Veteran playback singer and former actor Sulakshana Pandit passed away on Thursday at the age of 71. Known for her remarkable contributions to Indian cinema and music, Pandit began her career in the 1970s and left a lasting impact on both fields.
Sulakshana made her acting debut in the suspense thriller ‘Uljhan’ in 1975, starring opposite Sanjeev Kumar. She went on to appear in several notable Hindi films during the late 1970s and early 1980s, including ‘Sankoch’, ‘Hera Pheri’, ‘Apnapan’, ‘Khandaan’, ‘Chehre Pe Chehra’, ‘Dharam Kanta’, and ‘Waqt Ki Deewar’.
Her performances alongside leading actors such as Jeetendra, Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna, Shashi Kapoor, and Shatrughan Sinha earned her recognition as one of the prominent actresses of her time.
In 1978, she acted in the Bengali film ‘Bandie’ opposite Uttam Kumar, highlighting her versatility across languages and cinema industries.
Alongside acting, Sulakshana Pandit had a career in playback singing. She made her singing debut as a child in 1967 with the song ‘Saat Samundar Paar Se’ for the film ‘Taqdeer’, alongside Lata Mangeshkar.
Over the years, she recorded songs with legendary singers like Kishore Kumar and Hemant Kumar, and sang in multiple languages including Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Oriya, and Gujarati. She also released the album ‘Jazbaat’ in 1980 and was known for her ghazal performances.
Her duets with renowned playback singers and collaborations with music directors such as Shankar Jaikishan, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Kalyanji Anandji, Bappi Lahiri, and Rajesh Roshan reinforced her status in the music industry.
Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
