Nanda (actress) - Career

Career

Nanda's paternal uncle V. Shantaram gave Nanda a big break by casting her in a successful brother-sister saga Toofan Aur Diya (1956). She received her first Filmfare Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress for Bhabhi (1957); she claims that the reason she didn't win was because there was lobbying involved. She then played supporting roles like sister to stars like Dev Anand in Kala Bazar, and did small roles in big films like Dhool Ka Phool.

She played the title role in L.V. Prasad's Chhoti Bahen (1959). The movie was a big hit, making her a star. She then played lead roles, such as one of Dev Anand’s heroines in Hum Dono (1961) and Teen Deviyan. Both films were acclaimed as 'hits'. She was the heroine in B R Chopra's Kanoon (1960), a film that was very unusual back then, because it had no songs. She won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Anchal (1960).

Nanda was known to encourage newcomers.She starred with Shashi Kapoor in 8 while he was a newcomer, but their first 2 films as a pair - the critically acclaimed romantic film Char Diwari(1961) and Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath (1962) did not work but the rest were successful at the box office. She signed 8 films with Shashi Kapoor at a time when he was yet to successful in Hindi Cinema. Shashi, who though had achieved success in English films in 1963 and in 2 hero Hindi films in 1965, had 5 flops as solo lead hero from his debut in 1961 till 1965 in Hindi films.In Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965), Nanda played a westernised role for the first time and it helped her image. Her favorite song that was famously picturized on her in the film was "Yeh Samaa." (Shashi Kapoor would later declare that Nanda was his favorite heroine. Nanda, too, declared Kapoor as her favourite hero.) In the 60’s the pair of Shashi-Nanda had string of 5 box office romantic hit films like Mohabbat Isko Kahete Hain (1965), Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965), Neend Hamari Khwab Tumhare (1966), Raja Saab(1969) and Rootha Na Karo(1970).In early seventies, it was Nanda who suggested Rajendra Kumar, co-producer of The Train, to take Rajesh Khanna, as the main lead hero.

She had another hit film in 1965 with Gumnaam, which helped put her in the top league of heroines. With Manoj Kumar, she further worked in Mera Kasoor Kya Hai. She played heroine roles throughout the 1960s but offers dried up in early 70's.She signed with new leading man Rajesh Khanna in the songless suspense thriller Ittefaq (1969) for which she received a Filmfare nomination as Best Actress. After Khanna became a super-star, he signed two more films with her: the thriller The Train (1970) and a comedy Joroo Ka Ghulam (1972) which became hits. Jeetendra, too, had some hit films with her like Parivar, Dharti Kahe Pukarke; with Sanjay Khan, she had a hit in Beti.

After a small role in Manoj Kumar's Shor (1972), Nanda did few more films such as Chhalia (1973), Naya Nasha (1974),which flopped and she then stopped. In 1982, she came back with three successful films, all coincidentally playing heroine Padmini Kolhapure's mother in Ahista Ahista, Mazdoor and Raj Kapoor's Prem Rog. Then she permanently retired from acting.