# Nanda (actress)
**Nanda** (born Nanda Karnataki, also recorded as Nandini Karnataki; 8 January 1939 – 25 March 2014) was an Indian film actress who worked in Hindi and [Marathi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/marathi-cinema) for more than three decades, first as a child performer credited as Baby Nanda and later as one of the leading heroines of 1960s Hindi film.[1](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/nanda) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/) She is best known for films including *Chhoti Bahen*, *Bhabhi*, *Kanoon*, *Hum Dono*, *Jab Jab Phool Khile*, *Gumnaam*, *[Ittefaq](https://www.edgepedia.org/ittefaq-1969-film)*, *The Train*, and *Prem Rog*.[1](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/nanda)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 8 January 1939, Kolhapur, Bombay Presidency, British India; 25 March 2014, Mumbai, of a heart attack, aged 75[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/) |
| Family | Daughter of Marathi actor-producer-director Master Vinayak (Vinayak Damodar Karnataki); paternal uncle was the filmmaker V. Shantaram[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/veteran-actress-nanda-passes-away-at-75/) |
| Debut | *Mandir* (1948), cast by her father at about age five; child roles from 1948 to 1956 as "Baby Nanda"[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/) • [1](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/nanda) |
| Breakthrough | V. Shantaram cast her in *Toofan Aur Diya* (1956), a hit that moved her out of child roles[4](https://cinemaazi.com/people/nanda) |
| Filmfare Awards | Best Supporting Actress win for *Aanchal* (1960); nominations for *Bhabhi* (1957), *Ittefaq* (1969), *Ahista Ahista* (1981), and *Prem Rog* (1982)[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/veteran-actress-nanda-passes-away-at-75/) |
| Pay standing | Second highest paid Hindi actress 1960–1965 (shared with Nutan); third highest 1970–1973 (shared with Sadhana)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/) |
| Final films | Returned in 1982–83 in *Ahista Ahista*, *Mazdoor*, and *Prem Rog*, playing Padmini Kolhapure's mother in all three, then retired permanently[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/veteran-actress-nanda-passes-away-at-75/) |
## Early life and child career
Nanda was born in Kolhapur into a Maharashtrian show-business family. Her father, Master Vinayak, was a successful Marathi actor, producer, and director, and her paternal uncle was [V. Shantaram](https://www.edgepedia.org/v-shantaram), a pioneering figure of Indian filmmaking.[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/veteran-actress-nanda-passes-away-at-75/) • [5](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/20_IPCatalogue2014.pdf) Her father cast her in his film *Mandir* (1948) when she was about five years old; she did not want the part, and her mother persuaded her to take it. Master Vinayak died suddenly during the filming, and the film was completed by Dinkar Patil.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/)
**Supporting the family.** After her father's death the family's finances suffered, and Nanda worked as a child actress to support her parents and six siblings, appearing as "Baby Nanda" in films such as *Jaggu* (1952), *Angaarey*, and *Jagriti* between 1948 and 1956.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/) • [6](https://www.saregama.com/blog/nanda-birthday/) Her schooling suffered as a result, and she was homeschooled by the school teacher and Bombay Scouts commissioner Gokuldas V. Makhi.[6](https://www.saregama.com/blog/nanda-birthday/) For her performance in the Marathi film *Shevagyachya Shenga* (1955), she received accolades from Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.[4](https://cinemaazi.com/people/nanda)
## Transition to adult roles
V. Shantaram gave Nanda her first major Hindi role in *Toofan Aur Diya* (1956), a brother-sister drama that became a hit; from this film she was billed simply as Nanda rather than Baby Nanda.[4](https://cinemaazi.com/people/nanda) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/) She received her first Filmfare nomination, as Best Supporting Actress, for *Bhabhi* (1957), in which she played the widowed sister of [Balraj Sahni](https://www.edgepedia.org/balraj-sahni)'s protagonist.[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/veteran-actress-nanda-passes-away-at-75/) • [7](https://www.dawn.com/news/1095621/newspaper/newspaper/column)
The title role of L.V. Prasad's *Chhoti Bahen* (1959), as a blind younger sister cared for by two elder brothers played by Balraj Sahni and Rehman, made her a star; its [Raksha Bandhan](https://www.edgepedia.org/raksha-bandhan) song *Bhaiya mere rakhi ke bandhan ko nibhana* became closely identified with her.[1](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/nanda) • [8](https://coastweek.tum.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/coastweek/1478/CoastweekFULL%20Vol%2041%20Feb%202018-6.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1) She won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for *Aanchal* (1960) while still a teenager.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/)
## Leading lady, 1960s
[Dev Anand](https://www.edgepedia.org/dev-anand), impressed by her performance as his sister in *Kala Bazaar* (1960), cast her as his heroine in *Hum Dono* (1961), a hit that opened the way to lead roles.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/) She also starred in B.R. Chopra's *Kanoon* (1960), a courtroom film with no songs, which was rare at the time, and in *Teen Deviyan*.[1](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/nanda) • [3](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/veteran-actress-nanda-passes-away-at-75/)
**Partnership with Shashi Kapoor.** Nanda was known for encouraging newcomers. She signed a series of films with [Shashi Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/shashi-kapoor) when he was still unsuccessful in [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema); their first two films together, *Char Diwari* (1961) and *Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath* (1962), flopped, but the later pairings succeeded.[1](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/nanda) Kapoor later called her his favorite leading lady, and she named him her favorite hero.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/) • [1](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/nanda) Their biggest hit was *Jab Jab Phool Khile* (1965), in which she played a glamorous, Westernized woman in love with a Kashmiri boatman played by Kapoor; the film changed her image from tragedienne to fashionable star, and its song *Yeh sama* became famous.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/) • [9](https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/wife-or-spirited-girl-she-played-both-with-elan/) The same year, the murder mystery *Gumnaam* put her in the top league of heroines.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/)
In 1969 she signed with the new leading man [Rajesh Khanna](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajesh-khanna) in the songless suspense thriller *Ittefaq*, playing a nervous housewife opposite a killer on the run; the film succeeded at the box office and earned her a Filmfare nomination as Best Actress.[1](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/nanda) • [9](https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/wife-or-spirited-girl-she-played-both-with-elan/) After Khanna became a star, he made two more films with her, *The Train* (1970) and *Joroo Ka Ghulam* (1972), both hits.[1](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/nanda) She also reportedly suggested that [Rajendra Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajendra-kumar), co-producer of *The Train*, take Khanna as the film's lead.[1](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/nanda)
## Later career and retirement
Nanda began winding down her work in the 1970s. After a small role in Manoj Kumar's *Shor* (1972), her later films such as *Chhalia* (1973) and *Naya Nasha* (1974), in which she played a drug addict, did not do well, and offers dried up as her pairings with younger actors failed.[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/veteran-actress-nanda-passes-away-at-75/) • [1](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/nanda)
She returned in 1982 with three films, *Ahista Ahista*, *Mazdoor*, and [Raj Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/raj-kapoor)'s *Prem Rog*, in all of which she played the mother of [Padmini Kolhapure](https://www.edgepedia.org/padmini-kolhapure); the latter two brought back-to-back Filmfare nominations as Best Supporting Actress. She then retired from films permanently.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/) • [3](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/veteran-actress-nanda-passes-away-at-75/) Her last screen appearance is generally dated to *Mazdoor* (1983).[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/veteran-actress-nanda-passes-away-at-75/)
## Personal life
Nanda was described by colleagues as shy, private, and generous. She remained close to a circle of actress friends, including [Waheeda Rehman](https://www.edgepedia.org/waheeda-rehman), Asha Parekh, Sadhana, Helen, and [Saira Banu](https://www.edgepedia.org/saira-banu).[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/) She was engaged to the filmmaker [Manmohan Desai](https://www.edgepedia.org/manmohan-desai), with the engagement reported in 1992, but he died before the wedding could take place, and she never married.[7](https://www.dawn.com/news/1095621/newspaper/newspaper/column) • [3](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/veteran-actress-nanda-passes-away-at-75/)
## Death and legacy
Nanda died of a sudden heart attack at her Andheri residence in Mumbai on the morning of 25 March 2014, aged 75; relatives said she had no history of illness.[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/veteran-actress-nanda-passes-away-at-75/) • [10](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/celebrities/story/actor-nanda-dies-at-the-age-of-75-186174-2014-03-25) Her funeral drew figures from across the film industry.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/) Commentators have noted her range across sister, wife, and Westernized heroine roles, her natural screen crying, and her authenticity in songs such as *Allah tero naam* in *Hum Dono* and *Zindagi aur kuch bhi nahin teri meri kahani hai* in *Shor*.[9](https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/wife-or-spirited-girl-she-played-both-with-elan/) • [11](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/play/nanda-simple-yet-classic/) Her pairing with Shashi Kapoor in *Jab Jab Phool Khile* is credited with inspiring the later film *Raja Hindustani*.[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/veteran-actress-nanda-passes-away-at-75/)
## References
1. [Nanda — Filmography & Biography, Indian Film History](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/nanda)
2. [Nanda Karnataki, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620785/)
3. [Veteran actress Nanda passes away at 75, The Indian Express (25 March 2014)](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/veteran-actress-nanda-passes-away-at-75/)
4. [Nanda — Artists, Cinemaazi](https://cinemaazi.com/people/nanda)
5. [Nanda (1939–2014), Indian Panorama catalogue, Directorate of Film Festivals (2014)](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/20_IPCatalogue2014.pdf)
6. [Remembering Nanda Karnataki On Her Birth Anniversary, Saregama](https://www.saregama.com/blog/nanda-birthday/)
7. [Indian actress Nanda dies at 75, Dawn (26 March 2014)](https://www.dawn.com/news/1095621/newspaper/newspaper/column)
8. [Nanda Was the Snow White of Hindi Cinema, Coastweek (February–March 2018)](https://coastweek.tum.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/coastweek/1478/CoastweekFULL%20Vol%2041%20Feb%202018-6.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)
9. [Wife or spirited girl, she played both with elan, The Indian Express (26 March 2014)](https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/wife-or-spirited-girl-she-played-both-with-elan/)
10. [Veteran actress Nanda passes away at the age of 75, India Today (25 March 2014)](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/celebrities/story/actor-nanda-dies-at-the-age-of-75-186174-2014-03-25)
11. [Nanda: Simple yet Classic, The Indian Express (28 March 2014)](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/play/nanda-simple-yet-classic/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Indian and South Asian film actors by industry and language › Hindi film actors, 1930s–1960s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license