Sadhana was an actress who had it all – looks, acting talent and luck. Not only did she leave the legacy of her hair style- (The famous ‘Sadhana cut’!); but she also starred in some of the memorable films of sixties. For an actress who had such coy and homely face, Sadhana surprisingly had her greatest hits through roles of the mystery woman in white. Woh Kaun Thi? was first such film and in a way, that same poser – ‘Who was she?’ proved to be a winning formula for her in Mera Saaya, Anita and Inteqam.

Woh Kaun Thi (1964) is an extremely well-crafted mystery with a touch of supernatural. A young doctor (Manoj Kumar) is left spooked when a beautiful lady attired in white (Sadhana) asks for a car lift in the middle of the night and simply disappears after getting down in front of a cemetery. Some days later he is called on a stormy night to a deserted mansion to see a serious patient, who turns out to be the same lady and she is dead! He is further intrigued when he comes to know from cops and newspapers that the mysterious woman he had seen twice has been dead for years and similar visions have been experienced by others in the past. Meanwhile his girl-friend (Helen) is found murdered and his mother decides to marry him to a girl of her choice. On the wedding night, the guy gets a shock of his life. His wife is an exact lookalike of the lady he has found out to be a ghost from the past! What is going on? If this woman is his wife, then who was the lady in white that he had seen earlier? Who was she?

Mera Saaya (1966) is a riveting film with superb performances from Sadhana and Sunil Dutt. A jailed woman claims to be the wife of the big-shot town lawyer. The lawyer is dumbstruck. Just days ago, he had cremated his wife- an exact look-alike of the woman. Police had caught that woman in their raid on a group of dacoits and everyone is sure that she is trying to escape the punishment by concocting this story. A high voltage court-room drama ensues where the lawyer himself questions the validity of her claim of being his wife and of her being abducted by dacoits. Is she telling the truth?

Anita (1968) is another mysterious tale. A rich girl (Sadhana) is in love with an ordinary guy (Manoj Kumar). The father opposes and decides to marry her off with a well-to-do groom. On the engagement night, the girl disappears. Police find a dead body and a suicide note. They also find out that the dead girl was pregnant. The guy refuses to let go of her memories and tries to find out more about her death. As he digs deep, a different picture of his lost love emerges. A murky past muddled with multiple affairs and multiple personalities. On top of that he starts seeing her back in real life – every time in different attire and in a different identity. What is the reality?

Raj Khosla – director of these three movies – is a master at spinning a web of intrigue and suspense. He keeps you guessing right till the end. Only the final answers are not that convincing and lessen the impact.

In Inteqam (1969), Sadhana plays a woman wronged by her boss (Rehman). Just because of her refusal to ‘entertain’ his business crony, he had sent her to jail on a false theft-charge. With the help of a well-wisher (Ashok Kumar), she plots a deadly revenge. She lures that corrupt employer’s son (Sanjay) into marriage; only to heap public humiliation and mental torture on her tormentor. Director R.K.Nayyar – (Sadhana’s husband in real life) conceives a superb role for her with shades of grey – a simple working class woman turning into a vicious scheming society girl.

Sadhana's mystery woman roles cannot be imagined without Lata's ethereal playback voice. Songs like Naina Barse Rimjhim Rimjhim, Lag Jaa Gale, Aap Kyun Roye, Tu Jahaan Jahaan Chalega, Nainon Mein Badra Chhaye, Kareeb Aaa Yeh Nazar, Geet Tere Saaz Ka and Aa Jaane Jaan made these portrayals even more memorable.