to become successful actor in Bollywood. Their first two films as a pair were – the critically acclaimed romantic film Char Diwari (1961) and Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath (1962), which did not work commercially but the rest were successful at the box office.

6. Nanda had suggested Rajendra Kumar, the co-producer of The Train, to take Rajesh Khanna as the main lead.

7. In 1992, a middle-aged Nanda got engaged to director Manmohan Desai on insistence from close friend Waheeda Rehman. But he died after falling from the terrace of his rented flat in Girgaon, just a year after her mother died of cancer. Nanda preferred remaining unmarried for the rest of her life.
