Born to an Irish mother and an Indian father, Leela Naidu was crowned Miss India in 1954. Vogue had also named her as one of the 10 most beautiful women in the world along with Maharani Gayatri Devi. She forayed into films with Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s 1960 ‘Anuradha’. The film didn’t do well at the box office, but got the National Award for the best film.
In 1962, Leela was seen in ‘Ummeed’. But it was her role in ‘Yeh Raaste Hain Pyar Ke’ (1963) that got her fame. Directed by R K Nayyar, the movie was based on the K M Nanavati vs State of Maharashtra court case. In the same year, got Merchant Ivory Production’s ‘The Householder’. 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.
In 1985, she made a comeback in Shyam Benegal’s ‘Trikaal’ and later featured in director Pradip Krishen’s 1992 movie ‘Electric Moon’.
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