Sulakshana Pandit dies: ‘First love’ Sanjeev Kumar’s death shattered her, family shielded her from tragic news of sister’s murder for decades

Sulakshana Pandit passed away in Mumbai on November 7. (Photo: Express Archives)

Sulakshana was the daughter of classical vocalist Pratap Narain Pandit. She came from a big family of seven siblings – brothers Jatin and Lalit Pandit (popularly known as musical duo Jatin-Lalit), brother Mandheer Pandit, and sisters, Maya, Sandhya and Vijayta. Sandhya was murdered in 2012, and to Sulakshana’s dying day, Vijayta shielded her from that tragic news.

In an earlier chat with Lehren Retro in 2024, Vijayta shared that Sulakshana still believed that Sandhya was alive. “I keep telling her that our sister is fine, she lives in Indore, and that she calls me too,” she said and added that she was doing so because this news would be too much of a shock for Sulakshana, and Vijayta was scared of breaking it to her. “I never told her because if she finds out, she will die that very moment,” she said.

Sanjeev Kumar and Sulakshana Pandit on the set of Uljhan. (Photo: Express Archives)

Sulakshana Pandit’s tragic love story with Sanjeev Kumar

After impressing the musical fraternity with her singing skills, Sulakshana made her debut in the movies with the 1975 film Uljhan, where she starred alongside Sanjeev Kumar. It was on this set that she fell in love with him but little did she know that this love would ruin her. While she loved Sanjeev with all her might, he did not. It was presumed that he could never get over his love for Hema Malini, and this broke Sulakshana.

“I have never loved anyone as much as I loved him,” she once told Filmfare. Sanjeev’s drinking was starting to deteriorate his health but he didn’t stop drinking anyway, but, despite that, Sulakshana dedicated herself and kept caring for him.

ALSO READ | Sanjeev Kumar ‘numbered’ his girlfriends, feared gold-diggers; died without home or wife after failed relationships with Hema Malini, Shabana Azmi

She shared that she once asked him to marry her while they were visiting a temple, but he refused and left her heartbroken. “One day, after his bypass operation, we had gone to a Hanuman mandir in Delhi. I told Sanjeevji that I loved him and asked him to put sindoor in my parting.I asked him to marry me so that I could look after him. But he refused, saying he could never forget his first love,” she said.

Despite his rejection, Sulakshana continued to love him, and when the actor died in 1985, it had a severe effect on her mental health. “After Sanjeevji died, I went into acute depression,” she said and added, “Zindagi veeran ho gayi (My life is empty now.)” She never got married after this heartbreak.

Her sister Vijayta told Filmfare in the same chat, “She was broken when Sanjeevji passed away. Yes, she was in love with him. Whether it was one-sided, I don’t know. She surely loved him but how much he liked her I wouldn’t be able to tell.”

Jeetendra and Sulakshana Pandit co-starred in six films during her decade long career. (Photo: Express Archives)

Sulakshana Pandit’s short-lived film career

She worked with Vinod Khanna, Feroz Khan, Rishi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Shashi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna in films like Hera Pheri, Shankar Shambhu, Sankoch, Apnapan, among many others. Jeetendra was one of her most frequent collaborators and the two worked together in more than six films.

Sulakshana Pandit’s death

In 2006, Sulakshana moved in with her sister Vijayta and brother-in-law Aadesh as they offered to care for her after her many emotional setbacks. After Aadesh’s untimely death in 2015, Sulakshana continued to live with her sister and her children. “It is my time to care for her,” her sister Vijayta told The Times of India a few years ago.

Sulakshana passed away on November 6 due to a cardiac arrest while she was on her way to the hospital.