Sayeeda Khan
{{Short description|Indian actress (1949–1990)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sayeeda Khan
| othername = Sudha Sadanah
| birth_date = {{birth date|1949|10|24|df=y}}
| birth_place = Calcutta, India
| death_date = {{death date and age|1990|10|21|1949|10|24|df=y}}
| death_place = Mumbai, India
| death_cause = Murder
| works =
| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|film producer}}
| spouse = Brij Sadanah (1960s–1990)
| children = 2 (including Kamal)
| relatives = Shagufta Rafique (sister)
Jyothika (niece)
}}
Sayeeda Khan (also known as Sudha Sadanah; 24 October 1949 – 21 October 1990) was an Indian actress who appeared in Hindi films, mainly in the 1960s. She is known for her work in Apna Hath Jagnnath (1960), Kanyadaan (1968) and Vaasna (1968). Khan was the wife of film producer Brij Sadanah and mother of Bollywood actor Kamal Sadanah.
Early life
Sayeeda Khan was born in Kolkata (then known as Calcutta) on 24 October 1949, into an Indian Muslim family.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-05-23 |title=This actress, who worked with Manoj Kumar and Kishore Kumar, was shot dead by her husband |url=https://news.abplive.com/entertainment/celebrities/this-actress-who-worked-with-manoj-kumar-kishore-kumar-was-shot-dead-by-her-husband-sayeeda-khan-1689737 |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=ABP Live |language=en}} Her mother, Anwari Begum, was a dancer in films. Khan had a younger sister Shagufta Rafique (adopted), who went on to become a well-known writer in Mukesh Bhatt-films.{{Cite web |last=Tomar |first=Sangeeta |title=सईदा खान: वो बदनसीब और गुमनाम हीरोइन, जिसने धर्म बदलकर की शादी पर पति ने उतार दिया मौत के घाट |url=https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/photomazza/bollywood-hollywood-photogalleries/yesteryear-actress-sayeeda-khan-tragic-life-brutal-murder-by-husband-know-what-happened-between-the-two/photoshow/msid-111551421,picid-111551440.cms |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=Navbharat Times |language=hi}}{{Cite book |last=Gahlot |first=Deepa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JEqwDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT171 |title=Take-2: 50 Films That Deserve a New Audience |date=2015-10-01 |publisher=Hay House, Inc |isbn=978-93-84544-85-0 |language=en}}
Actress Jyothika is Khan's niece through marriage with Brij Sadanah; his brother Chander and Chander's wife Seema (née Shama Kazi) are Jyothika's parents.{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Simran |title=This star kid saw father kill his entire family, he barely survived shootout; failed as actor, director, now he... |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/bollywood/report-this-star-kid-kamal-sadanah-father-kill-entire-family-barely-survived-shootout-failed-as-actor-director-3085194/amp |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=DNA India |language=en}}
Career
Interested in acting since her childhood, Khan entered the film industry as the protege of filmmaker H. S. Rawail. Khan early featured in films such as Apna Haath Jagannath and Kaanch Ki Gudiya (both 1960), which earned her popularity. She was paired opposite notable actors of the time, such as Kishore Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Raaj Kumar and Biswajit Chatterjee, although her subsequent work failed to propel her career.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CK6si3nbwIsC |title=Apna Haath Jagnnath (Review by Filmindia) |date=1960 |publisher=Filmindia Publications |language=en}}
Khan's career prospects diminished by mid-1960s as her films failed, and she started working in B-grade and C-grade films.{{Cite web |last=Roy |first=Apurva |title=हत्याकांड: इस हीरोइन के पति ने ही कर दी थी उसकी हत्या, बेटी और बेटे को गोली मारने के बाद खुद को भी रिवाल्वर से कर लिया शूट |url=https://www.amarujala.com/amp/photo-gallery/entertainment/bollywood/double-murder-in-bollywood-brij-sadanah-killed-his-wife-sayeeda-khan-and-daughter |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=Amar Ujala |language=hi}} She played supporting roles in Kanyadaan and Vaasna (both 1968) to critical praise.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DWg6AQAAIAAJ |title=The Illustrated Weekly of India |date=1969 |publisher=Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pf8nAAAAMAAJ |title=Enlite |date=1968 |publisher=Light Publications. |language=en}}
She retired from acting post-marriage. In the 1980s, Khan was credited as a producer in a few of her husband's directorial ventures.{{Cite book |last=Arunachalam |first=Param |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V4rcDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA619 |title=BollySwar: 1981 - 1990 |date=2020-04-14 |publisher=Mavrix Infotech Private Limited |isbn=978-81-938482-2-7 |language=en}}
Personal life and death
Khan married film producer Brij Sadanah in late 1960s, converting to Hinduism and changing her name to Sudha Sadanah.{{Cite book |last=Khullar Brig (Retd) |first=Darshan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3QmqCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 |title=Pakistan: Our Difficult Neighbour and India's Islamic Dimensions |date=2014-09-01 |publisher=Vij Books India Pvt Ltd |isbn=978-93-82652-82-3 |language=en}} The couple had two children: a daughter Namrata and a son Kamal (b. 1970).
She died on 21 October 1990—during her son's 20th birthday celebrations—when her drunk husband shot her and their children before shooting himself. Kamal survived as the gunshot missed him.{{cite web|title=Kamal Sadanah remembers the shootout|date=4 October 2009|author=Vishwas Kulkarni|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Kamal-Sadanah-remembers-the-shootout/articleshow/5086216.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811082216/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-10-04/news-interviews/28074394_1_gun-mummy-birthday-celebrations|url-status=live|archive-date=11 August 2011|work=The Times of India|access-date=2009-10-04}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-i-saw-my-dad-kill-my-mum-says-kamal-sadanah-1553703|title=I saw my dad kill my mum, says Kamal Sadanah|last=Banerjee|first=Soumyadipta|date=2011-06-11|website=DNA India|language=en|access-date=2020-04-08}}
Kamal went to become a Bollywood actor in the early 1990s. In 2013, he created a short film, titled A Moment of Pause recollecting the events of the night his father killed off the family.
Partial filmography
Source:{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-03-06 |title=Sayeeda Khan Filmography |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrity/sayeeda-khan/filmography/ |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=Bollywood Hungama |language=en}}
- Apna Haath Jagannath (1960)
- Modern Girl (1961)
- Wanted (1961)
- Flat No.9 (1961)
- Kaanch Ki Gudiya (1961)
- Hum Matwale Naujawan (1961)
- Main Shaadi Karne Chala (1963)
- Sindbaad Alibaba and Alladin (1965)
- Mai Hoon Alladin (1965)
- Bekhabar (1965)
- Ek Saal Pehle (1965)
- Ye Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai (1966)
- Kanyadaan (1968)
- Vaasna (1968)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|1526551}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Sayeeda}}
Category:Actresses from Kolkata
Category:Indian film actresses
Category:Converts to Hinduism from Islam
Category:Indian former Muslims
Category:Actresses in Hindi cinema
Category:20th-century Indian actresses
Category:Deaths by firearm in India
Category:Indian murder victims
Category:Murder–suicides in Asia