Sayeeda Khan (also known as Sudha Sadanah; 24 October 1949 – 21 October 1990) was an Indian actress who appeared in

Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

, mainly in the 1960s. She is known for her work in ''Apna Hath Jagnnath'' (1960), '' Kanyadaan'' (1968) and ''Vaasna'' (1968). Khan was the wife of film producer

Brij Sadanah Brijmohan Sadanah (6 October 1933 – 21 October 1990), often credited as Brij, was an Indian film producer and director known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is very well known for some of the most memorable box office hit films from the 196 ...

and mother of Bollywood actor

Kamal Sadanah Kamal Sadanah (born 21 October 1970) is an Indian actor, producer and director. He is the son of producer and director Brij Sadanah. Career Kamal made his acting debut alongside Kajol in the 1992 film '' Bekhudi'' which did not perform well ...

Early life

Sayeeda Khan was born in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

(then known as Calcutta) on 24 October 1949, into an

Indian Muslim Islam is India's Religion in India, second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, or approximately 172.2 million people, identifying as adherents of Islam in a 2011 census. India also has the Islam by country, third-larg ...

family. Her mother, Anwari Begum, was a dancer in films. Khan had a younger sister

Shagufta Rafique Shagufta Rafique is an Indian film screenwriter and film director. Biography Shagufta was an adopted child. Her parents are unknown. Her foster mother was in a relationship with a Kolkata based businessman, who left his second family unsuppo ...

(adopted), who went on to become a well-known writer in

Mukesh Bhatt Mukesh Bhatt (born 5 June 1952) is an Indian people, Indian film producer and actor who has produced several Bollywood films. He is the younger brother of Mahesh Bhatt, and also the co-owner of the production company Vishesh Films, set up in 19 ...

-films. Actress

Jyothika Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress and producer who primarily works in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She has received several accolades including a National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards South, four Tamil N ...

is Khan's niece through marriage with

; his brother Chander and Chander's wife Seema (née Shama Kazi) are Jyothika's parents.

Career

Interested in acting since her childhood, Khan entered the film industry as the protege of filmmaker H. S. Rawail. Khan early featured in films such as ''Apna Haath Jagannath'' and ''Kaanch Ki Gudiya'' (both 1960), which earned her popularity. She was paired opposite notable actors of the time, such as

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born Abhas Kumar Ganguly; ; 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer, musician and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of modern India ...

Manoj Kumar Manoj Kumar (born Harikrishan Giri Goswami; 24 July 1937 – 4 April 2025) was an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, lyricist and editor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most successful actors in t ...

Raaj Kumar Raaj Kumar (born Kulbhushan Pandit; 8 October 1926 3 July 1996) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi films. In a career that spanned over four decades, he went on to star in 70 films and is regarded as one of the most successful actors of ...

and

Biswajit Chatterjee Biswajit Chatterjee (born 14 December 1936), known mononymously as Biswajit, is a veteran Indian actor, producer, director, singer and politician known for his work in Bengali cinema and Hindi cinema.He is also referred as the ''Chocolate Bo ...

, although her subsequent work failed to propel her career. Khan's career prospects diminished by mid-1960s as her films failed, and she started working in B-grade and C-grade films. She played supporting roles in '' Kanyadaan'' and ''Vaasna'' (both 1968) to critical praise. She retired from acting post-marriage. In the 1980s, Khan was credited as a producer in a few of her husband's directorial ventures.

Personal life and death

Khan married film producer

in late 1960s, converting to

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

and changing her name to Sudha Sadanah. The couple had two children: a daughter Namrata and a son Kamal (b. 1970). She died on 21 October 1990—during her son's 20th birthday celebrations—when her drunk husband shot her and their children before shooting himself. Kamal survived as the gunshot missed him. Kamal went to become a

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

actor in the early 1990s. In 2013, he created a short film, titled ''A Moment of Pause'' recollecting the events of the night his father killed off the family.

Partial filmography

Source: *''Apna Haath Jagannath'' (1960) *''Modern Girl'' (1961) *''Wanted'' (1961) *''Flat No.9'' (1961) *''Kaanch Ki Gudiya'' (1961) *''Hum Matwale Naujawan'' (1961) *''Main Shaadi Karne Chala'' (1963) *''Sindbaad Alibaba and Alladin'' (1965) *''Mai Hoon Alladin'' (1965) *''Bekhabar'' (1965) *''Ek Saal Pehle'' (1965) *'' Ye Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai'' (1966) *'' Kanyadaan'' (1968) *''Vaasna'' (1968)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Sayeeda 1949 births 1990 deaths Actresses from Kolkata Indian film actresses Converts to Hinduism from Islam Indian former Muslims Actresses in Hindi cinema 20th-century Indian actresses Deaths by firearm in India Indian murder victims Murder–suicides in Asia Female murder victims Uxoricides People murdered in Mumbai