Her father, Sukhdev Maharaj, was a Brahmin gentleman and a Vaishanavite scholar of Sanskrit, and earned his livelihood by teaching and performing the Kathak dance form.

Her father developed a passion for classical dance and study in-depth Bharata Natyam and Natya Shastra and practiced and performed Kathak in which he excelled.

This passion for dance was something he passed on to his daughters, Alaknanda, Tara, and Dhanlakshmi alias Dhanno; and to his sons, Chaube and Pande.

[7] Like the tradition of the time, Devi was to be married when she was a young girl of eight, and her child bridegroom's family wanted to solemnize the marriage.

Dhanno was re-christened as Sitara, and was entrusted with the care of her elder sister, Tara, and to impart her dancing lessons.

[8] By the time Devi had turned ten, she was giving solo performances, mostly during the fifteen-minute recess during movies in a cinema of her father's friend.

Soon after reaching Bombay, Devi gave a Kathak performance in the Atiya Begum Palace before a select audience, which included Rabindranath Tagore, Sarojini Naidu and Sir Cowasji Jehangir.

When she was a twelve-year-old girl, Devi was recruited by Niranjan Sharma, a filmmaker and a dance director, and she gave dance sequences in some Hindi movies including her debut in Usha Haran 1940, Nagina 1951, Roti, Vatan 1938, Anjali 1957 (directed by Chetan Anand, brother of Dev Anand).

[citation needed] After her third divorce, Sitara married Pratap Barot, a Hindu gentleman of Gujarati heritage.

She refused to accept the Padma Bhushan award, declaring, "it is an insult, not an honor," and as a report from the Press Trust of India quoted her saying: "is this government not aware of my contribution to Kathak?

She taught Kathak dancing to Bollywood celebrities such as Madhubala, Rekha, Mala Sinha, and Kajol.