Alda Sinha, better known as Mala Sinha by fans and moviegoers, is a former Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali, and Nepali films. Mala Sinha had an illustrious career spanning four decades, and she was a leading actress in the late 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. Mala Sinha worked in over 100 productions including Guru Dutt's Pyaasa (1957) and Yash Chopra's Dhool Ka Phool (1959). She worked with many superstars including Kishore Kumar, Dev Anand, Dharmendra, Raaj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Biswajeet, Manoj Kumar, and Rajesh Khanna. Mala Sinha was also the richest and the highest-paid actress.
However, despite all the success that one could not possibly imagine, Mala Sinha's career soon went downhill. She was ostracised from the industry and it took only one incident to ruin Mala Sinha’s career.
In 1978, when Mala Sinha was at the peak of her career, an income tax raid at her Bombay house recovered cash amounting to Rs 12 lakh from a wall in her bathroom. Mala Sinha, reportedly, initially told the officials that the money was hidden there by her father. But, when Mala Sinha was produced before the court, she reportedly stated that she had earned the money through prostitution.
Mala Sinha was allowed to keep the money but her admission sent shockwaves through the industry. It is said that her statement in the court effectively ended her career, resulting in the loss of many projects.
Mala Sinha was married to Nepali actor Chidambar Prasad Lohani of Kumaoni Brahmin ethnicity in 1966. They had one daughter Pratibha Sinha, a former Bollywood actress. Her husband, Lohani, died in June 2024. Mala Sinha is now living an anonymous life, away from the film world.
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