Music director Jatin Pandit is in the United States as he speaks to HT City about her. His elder sister, actor-singer Sulakshana Pandit died on Thursday following a heart attack at the age of 71.

“She was not a sister, she was a mother,” he says, sounding emotional, “She helped me get educated, took care of the family, and brought us to another level. We were not rich, very middle class. Whatever she had, she gave to all us brothers and sisters.”

He goes on to add, “This kind of an example of a person is rare. Of course there was Lata Mangeshkar ji, but she had sisters like Asha Bhosle ji who were equally (successful).”

Sulakshana was a known name in the 1970s and 80s, starring in films opposite the likes of Rajesh Khanna, Shashi Kapoor and Jeetendra, and singing for composers such as Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Bappi Lahiri. But since the onset of the 1990s, fans stopped seeing her in public. Jatin shares she had been grappling with health issues, “She had an accident, and her hip joint was fractured. After that her mobility was reduced to quite an extent. Most of the time she had very restricted walk and then the surgery was also not successful again.”

Jatin also feels that Sulakshana was the “only one after Suraiya and Noor Jehan” who was a “complete singer”, “Our father had taught her very intensely because she was the first breadwinner in our family. All the load was on her throat. She got into singing, but unfortunately there were legendary singers ahead of her and they were better. So she could not cross them. Then she started acting. I’m happy that she did so many good movies with so many big stars and sang songs.”

He made it a point to meet his sister whenever he would be in Mumbai, since he would mostly be out for work or in the States. He remembers fondly, “I used to take things she likes when I used to go and meet her. She would make me sing songs, she would be very keen.”