Sadhana

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Sadhana was born Sadhana Shivdasani in a Sindhi family in Karachi, British India on 2 September 1941. She was the only child of Sadhana was named after her father's favorite actress-dancer Sadhana Bose. Her father was the elder brother of actor Hari Shivdasani, father of actress Babita.

The family migrated from Karachi during the post-Partition riots and settled in Mumbai. Her mother home-schooled her until she was 8 years old, after which she studied at Auxilium Convent, Wadala and Jai Hind College. Although they encountered difficult times, Sadhana was allowed to watch as many as two films. Sadhana was inspired to become a film actress and actress Nutan was said to have been an inspiration for her.

Sadhana married her Love in Simla director Ram Krishna Nayyar on 7 March 1966. Their love blossomed on the film set. But as she was very young then, her parents opposed it. They were married for nearly thirty years, until his death in 1995 from asthma. The couple had no children. In 2013, she stated that doesn't keep in touch with her cousin Babita but does keep in touch with actresses such as Asha Parekh, Waheeda Rehman, Nanda and Helen Jairag Richardson.

She suffered from eye problems due to hyperthyroidism. After her retirement from acting, she refused to be photographed. Living in Santacruz, Mumbai, she rented an apartment building owned by singer Asha Bhosle.

Sadhana aspired to be an actress since childhood. Her father helped her enter films. In 1955 she played a chorus girl in the song "Mur mur ke na dekh mur mur ke" in Raj Kapoor's Shree 420. When she was 15 years old, she was approached by some producers who had seen her act in a college play. They cast her in India's first Sindhi film titled Abaana (1958), where she played the role of Sheila Ramani's younger sister.

A photograph of her publicizing Shree 420 appeared in the movie magazine Screen. It was then that Sashadhar Mukherjee, one of Hindi cinema's leading producers at that time, noticed her. She joined Mukherjee's acting school along with her debutant co-star Joy Mukherjee. Sashadhar's son. R.K. Nayyar, who had previously worked as assistant director on a few films, directed this film. He also created her trademark look, called the Sadhana cut, inspired by British actress Audrey Hepburn. The Filmalaya Production banner thus introduced Joy, Sadhana and her iconic hairstyle in their 1960 romantic film Love in Simla. The film was declared a hit at the box office and was listed in the top 10 films of 1960. During this period she would again work under the same banner opposite Joy in Ek Musafir Ek Haseena.