Leela Naidu

Trivia

• She made a guest appearance in their film, The Guru (1969).
• Her last film in Hindi mainstream cinema was Baghi (1964) a costume extravaganza co-starring Pradeep Kumar, Vijaya Choudhury and Mumtaz.
• In 1963, she was roped in to play the lead of a rebellious young bride, in the first Merchant Ivory Production, The Householder, directed by James Ivory.
• She imbued the role with style and intelligence, and the song Yeh khamoshiyan, yeh tanhaiyaan, featuring her and Sunil Dutt, rendered by Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhonsle, with music by Ravi, is still held up as one of the most exquisite songs in Bollywood music history.
• She became an icon for women's liberation in India after her non-orthodox role with Sunil Dutt in Yeh Raaste Hain Pyar Ke (1963), directed by R K Nayyar and based on the real life K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra court case, which was not only the last jury trial held in India but also a direct cause of the abolition of jury trials.
• She followed this up with Ummeed (1962) by Nitin Bose’s alongside Ashok Kumar, Joy Mukherjee, and eventually had a brief but impressive acting career.
• She made her film debut alongside Balraj Sahni in Anuradha (1960), directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, after he happened to see one of her pictures taken by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay.
• She was Femina Miss India in 1954, and was featured in the Vogue along with Maharani Gayatri Devi in the list of 'World's Ten Most Beautiful Women', and in time was remembered for her classical beauty and subtle acting style and she was not involved in the Bollywood rat race.
• Leela was an Indian actress who has starred in a number of Hindi films, most known for Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke (1963), based on the famous real-life Nanavati case, as well as The Householder, Merchant Ivory Productions' first film.