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{{Short description|Indian movie actress}}{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Priya Rajvansh
| image = Priya_rajvansh.jpg
| imagesize =
| alt =
| caption = Priya Rajvansh
| birth_name = Vera Sunder Singh
| birth_date = 30 December 1936
| birth_place = [[Simla]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], British India<br><small>(now [[Shimla]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], India)</small>
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2000|3|27|1936|12|30}}
| death_place = [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]], India
| othername =
| occupation =[[Actress]]
| yearsactive = 1964–86
| spouse =
| domesticpartner = [[Chetan Anand (producer and director)|Chetan Anand]]
| website =
}}

'''Priya Rajvansh''' (30 December 1936 – 27 March 2000), born '''Vera Sunder Singh''', was an [[India]]n film actress, who is known for her performance in [[Hindi]] films like ''[[Heer Raanjha]]'' (1970) and ''[[Hanste Zakhm]]'' (1973), amongst a handful of films she did during her career.

==Early life and education==
Priya Rajvansh was born as Veera Sunder Singh in [[Shimla]]. Her father Sunder Singh was a Conservator in the Forest Department. She grew up in Shimla along with her brothers, Kamaljit Singh (Gulu) and Padamjit Singh. She studied at [[Auckland School Shimla|Auckland House]], where she was school captain, and [[Convent of Jesus and Mary, Shimla]]. She passed intermediate from [[St. Bede's College, Shimla]] in 1953, and joined Bhargava Municipal College (BMC), during this period, she acted in several English plays at [[Shimla|Shimla's]] noted [[Gaiety Theatre, Shimla|Gaiety Theatre]].

Her father was on a [[United Nations|UN]] assignment, so after graduation she joined the [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]] ([[RADA]]) in [[London]], UK.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020803/cth1.htm#7 Feeding on Priya's memories, Gullu lives on...] [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]], 3 August 2002.</ref><ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000421/art-trib.htm#4 Priya Rajvansh, the adored Shimlaite] [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]], [[Chandigarh]], 21 April 2000.</ref><ref name=tr>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070316/hp1.htm#21 Glamour girls from Himachal Pradesh] [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]], 16 March 2007.</ref>

==Career==
While still in London and 22 years old, one of her photographs, taken by a London photographer, somehow reached the [[Hindi film industry]]. A movie maker of that time called Thakur Ranbeer Singh belonging to a Rajput Kota family came to know of her. Singh had written and made popular British and Hollywood films starring [[Yul Bryner]] and [[Ursula Andress]] and was familiar with Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton. Ranbeer Singh had also given the popular actor [[Ranjeet]] his first offer in a film called "Zindagi ki rahein" (Roads of life) which he wanted to make.<ref name="rstv1">{{cite news |last1=S |first1=Irfan |title=Guftagoo with Ranjeet : An Interview |publisher=Rajya Sabha TV |date=29 September 2018}}</ref>

Subsequently, Ranbeer Singh brought her to meet [[Chetan Anand (producer and director)|Chetan Anand]], (brother of [[Dev Anand]] and [[Vijay Anand (Hindi film maker)|Vijay Anand]]) in 1962 and they cast her in one of their films, ''[[Haqeeqat (1964 film)|Haqeeqat]]'' (1964). The film became a hit and is often counted as among the best Indian war-films. Soon she was in a relationship with her mentor, Chetan Anand, who had just separated from his wife. Priya was many years younger to Chetan. Thereafter, she starred only in Chetan Anand films, in which she was involved in every aspect- starting from story to scripting, lyrics, and post-production. Chetan, too, never made a film without her as the central character. Despite being a highly talented actress, her anglicised accent and western femininity did not click well with the Indian audience.

Her next film, ''[[Heer Raanjha]]'' came out only in 1970, where she acted opposite the rage of that time, actor [[Raaj Kumar]], and the film was a hit. Then came ''[[Hanste Zakhm]]'', arguably the finest film of her career, in 1973. Her other noted films were ''[[Hindustan Ki Kasam]]'' (1973), with Raaj Kumar, and ''[[Kudrat]]'' (1981), paired opposite [[Rajesh Khanna]] , where she had a parallel role with [[Hema Malini]] as the lead. She also starred opposite Dev Anand in [[Saheb Bahadur]] in 1977. Her last film ''[[Haathon Ki Lakeeren]]'' came out in 1985, after which she ended her film career.

==Personal life==
[[File:Memorial of Priya Rajvanshi, Dharamsala.jpg|thumb|Memorial plaque at [[St. John in the Wilderness Church (Dharamshala)|St. John in the Wilderness Church]], Dharamsala|289x289px]]
Priya Rajvansh and [[Chetan Anand (producer and director)|Chetan Anand]] had a personal relationship and they lived together, though she kept her own flat first in Kalumal Estate and, later, a bigger house in Mangal Kiran. Her two brothers, Kamaljit Singh (Gulu) and Padamjit Singh, reside in London and the USA respectively, and have an ancestral home in Chandigarh.<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/17799772.cms Tribute to Priya Rajvansh] [[The Times of India]], Harneet Singh, TNN 2 August 2002.</ref>

After Chetan Anand's death in 1997, she inherited a part of his property along with his sons from his first marriage. She was murdered on 27 March 2000 in Chetan Anand's Ruia Park bungalow in [[Juhu]], Mumbai, India. Police charged Chetan Anand's sons Ketan Anand and Vivek Anand along with their employees Mala Choudhary and Ashok Chinnaswamy with her murder.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121018024438/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2002-11-01/mumbai/27298733_1_priya-rajvansh-anand-brothers-ketan-and-vivek-anand Priya Rajvansh case: Anand brothers get bail] [[The Times of India]], PTI, 1 November 2002.</ref> Their motive was thought to be rights to her inheritance of Chetan Anand's property. Rajvansh's handwritten notes and a letter addressed by her to Vijay Anand were produced in court as evidence by the prosecution.<ref>{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.mid-day.com/news/2002/jul/27788.htm |title=Verdict in Priya murder case |publisher=Mid-day.com |date= |accessdate=2012-04-19}}</ref> The letter and notes throw light on Rajvansh's fear and anxiety during the period prior to her death under mysterious circumstances.

The four accused were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in July 2002.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121018024444/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2002-07-31/mumbai/27293151_1_priya-rajvansh-anand-brothers-ketan-and-vivek Lifer for 4 in Priya Rajvansh murder case] [[The Times of India]], PTI 31 July 2002.</ref><ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000406/nation.htm#2 Rajvansh killed for property?] [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]], 6 April 2000.</ref><ref>[http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2000/apr/08priya.htm 'It has still to sink in'] [[Rediff.com]], 8 April 2000.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121025001201/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2002-07-31/mumbai/27291518_1_life-term-priya-rajvansh-life-imprisonment Anand duo gets life term for Priya's murder] [[The Times of India]], 31 July 2002.</ref> In 2011, the Bombay High Court accepted the appeals filed by the accused duo against the trial court's order.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120908044009/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-01-20/mumbai/28365138_1_anand-brothers-ketan-and-vivek-ashok-chinaswamy HC set to hear Anands' plea in Priya Rajvansh murder case] [[The Times of India]], 20 January 2011.</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Acting Filmography
|-
! Title !! Role
|-
| ''[[Haathon Ki Lakeeren]]'' (1986) || Mala R. Singh Yadav
|-
| ''[[Kudrat]]'' (1981) || Karuna
|-
| ''[[Saheb Bahadur]]'' (1977) || Meena
|-
| ''[[Hanste Zakhm]]'' (1973) || Chanda
|-
| ''[[Hindustan Ki Kasam]]'' (1973) || Mohini
|-
| ''[[Heer Raanjha]]'' (1970) || Heer
|-
| ''[[Haqeeqat (1964 film)|Haqeeqat]]'' (1964) || Angmo
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2000/apr/08priya.htm Remembering Priya Rajvansh] at [[Rediff.com]]
*{{IMDb name|0707502}}
*{{Bollywood Hungama person|priya-rajvansh}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajvansh, Priya}}
[[Category:Indian film actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses in Hindi cinema]]
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2000 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Shimla]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian actresses]]
[[Category:People murdered in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Indian murder victims]]
[[Category:Actresses from Himachal Pradesh]]

Priya Rajvansh - Revision history

imported>DEFCON5: Corrected info