Shashikala, who left an indelible imprint playing characters that the audience loved to hate in the Hindi cinema of 1960s and 70s, passed away in Mumbai on Sunday. She was 88. The Solapur-born actor’s career spanned over six decades and 175 odd films and TV serials. But Shashikala Jawalkar (later Saigal) endured a deprived childhood and struggled for years doing miniscule parts before finding a semblance of a foothold with V Shantaram’s 'Teen Batti Char Raasta' (1953) and 'Surang' (1953).
It was Bimal Roy’s 'Sujata' (1960), where she lip-synced with Nutan, ‘Bachpan ke din bhi kya din thhey’, that made people take notice and earned her a first Filmfare nomination for “best supporting actress.” The Sixties was her most rewarding decade. Old timers still remember her running away wih sandals in hand to avoid her domineering mother (Lalita Pawar) in 'Junglee' (1961) to sing, ‘Nain tumhare mazedar’, with Anoop Kumar. Shashikala earned eight Filmfare nominations ('Sujata', 'Aayee Milan Ki Bela', 'Himalay Ki God Mein', 'Anupama', 'Neel Kamal' and 'Phool Aur Patthar'), including two awards ('Aarti' and 'Gumrah') for “best supporting actress”. She received a nomination every year between 1963-67.
