Nanda is an Indian film actress of Hindi films.
Nanda was born in a show-business family to Vinayak Damodar Karnataki, a successful Marathi actor-director and Marathi actress, Meenakshi Shirodkar (Bramhachari-Bikini girl in Bramhachari and Shamachi Aai fame). Minakshi's granddaughters are actresses Namrata Shirodkar and Shilpa Shirodkar. Shirodkars belong to Gomantak Maratha Samaj or Nutan Maratha Samaj. Her father died when Nanda was a child. The family faced hard times. She became a child artiste and helped her family by working in films like Jaggu in the early 50's. She was tutored at home by renowned school-teacher and Bombay Scouts Commissioner, Gokuldas V. Makhi.
Nanda's paternal uncle V. Shantaram gave Nanda a big break by casting her in a successful brother-sister saga Toofan Aur Diya (1956). She received her first Filmfare Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress for "Bhabhi" (1957), but she claims that the reason she didn't win was because there was lobbying involved. She then played supporting roles like sister to stars like Dev Anand in Kala Bazaar, and did small roles in big films like Dhool Ka Phool.
She played the title role in L.V. Prasad's Chhoti Bahen (1959) and the movie was a big hit, making her a star. She then played lead roles, such as one of Dev Anand's heroines in Hum Dono (1961). She was the heroine in B R Chopra's Kanoon (1960), a film that was very unusual back then, because it had no songs. She won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for "Anchal (film)" (1960).
She starred with Shashi Kapoor in a lot of films while he was a newcomer, but they were not successful. But they later had a super hit with Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965). In this film Nanda played a westernised role for the first time and it helped her image. Her favorite song that was famously picturized on her in the film was "Yeh Samaa." (Shashi Kapoor would later declare that Nanda was his favorite heroine