Vidya Sinha - Girl Next Door

Devesh Sharma profiles the life and career of Vidya Sinha, who passed away on August 15

- ​​​​​​​Devesh Sharma

Considering the middle-of-the-road films she did, where she became known for her de-glam avatar. It’s surprising to know that yesteryear actor, Vidya Sinha, was a model and had even won a beauty pageant. Interestingly, she chose roles which required her to play the quintessential middle-class Indian woman. Her preference for content over glamorous roles may have limited her oeuvre but won her a distinct identity.

Her grandfather, Mohan Sinha, was a director who worked with the likes of Shobhna Samarth, Raj Kapoor, Suraiya, Madhubala and Dev Anand in the late ’40s. Her father, Pratap A Rana, too was a producer who made films like Vidya (1948) and Jeet (1949) both starring Dev Anand. Born on November 15, 1947, Vidya was married in 1968 to her neighbour, Venkateshwaran Iyer, when she was just 21. She took to acting after marriage. The couple remained childless for a long time. They adopted daughter Jhanvi in 1989. Her husband’s health started failing in the ’90s. He passed away in 1996.

Later, it’s said, she moved to Sydney where she met a doctor, Netaji Bhimrao Salunke. Reportedly, she married him in 2001. But the marriage didn’t last long and she divorced him in 2009 after a legal battle. A private person, she seldom spoke about the hardships she endured.