Veteran actor Sandhya Shantaram dies at 94; Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis condoles the demise

Veteran actor Sandhya Shantaram, wife of late filmmaker V Shantaram, has died due to age-related ailments, her family said on Saturday (October 4). She was 94.

Sandhya Shantaram was the third wife of the legendary filmmaker and frequently starred as the leading lady in films such as Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), Navrang (1959), Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje (1955), and Pinjra (1972).

Kiran Shantaram, V Shantaram’s son from his second marriage with Jayashree, said the veteran actor breathed her last on Friday night. “She passed away last night at 10 pm at Rajkamal Studio, where she had been living. She had been unwell for the past four to five years, and was suffering from fever and cough recently,” Kiran Shantaram told PTI.

Mahipal and Sandhya in a still from V Shantaram’s Hindi film “Navrang”

“We would often tell her that she would be with us till she turned 100. The saddest part was that she did not have children of her own with my father, but she treated me and my sisters like her own. She was very sweet, a wonderful cook, and would lovingly feed us,” he said.

The last rites were held on Saturday morning at Shivaji Park crematorium.

A popular actor of the 1950s and 60s, Sandhya Shantaram worked predominantly in Hindi and Marathi films. Some of her most notable films also include Sehra, Jal Bin Machhli Nritya Bin Bijli, and Amar Bhoopali.

Sandhya and V Shantaram in a still from ‘Stree’ (1961)
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu Archives

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday condoled the actor’s demise, saying her passing has caused a great loss to the film world.

“The news of the passing of veteran actress Sandhya Shantaram is extremely heartbreaking. Her roles in many Marathi films such as Pinjra and Navrang became immensely popular. She also made her mark in the Hindi film industry,” Fadnavis said in a post on X.

Maharashtra Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar expressed grief, calling it a great loss to Indian cinema. In a post on X, Shelar said the news of the passing of the noted actor was extremely saddening