Sadhana is no more but the hairstyle she sported in her films continues to be alive in salons
A leading heroine of her time, the late actor Sadhana epitomised grace, beauty and charm. Her beauty was enhanced by her fringe haircut, which became such a rage that it came to be called Sadhana cut. What was a necessity for her — the actor had a broad forehead — became so famous that it transformed her into a style diva of the 1960s.
Those days, women asked hair dressers to give them the Sadhana cut. Even in her obituaries this cut was the most talked about thing in the media, particularly on social networking sites. When director R.K. Nayyar coaxed Sadhana to get her hair cut albeit from the front for Love in Simla the latter could not have contemplated that it would be history in the making. It was a bold move which could have backfired. But the young actor experimented and the style was emulated by Hindi film fans for generations.
For the effervescent actress the fringe acted as an asset as she was adept at playing not only urbane headstrong characters but also rustic roles.
Recalling those days, Habib Ahmed, renowned hair stylist, says, “After undertaking my course in hair designing from the UK I came to India thinking that I would be using my expertise on female clients. But I could not achieve my ambition because women those days were content with their bun. They had reservation about getting their hair shortened. But Sadhana showed all these women the way through her fringe cut. She had long hair and this cut gave her an identity in Hindi cinema at the beginning of her career. Those days women would implore me to give them Sadhana cut. Even actresses of today’s generation sport this cut when they have to depict the ‘60s.” He is right for we have seen Kangana Ranaut and Prachi Desai sporting a fringe cut in Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai. Chitrangada Singh has also been spotted sporting the cut.
At Habib’s salon in South Extension, pictures of Waheeda Rahman, Sadhana, Sharmaila Tagore are hung to showcase divergent hair trends over the years. “Then there was Waheeda Rahman, who had two waves. We call it the Australian wave and this style suits Queen Elizabeth, whose shape of the cut goes well with her crown. She has a high forehead.” Coming from a Westernised background, Sharmila Tagore, remembers Habib, started experimenting with her looks by making her hair shorter and shorter. “Only these ladies flaunted their hair styles; the rest had traditional hair styles.”
But Sadhana had to give the fringe cut a miss for Mere Mehboob where she played a Muslim girl from Aligarh. “To suit the character she had to pull back her fringe,” recalls Habib.
Before cutting a woman’s hair, Habib assesses her hair texture, bone structure and facial expression. “If the jaw and cheeks have a hard look then it is our job to give her soft look. And that is where the Sadhana cut comes handy. It is like geometry; we have to make arithmetical calculation.”
Interestingly, this cut is now given to children, mostly girls, aged from five to seven. “As this cut is easy without complications it is given to kids these days. In rare cases the Sadhana cut is given to boys who have straight, silky hair,” says Habib.
Giving her take on the famous hair-do, noted hair stylist Sylvie says, “Sadhana came from an era when actresses were rarely seen in the public. But whenever their films were released, their clothes, hairstyles used to become a trend. So they invariably made a fashion statement which used to become a trend. Sadhana cut is a classic cut. I am running dozens of salons and if I pop the question: ‘Do you want a Sadhana cut’, everyone understands.”
But was it original? “It was a take from Audrey Hepburn, whose hairstyle was a trendy thing only in the European market. The Bombay film industry was untouched by it. Those days there was intense competition in the film industry with actresses like Nargis and Nutan giving all their contemporaries a run for their money. So Nayyar, who later married her, wanted to change her image. He was the man who gave the cut but the credit goes to Sadhanaji for carrying off that cut which so much beauty and grace. I gave Dimple Kapadia a cut in her comeback film Saagar but eventually it was the actor who carried it off beautifully.”
Sylvie, who started her career with Hema Malini, says customers nowadays do not ask for a Sadhana cut because so many wigs are available in the market. “Those days wigs had to be made on order. If I have to give a cut then I would mix the Sadhana cut withthe Dimple cut.”
Gauri Pant, a senior hair stylist who runs her salon at I.P. Extension, says even now youngsters ask her for Sadhana cut. “The number may have decreased but those who have watched the actress on the tube know what it is all about. It is easy to give this cut.”
Kiran, a senior citizen fan of the late actor, says Sadhana became such a huge star in 1960s that women wanted to emulate every aspect of her personality. She has a black and white picture of hers in which the fringe is more than apparent. “If I go to any salon in the country I can ask for a Sadhana cut and the hairstylist worth his salt knows it. Even more than half a century of the film’s release this style is known to all, particularly those who make a living out of haircutting.”
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