Veteran singer and actress Sulakshana Pandit passed away on Thursday, November 6, at the age of 71. Known for her soulful voice and graceful screen presence, she breathed her last at Mumbai’s Nanavati Hospital after a prolonged illness. Born on July 12, 1954, in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, Sulakshana belonged to a distinguished musical lineage. She was the sister of the celebrated composer duo Jatin–Lalit and the niece of the legendary classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj.Her brother and music composer Lalit Pandit confirmed the news of her death to Mid-Day and said, “She passed away today around 8.00 pm. She suffered cardiac arrest. Her funeral will be tomorrow (November 7) at 12.00 noon.”

Sulakshana’s singing career began as a child

Sulakshana’s musical journey began at the tender age of nine. She made her playback singing debut in 1967 with the duet ‘Saat Samandar Paar Se’ alongside Lata Mangeshkar in the film ‘Taqdeer’. Her mellifluous voice soon earned recognition, especially with the emotional track ‘Tu Hi Sagar Hai Tu Hi Kinara’ from ‘Sankalp’ (1975), which became one of her defining songs.

Illustrious acting career

While she was admired as a singer, Sulakshana also made a mark as an actress. She made her acting debut opposite Sanjeev Kumar in ‘Uljhan’ (1975 and their onscreen pair became popular. It was also said that she fell in love with him for real. She went on to feature in several movies which remain memorable, like ‘Bundal Baaz’ with Rajesh Khanna, ‘Hera Pheri’ with Vinod Khanna, ‘Waqt Ki Deewar’ ‘Waqt Ki Deewar’ which had Jeetendra, Sanjeev, and many other movies ‘Sankoch’, ‘Khandaan’ and more. She shared screen space with Shashi Kapoor in films like ‘Salaakhen’, ‘Phaansi’, ‘Amar Shakti’.

Her decision to leave the movie business

Reports suggest that Sulakshana was deeply in love with Sanjeev Kumar who refused to marry her. His untimely demise in 1985 left her deeply heartbroken. Due to this loss, Sulakshana never got married and and gradually even withdrew from the limelight.