Why Actress Nanda Karnataki Lived Her Last Days As Director Manmohan Desai’s Widow

Bollywood celebrities’ affairs create headlines every now and then. There was a time when late actress Nanda Karnataki’s love story with director Manmohan Desai too grabbed the limelight. Manmohan was the diva’s would-be husband. But fate had something else in the offing. After remaining engaged for two years, the duo’s marriage never materialised due to the sudden death of the director in 1994.

The Mumbai-born actress began her acting career as a child artist in 1948 with the film Mandir. With time, she slowly began to establish herself in the industry. Nanda is known for films like Hum Dono, Knaaon, Jab Jab Phool Khile, Gumnaam and Iteffaq. In the late ‘80s, she fell in love with the widely-acclaimed director. Their love story had a filmy beginning. Then the couple got engaged. Things were going just the way Nanda would have dreamt of. Before getting into a relationship with Manmohan, Nanda had kept a distance from love throughout her life. The director’s death devastated her, and she decided to live like a widow for the rest of her life.

Daughter of a famous film director Master Vinayak, Nanda entered the film industry at the age of five with her father’s film. Her father passed away in 1939. She faced struggles in her life after losing him. Later on, she went on to work in the Hindi cinema. Nanda worked with stars like Rajesh Khanna, Manoj Kumar and Shashi Kapoor. Her pairing with Shashi proved to be a hit, and the audience liked it a lot.

While the actress was proving her worth in the film industry, Manmohan entered her life. It was said that Nanda loved her immensely. But he could not confess his feelings to the actress. Some even suggest that Desai married Jeevan Prabha, only because she looked like Nanda. Due to the death of Jeevan, the director and Nanda came close. At the age of 52, Nanda got engaged to Manmohan. But the sudden death of Manmohan, after falling from his own house’s balcony, ended the duo’s relationship. After the death of her beloved, Nanda became lonely and was rarely seen outside. Whenever Nanda was spotted outside, she was always seen in a white saree.

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