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Sulakshana Pandit, who sparked to prominence as a singer-actor in the 1970s and whose promising career was cut short by a string of unfortunate events, passed away following a heart attack at Mumbai’s Nanavati Hospital on Thursday. She was 71.Sulakshana Pandit was only 13 when first noticed in ‘Saat samundar paar se’ (film: Taqdeer, 1967), a duet she sang with the peerless Lata Mangeshkar. Another memorable track, ‘Beqarar dil tu gaaye ja (film: Door Ka Rahi)’ with Kishore Kumar further underlined her precocious talent.But in the mid-seventies, producers also noticed her leading lady looks. Over the next decade or so, Sulakshna became a prominent singing star in Hindi cinema. During this period, she was paired opposite top heroes of the time – Sanjeev Kumar (Uljhan, Waqt Ki Deewar), Rishi Kapoor (Raaja), Jeetendra (Sankoch, Apnapan, Dharam Kanta), Rajesh Khanna (Bundalbaaz), Vinod Khanna (Hera Pheri) and Shashi Kapoor (Phansi), among others. Singing was her core competence though. In some films she acted in, Sulakshana rendered a song or two. But in a field dominated by established singers, it wasn’t easy to make major headway. However, Sulakshana showcased her capabilities with her soaring rendition, ‘Tu hi sagar hai tu hi kinara’ (film: Sankalp, music director: Khayyam). The composition maximised the inherent sweetness of her voice and displayed her mastery over the high notes. It also earned her the Filmfare award for the best female singer. ‘Bandhi re kahe preet’ (film: Sankoch), which was also filmed on her, and ‘Khali pyaala ujla darpan’ (film: Sparsh), a masterclass melody by the minimalist composer Kanu Roy, are some of her other classics. Sulakshna came from a family of musicians. Jatin-Lalit, the composer duo, are her brothers. Her actor-singer sister, Vijeta, played the female lead in the superhit, Love Story.
