Sulakshana Pandit

Sulakshana was born on July 10th in the Pandit family, which consisted of her uncle, Jasraj, a classical musician who was the winner of the much coveted 'Padma Shree' Award in India. She has three brothers and three sisters. Two of her brothers are Jatin and Lalit - Bollywood music composers, while one of her sisters' is Vijayata Pandit, an actress/singer in her own right. Vijayata is the wife of Composer, Aadesh Srivastav.

Things were anything but easy for Sulakshana, the eldest of all the siblings, especially when her father left, making her the bread-winner for the entire family. She began her career in Bollywood as a playback singer in 1967. Since then she has acted in over 20 & sung in over 21 movies, in a career that spanned from 1967 through to 1988.

Some of her more popular songs are 'Bekare Dil Tu Gaaye Ja, Khushiyon Se Bhare Woh Tarane' (Door Ka Rahi); 'Bandhi Re Kahey Preet, Piya Ke Sang, Anjaane Mein (Sankoch); "Mausam Mausam Lovely Mausam, Kasak Anjaani, Madhyam Madhyam' (Thodisi Bewafai); and the award-winning 'Tu Hi Sagar Hai Tu Hi Kinara, Dundta Hai Tu Kiska Sahara' from the 1975 flick 'Sankalp'.

She met with and fell in love with Harihar Zariwala, more popularly known as Bollywood actor Sanjeev Kumar, who was so very smitten by actress Hema Malini, that he turned her down. Heartbroken, She never married.

She fell into hard times after she stopped getting any offers, especially when she insisted on singing and acting simultaneously. She ended up living in a dilapidated flat that was unfurnished, and badly in need of repairs, so much so that she could not find a buyer for it.

In 2005 things changed for the better, when actor Jeetendra convinced his brother-in-law to buy this flat, while Vijeta and Aadesh stepped in to assist Sulakshana get back to her feet. With the sale of her flat, she was able to pay off her debts, as well as invest the left-over funds in 3 other flats - which ultimately continue to provide for her needs.