In Hinduism, sādhu (skt साधु sādhu, “good; good man, holy man”) denotes an ascetic, wandering monk. Although the vast majority of sādhus are yogīs, not all yogīs are sādhus. The sādhu is solely dedicated to achieving mokṣa (liberation), the fourth and final aśrama (stage of life), through meditation and contemplation of brahman. Sādhus often wear ochre-colored clothing, symbolizing their sanyāsa (renunciation).
This way of life is open to women; the female form of the word is sādhvī साध्वी.
The Sanskrit terms sādhu ("good man") and sādhvī ("good woman") refer to renouncers who have chosen to live a life apart from or on the edges of society in order to focus on their own spiritual practice.
The words come from the Sanskrit root sādh, which means "reach one's goal", "make straight", or "gain power over". The same root is used in the word sādhana, which means "spiritual practice".
Sadhus are sanyasi, or renunciates, who have left behind all material and sexual attachments and live in caves, forests and temples all over India and Nepal.
Sahila Chadha is a former Miss India (1983) and actress.
Sahila began her Bollywood career as the female Tarzan in the jungle flick Sheela (1984).She played the lead in Ramsay Horror slashers like Veerana (1988) and Sau Saal Baad (1988) opposite Hemant Birje.
In the later decade she started playing supporting roles in big budget films like Bhabhi (1990), Sailaab (1990) and Maa (1992). She was noticed and appreciated for her portrayal of a hare-brained bimbette love-struck by Salman Khan in the blockbuster Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994). She also played cameos in Aunty No1 (1998), and the Shahrukh Khan starrer One 2 Ka 4 (2001), where she played an undercover cop.
She is married to actor Nimai Bali, with whom she has a daughter.
Plot
Dipak and Saraswati live a simple life in Kathmandu. A devoted father and an adoring husband, Dipak works as a security guard, while Saraswati happily tends to traditional housework. Their home is modest, and their two girls are happy. Life would be perfect for the pregnant mother if only she could give her husband a son. Desperate in her desire, on the advice of a stranger, Saraswati prays to a new spirit with miraculous results. When the blessing turns to tragedy, the distraught couple appeals to Gita, a jhangrini or healer, revered as a powerful spirit medium. Gita's own crisis of faith and, perhaps, her stunning beauty, forces all three to a dizzying climax, leaving the lines between secular and spiritual desires eerily blurred.
Keywords: nepal, shamanism, superstition
Plot
Parvati is a devotee of Devi Maa Kali and lives a poor lifestyle in a village in India. One night after offering prayers to Devi Maa Kali, the Poojari asks Parvati to take care of the jewelry and deposit it in the bank the next day. Before Parvati could do so, she is sexually assaulted by four men namely Mantri Sampoorna Anand, Ghanshyam Dhabaria, Advocate Daruwala, and Dr. Ajay Ganotra, who subsequently kill the Poojari and abscond with the jewelry. Inspector Ganpat Godbole blames the death and the theft on Parvati and arrests her, but she manages to escape with the help of a Sadhu, who entrusts her with heavenly powers and asks her to apprehend and kill her assailants, bring back the jewelry, and offer herself as a sacrifice to Devi Maa Kali. Parvati sets about this task, rescues a young boy named Pappu, whose brother is CID Inspector Shiv Kumar, who she falls in love with. But when Shiv finds out that Parvati is wanted for theft and murder, he arrests her, has her tried in Court, where she is found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. The question remains: how will Parvati avenge her humiliation and retrieve the stolen jewelry?
Plot
Rakesh lives with his widowed businessman dad Harkishanlal; elder brother Shyam, his wife, Kamla and their son. He attends college, does extremely well in his exams, and stands first with only one other candidate, who comes from a poor family. Rakesh also has a sweetheart in fellow-collegian, Geeta Sehgal, and both hope to get married soon. Rakesh introduces Geeta to Kamla, and gets instant approval. But there is something troubling Rakesh, he is appalled at the inequalities and injustices in this world, the power the rich have over the poor; why God remains a silent spectator in the light of atrocities, committed on his very own creations. Rakesh sets out to seek answers within his family, and is shunned. His dad and brother want him to lend a hand in their business, but Rakesh does not want any part in it as part of it is being run by black money, surrounded by hypocrites. He stops seeing Geeta, and when Kamla finds this out, she follows him one day and finds him with a group of half-naked, drug-induced hippies. When confronted, Rakesh's only explanation is that he will not marry Geeta as he does not want to get tied down and wants his freedom - what exactly is the freedom that Rakesh seeks - watch as he runs away from home to seek life's meanings along with newfound hippie friends.
Plot
Beautiful Sapna lives with her wealthy father, Dhanraj, and a younger brother in a palatial house. Her father comes across some valuable diamonds and conceals them in a secret place. While driving one day, Dhanraj is killed, but her brother escapes without any injuries, but loses control of his vocal chords unable to tell anyone how the accident occurred, and goes missing. After Sapna wins a beauty contest, she travels to Bombay and meets with a young wheel-chair bound soldier named Gopal, and both fall in love with each other. What Sapna does not know is that Gopal is a fraud, a con-man who is only after her money. Then her life is even more complicated after she finds out that her father was killed by a man named Diwan. Before she could think of taking any further action, Diwan and his men track her down - their goal to find the secret location of the diamonds hidden by Dhanraj - and kill anyone who dares to get in their way.
Plot
Ratan is an Air Force Pilot and lives a wealthy lifestyle with his money-lender father, Dayashankar. While journeying home for a holiday with his father, he is approached by an Army Officer, Ramu, who asks him to deliver a attaché case to his sister, Rukmini, who lives in the same town as Dayashankar, to which he agrees to do so. Ramu returns to the front, is seriously wounded and hospitalized. When he recovers he returns home to find out that his sister has passed away, and his niece, Ratna, who he had last seen as a 10-year old is missing. He is upset with the Pilot and hopes to extract his vengeance whenever he comes face to face with him. He meets with the daughter of a rickshaw driver, Gulabi, who permits him to draw the rickshaw. One day they come across a pregnant woman, Chanda, lying on the street, they assist her, she gives birth to a baby boy, and comes to live with them. Months later, Ramu finds out that Chanda's husband is none other than the pilot who had taken his attaché case, thrown Chanda out of the house, and is getting married for a second time to a woman named Nalini, the only daughter of a lawyer named Ramprasad. An enraged Ramu is now on a mission - to kill the pilot - and in his hands is a loaded shotgun to help him achieve this purpose. The question remains will Ramu succeed in his vengeance?
Plot
Dancer maestro Mangal Maharaj wants his son, Girdhar, who is a dancer par excellence, to enter the once-in-ten-years Nateshwar Utsav dance competition, win it, and be crowned the Bharat Natraj. While Girdhar can do a solo dance number, he is also required to dance the Shiv-Parvati Tandav dance with a female partner. Mangal Maharaj would like Roopkala to be his partner, but ends up being disappointed with her. Now with only a year left for the Utsav, he chances upon talented dancer and singer, Neeladevi, and recruits her. He subjects her to strenuous training and he is pleased with her performance. Then he finds out that Girdhar and Neela have fallen in love with each other, and their involvement is interfering with their performance. Unhappy with Neeladevi, he dismisses her, and sets forth to look for another dancer. The question remains: Will he be able to find another one, train her, and make her compete just in time for the Utsav, or will he lose this opportunity altogether and wait for another 10 years?
Plot
The naive Saroop romantically renounces earthly pleasures under the influence of a sadhu. Arrested at a fairground and jailed, fellow convicts change his view of the world. Working in the prison's garden, he meets the superintendent Sohanlal's daughter Durga, who was married as a child to a boy now believed dead. Ranjit covets her and on her wedding day to the nasty Ranjit, it is discovered that Saroop was her child-husband.