Nanda To Jiah Khan: The Death Of A Single Heroine

Bollywood’s single leading ladies almost always face an ignoble death followed by “family” warring over property.

Madhubala, Jiah Khan and Nanda. (Jiah Khan photo courtesy: Khalid Mohamed)

The death of an actor is always tragic and when the actor happens to be a single heroine, there is an additional mystery to it. And Bollywood has a long list of such names.

Harking back, Madhubala, diagnosed with a hole in her heart, was sent to her parents’ home by her husband Kishore Kumar. He was traveling for shoots and Madhu needed looking after and would feel better midst her own family.

Madhubala and Kishore Kumar in a still from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi.

Days stretched into weeks and months but Kishore Kumar never found time to either visit his ailing wife or to bring her home again. She was sad and lonely in her last days and in extreme pain. Those who know her claim that Madhubala died not of heart failure, but of neglect.

In the autumn of the year 1972, as Meena Kumari battled for her life in a nursing home in South Mumbai, her few loyalists waited nervously outside. None of them were rich enough to single-handedly pay her hospital bills and had to pool in money to organise her last rites. The enchanting, mesmerising actress who was generous to everybody and ruled the show business, departed unsung. The few, who cared to participate in her final journey, spoke about the deceased in hushed whispers.

The death of Divya Bharti is shrouded in mystery even after so many years of her demise. Was she really sitting on the ledge outside her bedroom window and accidentally slipped to her death below or was it a contemplated action? Was there an argument, was she inebriated, was she unhappy? What was troubling her and how did those close to her deal with the demons? Will the demons never stop hounding her husband Sajid Nadiadwala?

The Hanste Zakhm actress Priya Rajvansh did not marry filmmaker Chetan Anand but they were recognised as a couple in public. After Chetan Anand passed away, Priya was lonely and often complained to friends that she feared her life was in danger. When she finally died in 2000, it was unclear if she had collapsed from an over dose of alcohol or if she had committed suicide till much later it was proved that her fears were not unfounded. She was indeed murdered by people she knew.

Suraiya’s autographed still from the film Dillagi. (Photo courtesy: Twitter/@MMudbbirAli)

Remember the time the legendary singer-actress Suraiya died in 2004? There are stories of her wounded ankles and a bleeding mouth as the nurse tried to wipe the trail of blood with cotton. Five months post the tragedy, her legal advisor Dhimant Thakar and his daughter Ami Shah came forward to claim the actress’ spacious Marine Drive flat, other properties and jewellery worth crores.

It was time for the city crime branch to investigate the mysterious circumstances leading to the 75-year-old actress’s death.

Suraiya’s old neighbour and confidante Shabeer Memon shared that Suraiya always wanted to donate her property to a public trust, but her legal expert Thakar insisted that Suraiya considered him and his wife as her family and that they were there for the actress when nobody was willing to assume responsibility.

The nurse looking after Devika Rani in a hotel in Bangalore said the same and was the legal heir of the Bombay Talkie star, who had nobody to leave her wealth to except her caretaker. I’m not sure if the nurse finally got everything, but there were many controversies following her demise for sure.

Nadira in a still from Shree 420.

The Mud mud ke na dekh actress Nadira, nee Florence Ezekiel was admitted to the hospital after a paralytic stroke and eventually died of a liver failure. In her last days, Nadira was confined to her third floor apartment at Vasundhara on Peddar Road and craved for company but visitors were infrequent. She lived in sepia memories surrounded by Black & White photographs and relegated stories of stardom to her loyal maid who addressed her as ‘Mummy’. Nadira was financially secure fortunately and whenever the Jew Association asked her if she needed help, she always declined politely. She was religious and regularly visited the synagogue during the Jewish New Year but it was her desire to be cremated like a Hindu.

Parveen Babi will be remembered as the girl on the Time magazine cover. She was like a lily in the woods, easy to hurt and fragile. In her long successful career, she suffered much heartbreak and when she could not handle it, she broke down completely. Those who loved her tried to protect her but she was beyond help.

Diagnosed with schizophrenia Paranoia, Parveen spent her last days all alone in a sprawling apartment without an attendant or even a doctor. It is said that the neighbors complained of stench and the police was summoned to break open the door to discover a gangrene infected Parveen collapsed on the floor. The year was 2005.

Parveen always said she had no family except her mother but after her demise innumerable relatives gathered at the hospital to claim her property and her money. The case is still going on…

In 2013 came another suicide story, another young actress Jiya Khan had committed suicide. The story was as heart-rending and macabre as Divya Bharti’s in the ’90s probably because both were young and madly in love.

But while Divya Bharti’s parents preferred to let bygones be bygones, Jiya Khan’s mother made sure that the police and the press never forgot the story. Senior Khan says she is doing it to get justice for her daughter but has anybody stopped to think if this is what Jiya would have wanted?

In 2015 veteran actor Nanda passed away and after a few obituaries in tabloids and fitting tributes by television channels, it seemed like a closed chapter to a glorious career and life. But as expected, skeletons tumbled out when the family challenged the actress’s will and combined force to fight for her property. If she were alive today, would she have approved of this public display? I don’t think so. From whatever I knew of her, she was a private person and shunned controversies.

She took a long time to make friends. I was introduced to Nanda by her hairdresser Kusum at Naseem Bano’s funeral. We met again at Asha Parekh’s 60th birthday, a rare presence because Nandaji did not socialise. Coincidentally she was seated on the same table and I was happy to notice she was wearing sky-blue instead of her trademark white. She noticed me looking at her and said, her friend had requested her to wear a different colour and she did not want to let her down!

We bumped into each other again at a music shop and she shared that she often went for a drive in the evenings to buy music and flowers. She invited me for coffee to her home and it was an evening I will never forget. We lingered over several cups of coffee, shifting from the living room to the terrace facing the sea watching sunset.

Staring at the lashing waves she shared many stories; spoke about her foray into films as Master Vinayak’s daughter, her memories as child star, as adolescent and finally her experiences as a heroine. She spoke of the highs and the lows in her career, of her large, joint family that slowly crumbled, of her roles and characters, of box-office fairings and banners.

Nanda on the sets of a film. (Photo courtesy: Facebook/ bsp)

Nanda believed that one of the reasons she was not tremendously successful was because she did not belong to any one banner. She had no godfather, no camp. As a result, her career was a journey of trials and errors and she had no regrets.

I played the good sister in films like <i>Chotti Behen</i>, the ideal daughter in <i>Aaj aur Kal</i>, the good wife in <i>Hum Dono</i> and at the same time did fun films like <i>Jab Jab Phool Khile</i>, <i>The Train</i> and <i>Ittefaq</i>. I had good equation with all my heroes - Shashi Kapoor, Manoj Kumar, Rajesh Khanna and filmmakers repeated me. I was fortunate to get some good roles even in the later phase of my career like Manoj Kumar’s <i>Shor</i>, then <i>Mazdoor </i>and Raj Kapoor’s <i>Prem Rog</i>. Raj Kapoor and I were never paired in our younger days but cinema is full of surprises and we worked as actor-director in his last film and also mine. He was so talented and there were so many lessons to be learnt as an actor from him.

Nanda, Actor

There are so many memories connected with Nandaji, some of them too precious to share in print. The last time I met Nandaji was at Waheeda Rehman’s home. She was exhausted and lying on the couch but as usual happy to catch up on films. Her eyes lit up every time we discussed a great performance. She said, “I may not be acting in films any longer but cinema is in the blood and will stay connected till the end.”

There was a quiet dignity and strength about her and it reflected in the way she lived her life without crutches. That is why it is painful to see her will being challenged and discussed in public. But when you are gone, you are remembered by your family, more so if you are single. What a pity that life is not ‘Ek pyaar ka nagma hain…’

(Bhawana Somaaya has been writing on cinema for 30 years and is the author of 12 books. You can follow her on Twitter @bhawanasomaaya)