Actress Nanda’s contemporaries remember their lost friend, Bollywood mourns

Veteran actors of the Hindi film industry, Manoj Kumar, Saira Banu, Mala Sinha and Prem Chopra, expressed their heartfelt agony over the death news of our very own actress Nanda. While Kumar and Chopra described her as a “down to earth person” and a “woman with no tantrums”, Banu remembered her as “homely and family oriented”. Mala Sinha recalled Nanda’s cooperation on the film sets and her healthy professionalism.
Manoj Kumar co-starred Nanda in films like Gumnaam, Shor and Bedaag and he couldn’t believe his ears when he came to know the saddening news. Kumar recollected, “I started working with her when she was already established and I felt apprehensive to work with her. She encouraged me a lot. I had great experience working with her. She was obedient and punctual.” He also described the late star as an “angel”. Chopra who has been a popular face as a villain said, “I did not have the privilege to work with her, but I admired her work a lot. She was a very warm and loving woman. she had no tantrums. I had met her socially she was good to talk.” Nanda’s one of the good friends from the industry, Saira Banu, was also shocked as she said, "It's terrible to hear this sad news. I am devastated. She was a very sweet and loving person. She was homely and family oriented. She was not a party person... This was a common quality between the two of us.” "I loved her the most in 'Chhoti Behan', 'Jab Jab Phool Khile'. I admired her work a lot, she was a very talented actress," she said further. Banu also spoke to Nanda last Saturday and gifted her a white outfit which Nanda loved a lot as well.

Yesteryear actress Mala Sinha recalled those days when she and Nanda acted together in Dhool Ka Phool (1959). Sinha said, "We always applauded each other's shots. If I did well, she would always come to me and praise my performance. I would always appreciate her work as well. Nanda was always cooperative on sets and we shared a great working relationship.” She also added, "She was like my younger sister. I am shocked by her death. She was younger than me… I simply cannot believe that she is no more.” However, as added by Sinha, Nanda went into isolation after her beau Manmohan Desai’s untimely death. "After that, she became a recluse. We did not meet so often after that and she was no longer the same person,” Sinha said. On Tuesday Nanda was cremated at suburban Oshiwara and numerous Bollywood personalities were spotted attending her funeral. Nanda’s industry friends like Asha Parekh, Waheeda Rehman, Shabana Azmi, Salim Khan, Shashikala, Ketan Desai and Tabassum paid tribute to the departed soul. Earlier melody queen Lata Mangeshkar also recalled her friendship with late Nanda. She said, "I feel sad to know that actress Nanda whom we used to call Baby Nanda has passed away. When she was 4-5 years old, she played the role of my younger brother in a film. I worked in Nanda`s father, master Vinayakji`s company as a child actress since 1943. I was great friends with Nanda and her elder sister Meena.” Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar also tweeted, “Saddened to hear that veteran actress Nandaji has passed away. Jab Jab Phool Khile & Gumnaam still remain favourites. End of an era. RIP.” Actor Riteish Deshmukh also posted, “Na Na karte pyaar tumhi se kar baithe - rip Nandaji RT“@SaritaTanwar: Just heard yesteryear actress Nanda passed away. RIP.”