Veteran actress Vidya Sinha passes away

Vidya Sinha (Picture courtesy/AFP)

Vidya Sinha, best remembered for her roles in Basu Chatterjee's films such as Rajnigandha (1974) and Chhoti Si Baat (1976), and BR Chopra's Pati, Patni Aur Woh (1978), passed away today - August 15, 2019. She was hospitalised since August 10, after she complained of breathlessness. Sinha was on ventilator support at Criticare Hospital in Juhu, Mumbai and she was diagnosed with lung and heart disorders.

Since her condition was critical she had been put on a ventilator but failed to recover and expired around 1 pm.

Vidya Sinha's last notable role was in Salman Khan's 2011 Eid release, Bodyguard. In recent times, she has been busy with television assignments. She was seen in shows such as Ekta Kapoor's Kaavyanjali, besides Kulfi Kumarr Bajewala.

In between, Sinha had been missing from the serial on account of her illness but bounced back a few weeks ago till her demise today.

Veteran actress Vidya Sinha with Asha Parekh during the radio debut of the Golden Era of Indian cinema on 92.7 BIG FM's new show 'Suhaana Safar with Annu Kapoor' in Mumbai on June 19, 2013. (Picture/Yogen Shah)

A major figure in Bollywood in the 1970s-1980s, comfortably straddling both the commercial and alternate cinema, Sinha was noted for her sad and somber roles as well as light and romantic films with many top actors of the era.

Among her other notable films were: "Hawas" (1974), "Chhoti Si Baat" (1975), "Mera Jeevana (1976), the crime-thriller "Inkaar", "Kitaab" (both 1977), "Pati, Patni aur Woh" and Basu Chatterjee's "Safed Jhooth" (both 1978), a horror flick "Saboot" (1980), "Love Story" and as a gangster in "Josh" (both 1981) and Salman Khan's mega-hit "Bodyguarda (2011).

Picture courtesy/Yogen Shah

Gracefully sailing into senior roles in films and television, she was seen in teleserials like "Kkavyanjali" (2005), "Haar Jeet" (2012), "Qubool Hai" (2012), "Isqh Ka Rang Safed" (2015), "Chandra Nandini" (2016) and lately in "Kulfi Kumar Bajewala" (2018 onwards), telecast on various entertainment channels.

Born in Mumbai on November 15, 1947, to film producer Rana Pratap Singh, she started her professional career as a model and even won the Miss Bombay contest, catching the eye of renowned filmmaker Basu Chatterjee, making her mark in the industry though she entered it post-marriage.

Though her first film was "Raja Kaka" (1974), it was Chatterjee's "Rajnigandhaa that year which catapulted her to fame, with the title song by Lata Mangeshkar still fresh in public memory.

According to a report in IANS, Vidya's first marriage was with Venkateshwaran Iyer in 1968. They adopted a daughter, Jahnvi. After Iyer's demise, she married an Australia-based doctor named Netaji Bhimrao Salunkhe, whom she met at an online chat room in 2001 but divorced in 2009. She had filed a complaint of domestic violence in January 2009. A court order subsequently directed Salunkhe to pay Rs 10,000 per month as maintenance pay.

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