Achala Sachdev

Achala Sachdev started her career as a child actor. She later became famous for sister , mother and grandmother roles in Hindi films. She acted in movies for a long time from 1938 to year 2003 with her last film being kal ho na ho कल हो ना हो .
She was born on 3rd ,May 1920 in Peshawar in a punjabi hindu family and was the youngest of four sisters . She lost her father very early and thus to help her family she initially worked for All India Radio, Lahore and then after partition the family shifted to Delhi and there she worked for All India Radio, Delhi as announcer.
Achala made her film debut with film Fashionable Wife in
1938.
In 1950, Achala got an opportunity to portray Dev Anand’s sister in the film Dilruba दिलरूबा which became a success and opened further doors for her in Bollywood. Following the success of Dilruba, Achala became a popular choice to portray on-screen mothers and sisters in the industry. Her performances in films like Sangam, Footpath, Dil Ek Mandir, and Miss Mary were highly acclaimed though she was type -cast in the similar roles .
Achala Sachdev was married twice, her first husband, Gyan Sachdev, was a film director and they had a son named Jothin Sachdev. However, after a few years of marriage, Achala and Gyan separated, and their son Jothin moved to the US. Following her divorce from Gyan, Achala married Clifford Douglas Peters. After marrying Clifford, she relocated to Pune. Unfortunately, Peters passed away, leaving Achala alone .
Her noted films were :-
Chandni Chowk (1954)
Pardesi (1957)
Miss Mary (1957)
Hum Panchhi Ek Daal Ke (1957)
Manzil (1960)
Dil Ek Mandir (1963)
Shagun (1964)
Sangam (1964)
Haqeeqat (1964)
Arzoo (1965)
Waqt (1965)
Mere Sanam (1965)
Himalaya Ki God Mein (1965)
Shagird (1967)
Hamraaz (1967)
Mere Hamdam Mere Dost (1968)
Kanyadaan (1968)
Mera Naam Joker (1970)
Prem Pujari (1970)
Nanak Dukhiya Sub Sansar (1970)
Hare Rama Hare Krishna 1971
Paraya Dhan (1971)
Daag: A Poem of Love (1973)
Kora Kagaz (1974)
Laila Majnu (1976)
Chandni (1989)
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)
Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (2001)
Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)
She also acted in English films – Mark Robson’s Nine Hours to Ram ( 1963) and Merchant Ivory’s The Householder (1963).
However, her most noted role remains as Balraj Sahani’s wife in super hit Baldev Raj Chopra’s film Waqt (1965), wherein the evergreen hit song “Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen “ ऐ मेरी जोहरा जबीन was picturised on her and Balraj Sahani .
She also acted in English films -Nine Hours to Ram (1963) and The Householder (1963).
She had acted in over 130 films mainly doing the role of a sober and affectionate mother with a soft voice and hence she was nicknamed as “ Mother of Bollywood “ .
In September 2011, Achala sustained a fracture in her leg and was later diagnosed with multiple problems in her brain that resulted in total paralysis and the loss of her vision. She died on 30.4.2012 at Pune at the age of 91 leaving behind his son jyotin who is a businessman in USA .

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Four stars