Actress Leela Naidu dies at 69

Known as much for her roles in classics like Anuradha and The Householder as for her ageless elegance, actress Leela Naidu died here today after a prolonged illness. She was 69.

Born to an Irish mother and Indian father, Leela Naidu was crowned Miss India in 1954. Vogue also named her one of the 10 most beautiful women in the world, along with Gayatri Devi, the maharani of Jaipur.

She entered films with Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Anuradha in 1960 as the bored housewife married to an idealistic doctor played by Balraj Sahni. The film didn't do well at the box office but got the National Award for best film.

In 1962, Leela Naidu was seen in Ummeed. But it was her role in Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke (1963) that brought her fame and popularity. Directed by RK Nayyar, the film was based on the celebrated Nanavati case, which resulted in the abolition of the jury system in criminal trials in India. She teamed up with Sunil Dutt in the film.

In the same year, Leela Naidu was offered a role in the first Merchant-Ivory production, The Householder, which was directed by James Ivory.

After a guest appearance in The Guru in 1969, she bid adieu to films to marry, and later divorce, businessman Tikki Oberoi. She later tied the knot with poet Dom Moraes, her childhood sweetheart.

In 1985, she made a comeback on the silver screen as a Goan matriarch in Shyam Benegal's Trikaal and later featured in director Pradip Krishen's 1992 movie Electric Moon.