Did you know Bollywood’s favourite mom was abandoned by her son? She fell in kitchen, died tragic death
Despite her illustrious career, this actress’ later years were marked by sadness, as she passed away alone after being abandoned by her family.
Bollywood has given us countless actors who have brightened our lives with their performances. Some of these stars may no longer be with us, but the characters they portrayed live on in our hearts.
Today, we turn our focus to an actress who graced over 250 films in her career and earned the title of Bollywood’s beloved mother and grandmother. Despite her illustrious career, Achala Sachdev’s later years were marked by sadness, as she passed away alone after being abandoned by her family.
Lovely Sadhana ji with Raaj Kumar in B R Chopra & Yash Chopra’s Waqt (1965) along with Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, Balraj Sahni, Achala Sachdev, Madan Puri & Rehman. Movie is still very popular for superhit soundtrack & dialogue’s between Raaj Kumar and Rehman. pic.twitter.com/cniKUOlhTB
— Movies N Memories (@BombayBasanti) March 11, 2018
Achala Sachdev was born on May 3, 1920, in Peshawar, to a Punjabi family. She was the youngest of four sisters. Tragically, at a young age, Achala and her siblings had to cope with the profound loss of their father.
To support her family, Achala started working at a young age and became a radio announcer at All India Radio (AIR) in Lahore. After the partition, her family moved to Delhi, where Achala continued her work at AIR Delhi. During her time there, she had the opportunity to interview several film personalities and even made brief appearances in movies.
In 1950, she was cast as Dev Anand’s sister in the film Dilruba, which became a success and opened doors for her in Bollywood. This led to Achala being frequently cast in roles as mothers and sisters in various films. Her performances in classics like Sangam, Footpath, Dil Ek Mandir, and Miss Mary earned her critical acclaim.
Achala’s final film appearance was in Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), where she played the role of the grandmother of characters portrayed by Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan.
Achala Sachdev was married twice during her lifetime. Her first marriage was to Gyan Sachdev, a director, with whom she had a son named Jothin Sachdev. However, after a few years, Achala and Gyan separated, and their son moved to the United States. Following her divorce, Achala remarried Clifford Douglas Peters and relocated to Pune. Tragically, after some time, Clifford passed away, leaving Achala alone and isolated, with no family to support her.
After the passing of her second husband, Clifford Peters, Achala Sachdev lived alone in Pune, facing immense difficulty managing daily tasks. In September 2011, tragedy struck when she slipped and fell in her kitchen, fracturing her leg. Shortly after, she was diagnosed with multiple embolisms in her brain, leading to total paralysis and the loss of vision. In her final days, Achala’s condition worsened, and she became unrecognizable. After a prolonged struggle in the hospital for three months, she passed away on April 30, 2012, leaving behind a legacy of memorable performances in Bollywood.
