'She deserved to be happy' A tribute to Priya Tendulkar

Priya Tendulkar rose to fame with Basu Chatterjee's television serial Rajni, in which she played an aggressive housewife, solving social problems. Her real-life husband Karan Razdan also played her screen husband in the serial.

The actress died of cardiac arrest in Mumbai Thursday.

Lata Khubchandani spoke to the people to whom Priya mattered the most -- former husband Karan Razdan, doctor Venugopal Nair and film director Aruna Raje:

Karan Razdan

She was the bravest woman I knew. We met on the sets of Rajni and married in 1988. We had a great relationship and were married for seven years. She was a great wife. You cannot find a more trustworthy wife than her.

All I can say that everything, the highs and even the lows, were very beautiful.

We had some differences and parted. We never spoke against each other nor did we ever meet again.

She played a big part in my becoming a writer. She supported me morally and helped me. Her death is so untimely that I cannot collect my thoughts.

We worked together in a serial, Kisse Miyan Biwi Ke, which was very popular but ran for 13 weeks. Both of us played counsellors for bad marriages. She acted in another serial Hakke Bakke, which I wrote and Ravi Baswani directed. It was a comedy.

We never met after we parted because she did not want us to meet.

I have just made a film Roshni and there are some scenes from our marriage. I was going to portray it obliquely. But she would have understood for sure.

The film releases next month. I will dedicate this film to her.

I can only say that she has gone to world, much better than this one.

Dr Venugopal Nair

I have known her for seven years now. She was very disturbed and confused after her separation with her husband and required treatment.

As a person, she was fine. She was mentally upset due to a lot of problems in her life. She became very stern and intense. She would want me to sit and talk to her. She wanted me to take her to the famous Powai Shiva Mandir (in Mumbai), which I never got around to doing.

She appeared stern on the surface but was actually very soft. Since I was treating her, we kept in touch. In fact, she opened my clinic.

Aruna Raje

I have known her since the 1970s. She shot her first advertisement for me for a sewing machine when she was barely 15 years old. I have known her family.

We were supposed to go for lunch together today, but I was away. In fact, I was to call her and fix it. Now, I hear this. I just can't rationalise it. It is too unfair.

I feel for her father --- he lost his son Raju recently. And now Priya. His wife is also very unwell. Seeing your children pass away when you are alive must be unbearable.

We have been through similar situations in our marriages. She hated sharing herself and was very private. I never ever forced a confidence; she shared them whenever she felt like it. She liked to mask her difficulties and put up a brave front. She liked work but she had many personal problems.

She would tell me she was very proud of the way I had dealt with my problems though she was doing the same thing.

She was suffering from cancer though it was not something she liked to talk about.

Initially, she was seeing [actor] Anant Nag but that did not work out. Later, she got married [to Karan]. Unfortunately, the marriage was all wrong, though she tried to make it work.

She deserved to be happy --- she was fun loving, enthusiastic, creative and loved her work. She understood the good things of life.

Also Read:
Priya Tendulkar dead
Jayadev Hattangady pays a tribute to Priya Tendulkar