Veteran
Bollywood
actress
Nanda,
best
known
for
her
stellar
performances
in
films
like
Hum
Dono,
Ittefaq
and
Gumnaam,
passed
away
today
following
a
massive
heart
attack,
family
sources
said.
She
breathed
her
last
at
about
9.15
am
today
(March
25).
"It
is
shocking
as
she
did
not
have
any
history
of
illness," a
relative
of
hers
told
on
condition
of
anonymity.
Her
popularity
as
a
child
actress
made
her
transition
to
major
roles
easier,
and
she
literally
grew
up
on
film
sets.
Nanda
was
born
on
January
8,
1939,
to
a
Marathi-speaking
family
in
Bombay.
Nanda's
father
was
actor
Master
Vinayak,
and
her
mother
was
Meenaxi.
She
came
into
acting
at
the
age
of
8
as
her
father
passed
away
early
in
life.
She
excelled
most
often
as
a
supporting
star
but
also
found
great
acceptance
and
popularity
as
a
lead
heroine
in
later
years.
Her
identification
with
the
title
role
of
Choti
Bahen
which
stuck
in
real
life.
She
shared
screen
space
with
noted
actors
like
Ashok
Kumar,
Kishore
Kumar,
Dev
Anand,
Waheeda
Rehman,
Rajesh
Khanna
and
Shashi
Kapoor
with
whom
she
starred
in
eight
films.
Very
shy
and
almost
introvert,
Nanda
kept
to
herself,
and
did
not
have
any
relationship.
For
Nanda,
romance
didn't
come
when
it
was
needed
the
most;
and
when
it
came,
a
stroke
of
bad
luck
never
allowed
her
to
make
the
most
of
it.
Her
affair
with
Manmohan
Desai
was
short
lived
as
within
two
years
after
their
engagement
on
June
18,
1992,
Desai
expired.
"This
phase
was
the
shortest
and
the
sweetest
phase
of
my
life.
In
this
period
I
came
to
know
what
is
love,
in
fact
I
learnt
the
reason
to
live.
Though
Manji
and
I
never
worked
together,
we
fell
in
love
with
each
other.
'You
are
like
a
goddess
and
am
very
fortunate
to
have
you
in
my
life',
he
had
said,"
Nanda
had
quoted
in
an
interview
earlier.
Her
other
films
such
as
'Chhalia' and
'Naya
Nasha'
did
not
work.
She
made
a
brief
return
to
acting
in
1982
as
a
character
actress
where
she
played
the
onscreen
mother
of
Padmini
Kolhapure
in
Ahista
Ahista,
Mazdoor
and
Prem
Rog.
After
that
she
retired
from
acting.
Nanda's
last
rites
will
be
performed
at
4
pm
at
the
Oshiwari
crematorium.