‘Ranbir Is Utterly Butterly Delicious’

‘All
through
the
making
of

Dil
Daulat
Aur
Duniya,
Rajesh
Khanna
never
acknowledged
me.’
‘Dev
Anand
couldn’t
carry
off
a

dhoti
in

Insaaniyat.
He
told
me
that
he
would
never
wear
one
again.’
‘Shammi
Kapoor
and
I
began
on
an
icy
note
during

Raajkumar,
but
once
the
cold
vibes
thawed,
we
became
the
best
of
buddies.’

On
Sadhana’s
83rd
birthday
anniversary,
Dinesh
Raheja
remembers
conversations
with
the
movie
legend.

By
the
time
I
first
interviewed
Sadhana,
the
breathtakingly
beautiful
star
of

Mere
Mehboob,
Waqt,
Mera
Saaya
and
the
song

Lag
Jaa
Gale
had
already
drawn
the
curtains
on
her
career.

Meeting
the
people
you
admire
often
leads
to
some
degree
of
disenchantment.

But
after
multiple
interactions
with
her,
I
was
always
impressed
by
her
pragmatism,
wit
and
brave-heart
personality
which
had
withstood
many
a
storm.

I
like
to
remember
her
as
the
queen
of
her
castle,
whether
it
was
at
her
sea-facing
flat
in
Bandra
(north
west
Mumbai)
or
later,
when
she
lived
alone
at
her
Khar
bungalow
with
a
retinue
of
maids.

Though
reclusive
with
the
press,
Sadhana
readily
granted
me
interviews
and
was
always
a
phone
call
away
for
many
casual
conversations
(which
often
didn’t
shape
into
interviews).

She
would
have
turned
83
on
September
2,
and
it
is
time
to
unpack
a
mental
Time
Capsule
marked
Sadhana.

I
spoke
to
her
for
the
last
time
when
the
actress
was
excited
about
having


walked
the
ramp
with
Ranbir
Kapoor
and
Shaina
NC
in
2014.
She
had
just
come
out
of
40
years
of
Garboesque
seclusion
(her
swan
song

Geeta
Mera
Naam
released
in
1974)
for
a
fund
raiser
for
cancer
patients.

On
the
phone,
she
enthused,
“Ranbir
is
a
terrific
actor.
But
more
importantly,
as
a
person
he
is
utterly
butterly
delicious.”

She
sported
her
famous
fringe
hairstyle
(the
legendary
Sadhana
cut)
on
the
ramp
that
day.

It
felt
good
to
hear
the
joy
in
her
voice
as
she
added,
“There
were
a
thousand
odd
people
and
they
kept
applauding
from
the
time
I
appeared
on
stage
till
the
time
I
left.”

She
concluded
firmly,
“This
is
the
last
time
I
am
making
a
public
appearance,
on
the
ramp
or
otherwise.”

Sadly,
those
words
proved
prophetic.
She
passed
away
in
2015
after
a
long,
private
battle
with
a
terminal
illness.

It’s
ironic
that
her
last
public
appearance
was
with
Ranbir
Kapoor.
The
first
time
she
faced
the
camera
was
with
Ranbir’s
grandfather,
Raj
Kapoor.
This
set
me
thinking,
and
here’s
what
she
had
to
say
about
each
of
her
heroes;
and
her
real-life
leading
man
RK
Nayyar
too.

Raj
Kapoor

I
was
barely
12
when
I
gave
my
first
shot
in
a
film.
It
was
for
Mr
Raj
Kapoor.
I
was
one
of
the
chorus
girls
for
a
song
from

Shri
420
but
the
song
was
eventually
deleted
from
the
film.

Years
later,
I
played
the
romantic
lead
opposite
Rajji
in

Dulha
Dulhan
(1964).

When
I
told
Rajji
that
I
had
worked
in

Shri
420,
he
was
surprised
and
excitedly
organised
the
reels
of
the
song.
We
watched
it
together.

Later,
we
were
supposed
to
work
together
in

Around
The
World
but
I
was
replaced
because
I
had
developed
a
thyroid
problem.

Dev
Anand

Before
I
came
to
films,
I
never
missed
a
film
co-starring
Nutan,
my
favourite
actress,
and
my
matinee
idol,
Dev
Anand.

I
enjoyed
working
with
Dev
Anand.

I
found
him
to
be
a
very
stylish
and
urbane
man.

Not
surprisingly,
he
couldn’t
carry
off
a

dhoti
in

Insaaniyat.
He
told
me
that
he
would
never
wear
one
again.

He
had
two
heroines
in

Hum
Dono
(1961):
Nanda
and
me.
I
didn’t
want
second
billing
so
they
resolved
the
matter
by
adding
‘and
Sadhana’.

In
the
1990s,
Dev
Anand
asked
me
why
I
didn’t
attend
the
premiere
of
the
colour
version
of

Hum
Dono.
But
I
didn’t
get
an
invite.

Rajendra
Kumar

My
mother
would
always
ask
me
to
find
a
handsome,
charming
groom
like
Rajendra
Kumar.
Our
first
film
together
was
the
blockbuster

Mere
Mehboob
(1963)
but
I
almost
didn’t
do
it.

When
I
was
approached
by
the
film’s
director
H
S
Rawail,
I
was
shooting
with
Dev
Anand
for
Hrishikesh
Mukherjee’s

Asli
Naqli.

Dev
Anand
had
just
been
part
of
a
Rawail
flop
called

Roop
Ki
Rani
Choron
Ka
Raja
and
discouraged
me.

But
Hrishida
wisely
reminded
me,
‘If
Rajendra
Kumar
has
agreed
to
sign

Mere
Menboob,
it
must
be
good.
He
has
a
sharp
business
sense.’

I
was
very
friendly
with
Mrs
Rajendra
Kumar
too.
She
told
me
that
she
was
a
fan
of
mine
because
even
after
a
successful
film
like

Geeta
Mera
Naam,
I
had
the
courage
to
throw
up
my
career.

Shammi
Kapoor

Shammi
Kapoor
and
I
began
on
an
icy
note
during

Raajkumar
(1964),
but
once
the
cold
vibes
thawed,
we
became
the
best
of
buddies.

Once
he
asked
me
to
get
the
famous
Sindhi
dish

sai
bhaji
since
he
wanted
to
taste
it.
But
the
moment
he
had
his
first
bite,
he
ran
for
his
life!

While
shooting
for

Sacchai,
Shammi
and
I
had
to
sit
atop
an
elephant
for
a
song.
It
was
extremely
cold
and
the
sari
I
was
wearing
was
not
enough
to
keep
the
chill
at
bay.

So
Shammi
suggested
that
I
have
a
few
swigs
from
the
brandy
he
was
drinking.

A
trifle
hesitant,
I
took
a
few
sips
and
the
shooting
went
off
like
a
breeze.

Dharmendra

I
would
have
begun
my
career
opposite
Dharmendra
in

Love
in
Simla
(1960)
but
fate
willed
otherwise.

Dharmendra
had
won
the
Filmfare
Talent
contest
and
had
been
sent
a
ticket
to
come
down
from
Punjab
to
play
the
hero.

But
renowned
producer
Mr
S
Mukherjee
thought
that
Dharmendra
looked
more
like
a
football
player
and
decided
against
casting
him.

One
day,
Mr
Nayyar
(my
director
who
went
on
to
become
my
husband)
saw
Mr
Mukherjee’s
son
Joy
Mukherjee
cycling
in
the
studio
and
announced
that
the
search
for
a
hero
had
ended.

Dharmendra
never
held
this
against
me.

Later,
we
worked
together
in

Ishq
Par
Zor
Nahin
(1970),
which
had
some
melodious
music.

Rajesh
Khanna

I
met
Rajesh
Khanna
under
strange
circumstances.
My
husband
R
K
Nayyar
and
I
had
a
friend
named
Dharamveer.

When
he
would
come
home,
he
would
say,
‘I
have
to
leave.
My
friend
Jatin
is
waiting
for
me
in
the
car.’

One
day,
we
insisted
that
he
bring
his
friend
upstairs.
Dharamveer
explained
that
the
friend
had
fractured
his
arm.

I
said,
‘Arre
bhai,
he
is
not
going
to
climb
on
his
arms.’

Finally,
Jatin
came
up,
and
he
turned
out
to
be
Rajesh
Khanna,
who
went
to
become
a
superstar.

Somehow,
the
misconception
that
he
was
not
invited
for
the
first
few
times
stayed
with
him
because
all
through
the
making
of

Dil
Daulat
Aur
Duniya
(1972),
Rajesh
Khanna
never
acknowledged
me
with
either
a
good
morning
or
a
good
night.

Sadhana’s
Real-Life
Hero:
R
K
Nayyar

My
first
director,

Love
In
Simla
(1960),
Nayyar
became
the
first
man
I
kissed
at
19,
and
the
only
man
I
ever
loved.

My
famous
Sadhana
cut
fringe
was
born
out
of
necessity
because
my
forehead
was
broad.
They
tried
pasting
little
strips
of
hair
under
my
hairline
but
finally,
RK
Nayyar
hit
upon
the
idea
of
a
fringe.

My
parents
opposed
our
romance
but
I
married
him
six
years
later
in
1966.

I
used
to
call
my
husband
Rummy
because
while
on
our
honeymoon,
he
taught
me
to
play
rummy,
a
card
game.
I
got
hooked
on
to
it.
Later,
I
was
a
regular
at
the
Otters
Club
(a
club
in
Bandra,
north
west
Mumbai)
card
room.

Nayyar
and
I
fought
often.

We
even
filed
for
divorce
but
got
together
again
and
didn’t
bother
to
withdraw
the
divorce
papers.

Once
I
wore
a
cleavage-revealing
outfit
to
a
party.
Nayyar
requested
me
to
change
but
I
stubbornly
stood
my
ground.
He
finally
said,
‘In
that
case,
you’ll
stand
throughout
the
party.’

After
I
became
a
widow,
on
one
occasion,
I
desperately
wanted
advice
and
missed
my
husband.
I
opened
my
cupboard
and
my
husband’s
diary
fell
onto
me;
and
I
got
the
advice
I
was
looking
for.
If
I
am
born
again,
I
will
marry
Nayyar.
I
can’t
imagine
living
a
life
with
anyone
else.