MUMBAI, Oct. 5 -- Renowned actor Sandhya Shantaram, who created a niche for herself in Hindi and Marathi film industry in the 1950s with her exquisite dance numbers and an amazing range of roles, died late Friday night after protracted illness. She was 94. Wife of V Shantaram, the legendary filmmaker who was in the league of celluloid czars such as Mehboob Khan, Bimal Roy, Raj Kapoor, S Mukherjee and Guru Dutt, Sandhya played the female lead under the reputed Raj Kamal Kala Mandir banner in films which captured the socio-cultural transformation during the Nehruvian era. Born in 1931 in a Maharashtrian Kayastha family, Sandhya and her sister Vatsala, also a talented actor-singer, re-located to Mumbai from Baroda in colonial India. The sisters began their innings in Deshi Natak Samaj, a reputed Gujarati theatrical group in Mumbai, in plays replete with melodies, dances, dream sequences and sword fights. According to the filmland lore, Sandhya, nee Vijaya Deshmukh, caught Shantaram's eye when he attended one of her popular Gujarati musicals staged in Bhaang Wadi, a busy Kalbadevi cul-de-sac in south Mumbai. Impressed by her nimble footwork, Shantaram signed her up for 'Amar Bhoopali' in 1951. Soon, the two got married, sparking an ugly row between Shantaram and Jayashree, well-known actor and his second wife. His first wife, Vimalabai however remained in the shadows. Shantaram, it is said, fell for Sandhya, despite their age gap of 30 years, as her voice reminded him of Jayashree. Sandhya came into her own with 'Teen Batti Chaar Rasta', the story of Kokila, a dark skinned girl with a mellifluous voice reminiscent of the 'koel' bird. However, Sandhya peaked as actor in films such as 'Do Aankhein Barah Haath', 'Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje', 'Stree', 'Navrang', 'Jal Bin Macchli Nritya Bin Bijli' and 'Pinjra', the last a Marathi blockbuster, which fetched her the coveted Filmfare award for best actor. Not trained in classical dance, Sandhya learnt her steps for 'Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje' from Shantaram and Gopi Krishna, her male lead and well-known Kathak exponent. Later, dance became Sandhya's ticket to box office fame. Shantaram added a few cinematic devices to add lustre to her performance. For instance, while lip-syncing 'Arre jaa re hat natkhat', the peppy 'Navrang' number, Sandhya, in the role of a bubbly toy seller, effortlessly blended both male and female characters by using a mask. Great music by C Ramchandra, Vasant Desai, Ram Lal and Laxmikant-Pyarelal reinforced Sandhya's credentials as actor and danseuse as well. 'Aye maalik tere bande hum', the prayer song from 'Do Ankhein Barah Haath', is enough to perpetuate Sandhya's myth, say cinema buffs. Also, 'Aadha hai chandrama, raat aadhi', from 'Navrang', continues to tug at the heartstrings of music lovers. 'Pinjra' (Marathi) was, in a manner of speaking, Sandhya's swan song. Cast as a 'tamasha' belle who falls for a school teacher, 'Pinjra' was loosely based on Heinrich Mann's 1905 novel titled 'Professor Unrat'. Thespian Shriram Lagoo, in his debut role, brilliantly portrayed the Gandhian school teacher who tries to reform the 'tamasha' girl, but instead falls in love with her. 'Pinjra' ran for 134 weeks in Pune, and became one of Shantaram's money-spinning ventures. A recluse, Sandhya studiously kept away from the glitz and glamour of Hindi cinema. Also, she never offered soundbytes to mediapersons. Sandhya spent her sunset years at the Rajkamal studio in Parel, where she breathed her last. Paying homage to Sandhya, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said her passing was "extremely heart-breaking". Her roles in many Marathi films were immensely popular. She also made her mark in the Hindi film industry. Minister for IT and cultural affairs Ashish Shelar paid his last respects to the actor at the Shivaji Park crematorium on Saturday....