Actress whose tragic personal life saw her quit at 35, was rival to Hema, Rekha; widowed twice, lost brother to suicide

In the 70s, as the stars of the previous decade like Asha Parekh, Vyjayanthimala, and Saira Banu gave way to younger stars, a lot of young actress began vying for that ‘top spot’. Among the frontrunners were future superstars like Hema Malini, Rekha, and Mumtaz. Among these was another 20-year-old who was regarded as the replacement for Madhubala. And this actress did well, becoming a star before a spate of personal tragedies saw her leave Bollywood.

The overnight star who became one of Bollywood’s top heroines

Leena Chandavarkar was born to a Konkani Marathi speaking Army officer at Dharwad in Karnataka in 1950. After her intended debut film Maseeha was shelved in 1969, Leena debuted with Man Ka Meet the following year. She became an overnight star after the film worked and in the 70s, established herself as one of the top stars. She starred in hits such as Mehboob Ki Mehndi, Bairaag, Anhonee, Humjoli. Between 1969-79, Leena worked with most of the top stars of the era, including Dilip Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Vinod Khanna, and Sunil Dutt. Alongside Rekha, Hema, Mumtaz, and Sharmila Tagore, she was among the highest-paid Bollywood actresses of the 70s.

Leena Chandavarkar with Kishore Kumar and son Sumeet

How Leena’s personal life was as tragic as her films

But while her career was going great, Leena’s personal life was often in tatters. In 1975, she had an arranged marriage to Siddharth Bandodkar, who came from a prominent Goan political family. Siddharth died within a year of the marriage, allegedly due to an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound. In 1980, Leena married Kishore Kumar, the singing-acting superstar. The marriage was controversial given Kishore had been married thrice before and was 21 years older than Leena. The two welcomed their son Sumeet a few years later. But this marriage did not last long either. Kishore died in 1987 leaving Leena a widow for the second time at the age of 37. Just a few years before this, Leena had lost her brother to apparent suicide.

Leena Chandavarkar’s departure from Bollywood

Leena first took a break from Bollywood in 1980 after her marriage to Kishore. She did return in 1985 to work in two more films in supporting roles, but after his death, quit films for good one final time. Her final film appearance was in Mamta Ki Chhaon Mein opposite Rajesh Khanna in 1987.

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