Veteran actress Sulakshana Pandit passes away at 71

Bollywood veteran actress Sulakshana Pandit passed away on Thursday, November 6, 2025. The actress was 71 years old at the time of passing.

According to reports, Pandit had been ill for quite a long time and took her last breath at a hospital in Mumbai. There had been no official statement released from her family or team at the time of filing the report. For the uninitiated, Sulakshana Pandit was a star of Bollywood in the 70s. The actress, along with acting in films, was also known for her exceptional singing.

Pandit was the sister of actress Vijayta Pandit and music composer duo Jatin-Lalit. She was also the niece of the legendary classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj. Pandit, born on July 12, 1954, in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, began singing at the tender age of nine. She rose to fame as a singer with her hit song ‘Saat Samandar Paar Se’ with Lata Mangeshkar from the 1967 movie Taqdeer.

The actress received a Filmfare Award for the song ‘Tu Hi Sagar Tu Hi Kinara’ from the film Sankalp in 1976. She made her Bollywood debut as an actress in 1975, with the movie Uljhan. It was said that the actress was in love with Bollywood superstar Sanjeev Kumar back in the day, but after he rejected her proposal, she decided to never get married.

She has starred in hit movies like Hera Pheri, Waqt Ki Deewar, Apnapan, and Khandaan, amongst others. In her time in Bollywood, Pandit has worked with superstars including Rajesh Khanna, Jeetendra, Vinod Khanna, Shashi Kapoor, and Shatrughan Sinha.

Her final playback song was in Khamoshi: The Musical, released in 1996, which was composed by her brothers Jatin and Lalit.