‘Rajnigandha girl’ Vidya Sinha leaves behind memories of simple stories, well told

Actor Vidya Sinha, best known for her unusual film choices, passed away in Mumbai in 2019 at the age of 71.

Vidya Sinha | Commons

In 1974, when Rajnigandha hit the screens, Vidya Sinha, former model, already had a movie out. But it was this love triangle directed by Basu Chatterjee that made the sweet-faced actor with a girl-next-door vibe a household name.

The film was unusual by all measures — at a time when Bollywood was dominated by big-budget films, the mature romance, also starring Amol Palekar and Dinesh Thakur, portrayed middle-class India with a sensitivity and realism. The film went on to win multiple awards and signalled the arrival of Sinha into the big league. She followed that up with Chhoti Si Baat in 1976. Also directed by Chatterjee and starring Palekar, the sweet, offbeat love story proved successful at the box office also.

After that, more mainstream Bollywood work found their way into Sinha’s lap, like Pati, Patni aur Woh (1978) in which she played a woman whose husband is cheating on her with his secretary. The film was a hit and she went on to do similar big-budget films like Magroor, Meera, and Swayamvar.

Born to parents who were both part of the film industry, Sinha started her career as a model at the age of 18, and slowly progressed to films. When she began acting, non-mainstream filmmakers like Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee were making movies to suit India’s middle class, and she was able to carve a niche for herself as an average Jane despite dominance of more mainstream fare of the kind directed by Manmohan Desai. But by the mid 80s, roles for Sinha started dwindling.

Chose scripts that weren’t mainstream

In her personal life, too, Sinha didn’t go as per norms. She was already married by the time her film career began, and adopted a daughter years later. By the 80s, her husband, Venkateshwaran Iyer, had begun to have health issues, so she decided to take a hiatus from films. She briefly moved to Sydney, but moved back to rejoin the entertainment industry after her husband passed away. Later, she married an Australia-based doctor whom she met online, in 2001. But about eight years later, they divorced, and Sinha took him to court for citing abuse — a case that she won.

In the new millennium, she found work again, starring in numerous TV shows such as Bahu Rani (2000), Hum Do Hain Na, Bhabhi and Kkavyanjali (2004), and Qubool Hai (2012). She was also seen in a 2018 series, Kulfi Kumarr Bajewala. Her last big film was Salman Khan’s Bodyguard in which she had a minor role.

The perfect foil to more glamorous counterparts like Parveen Babi, Sinha had a knack for choosing scripts that weren’t mainstream.

When India heard of her death in Mumbai, after having been reportedly in a critical condition for a few days due to heart and lung disorders, generations of movie-goers will be reminded of gems like Na Jaane Kyon from Chhoti Si Baat and Rajnigandha Phool Tumhare from Rajnigandha, of a woman who favoured cotton saris and soft, simple hairstyles, of the simple, quiet charm of a white rajnigandha flower.