Actress whose tragic personal life saw her quit at 35, Widowed Twice, Lost brother to suicide
Many young actresses started competing for the "top spot" in the 1970s as older stars like Asha Parekh, Vyjayanthimala, and saira banu made way for newer ones. Future stars like Mumtaz, Rekha, and hema malini were among the front-runners. Another 20-year-old who was thought to be Madhubala's replacement was one of these. And this actress succeeded, rising to fame before leaving bollywood due to a slew of personal misfortunes.
The overnight star who became one of Bollywood’s top heroines
In 1950, Leena Chandavarkar was born in Dharwad, Karnataka, to an army officer who spoke Konkani and Marathi. Leena made her screen debut with Man Ka Meet in 1970, following the cancellation of her planned debut feature Maseeha. After the movie did well, she shot to fame overnight and became a major celebrity in the 1970s. She starred in popular films such Humjoli, Bairaag, Anhonee, and Mehboob Ki Mehndi. Leena collaborated with most of the biggest names in the industry from 1969 to 1979, including Vinod Khanna, dilip Kumar, rajesh khanna, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, and sunil Dutt. She was one of the highest-paid bollywood actresses of the 1970s, along with Rekha, Hema, Mumtaz, and sharmila Tagore.
How Leena’s personal life was as tragic as her films
However, despite Leena's successful job, her personal life was frequently in disarray. She married siddharth Bandodkar, a member of a well-known Goan political family, in an arranged union in 1975. Within a year of being married, siddharth passed away, purportedly from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The famous singer-actor kishore kumar wed Leena in 1980. Given that kishore was 21 years older than Leena and had already been married three times, the marriage was deemed contentious. A few years later, the couple had their son Sumeet. However, neither of these marriages lasted very long. At the age of 37, kishore passed away in 1987, making Leena a widow for the second time. Leena had lost her brother to apparent suicide a few years before to this.
Leena Chandavarkar’s departure from Bollywood
Following her marriage to kishore in 1980, Leena took her first hiatus from Bollywood. She did make a comeback in 1985 to play supporting roles in two more movies, but following his passing, she permanently stopped doing movies. In 1987, she made her last cinematic debut alongside rajesh khanna in mamta Ki Chhaon Mein.
The overnight star who became one of Bollywood’s top heroines
In 1950, Leena Chandavarkar was born in Dharwad, Karnataka, to an army officer who spoke Konkani and Marathi. Leena made her screen debut with Man Ka Meet in 1970, following the cancellation of her planned debut feature Maseeha. After the movie did well, she shot to fame overnight and became a major celebrity in the 1970s. She starred in popular films such Humjoli, Bairaag, Anhonee, and Mehboob Ki Mehndi. Leena collaborated with most of the biggest names in the industry from 1969 to 1979, including Vinod Khanna, dilip Kumar, rajesh khanna, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, and sunil Dutt. She was one of the highest-paid bollywood actresses of the 1970s, along with Rekha, Hema, Mumtaz, and sharmila Tagore.
How Leena’s personal life was as tragic as her films
However, despite Leena's successful job, her personal life was frequently in disarray. She married siddharth Bandodkar, a member of a well-known Goan political family, in an arranged union in 1975. Within a year of being married, siddharth passed away, purportedly from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The famous singer-actor kishore kumar wed Leena in 1980. Given that kishore was 21 years older than Leena and had already been married three times, the marriage was deemed contentious. A few years later, the couple had their son Sumeet. However, neither of these marriages lasted very long. At the age of 37, kishore passed away in 1987, making Leena a widow for the second time. Leena had lost her brother to apparent suicide a few years before to this.
Leena Chandavarkar’s departure from Bollywood
Following her marriage to kishore in 1980, Leena took her first hiatus from Bollywood. She did make a comeback in 1985 to play supporting roles in two more movies, but following his passing, she permanently stopped doing movies. In 1987, she made her last cinematic debut alongside rajesh khanna in mamta Ki Chhaon Mein.