Actress Sandhya Makes a Rare Appearance

She was her husband's muse and only appeared in films produced and directed by him. In fact, after the death of V Shantaram, his third wife Sandhya became a recluse and withdrew from public gaze. Hence, it was a rare occasion, when she decided to step out and be a part of the annual V Shantaram Awards function, held a couple of days ago.

The occasion demanded her presence as it was not just a simple award function. It was also the 50th year celebrations of 'Navrang', the dance and music extravaganza directed by Shantaram, which had the actor Mahipal playing the lead role in the movie along with Sandhya. In the movie, Mahipal plays a poet and Sandhya plays the role of his wife and his muse. Made in pre independence India, the film created waves because of its theme and its music. Sandhya, who has also been a part of some path breaking Shantaram classics like 'Do Aankhen Barah Haath', 'Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje' and 'Pinjra', was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the function. The function was attended by Shantaram's son Kiran Shantaram and his daughter Madhura Jasraj. Some of the other awardees at the function were Rani Mukherjee for Best Actress (Dil Bole Hadippa), Nandita Das for Best Debutant Director (Firaaq), Pritam for Best Music Composer and Aditya Chopra for Best Story Screenplay Award (New York).