10 Bollywood Celebrities Who Died Young

Bollywood stars start their careers at a very young age and go on to become legendary actors. But some of them leave us ahead of their time at a young age. Dealing with showbiz is not that simple, and sometimes it takes the toll on these artists. Let’s take a look at 10 such Bollywood stars who died at a young age:

1.Divya Bharti: Bollywood’s yesteryear budding actress Divya Bharti who entered the industry at a very young age, died under mysterious circumstances. The actress who shot to fame in a really short span of time, died in the year 1993 after falling off from a five storey building in Versova. At the age of only 19, Divya’s death shocked the industry to the core.

2.Jiah Khan: Definitely one of the biggest deaths that shocked the entire Bollywood industry was of actress Jiah Khan. Jiah who committed suicide in the year 2013, passed away at the tender age of 25 leaving the industry in a state of shock. Her suicide letter seemed to indicate failure in this industry as the reason for her huge step. Actor Sooraj Pancholi was also involved in the actress’ suicide investigation case.

3.Aarthi Agarwal: One of the most shocking news of this year was actress Aarthi Agarwal’s death. The cause of actress’s death was said to be a sudden cardio arrest. The 31-year old actress Aarthi Agarwal was fighting obesity and pulmonary illness from a while. Aarthi underwent the risky procedure of liposuction, in order to get in shape for the showbiz and lost her life due to complications in the same.

4.Taruni Sachdev: Bollywood’s cute little angel face star Taruni Sachdev died at a tender age of 14 in a plane crash. The unfortunate mishap took place when the star was travelling back to India from Nepal, and her plane crashed. Best known for her role in the film Paa, Taruni’s death made the whole nation grieve for the young little star.

5.Soundarya: Another actress we lost in plane crash was Soundarya, who was not only a famous face in Bollywood, but also in the Southern film industry. The Suryavanshi actress died near Bangalore in a plane crash, accompanied by her brother who died as well. Soundarya was apparently on her way to Andhra Pradesh when the crash took place. She was only 28 years old.

6.Madhubala: Bollywood’s evergreen beauty Madhubala died at a young age of 39 years after losing a battle to sickness. The actress who is known as the epitome of beauty, is still remembered as an icon and her early death was felt as a loss to the entire film fraternity. Madhubala’s role as Anarkali in the iconic film Mughal-E-Azam is considered legendary.

7.Smita Patil: Another yesteryear beauty whose early death was a huge loss for Indian cinema was none other than actress Smita Patil. National Award and Padma Shri winner Patil passed away at only 31 years due to health problems. Her social work towards upliftment of women in rural India proves that she was one of the most humanitarian stars of her time. Her films also usually were women centric which was a great deal at that time.

8.Silk Smitha: Iconic actress Silk Smitha passed away at the early age of 36 after committing suicide. The actress was found dead in her Chennai apartment. Vidya Balan starrer The Dirty Picture, which was a biopic of Smitha’s life indicates how the showbiz got the best of the actress. Depression and problems in personal life were some of the reasons why Smitha took her life.

9.Abir Goswami: Television actor Abir Goswami died at a very young age of 37 due to cardiac arrest. After making a steady climb in his career with serials like Kkusum and Pyaar Ka Dard Hai, he has also acted in hit films like 2013’s Ugly and Hrithik Roshan starrer Lakshya. Abir passed away in May 2013 after a sudden massive heart attack while he was on a treadmill in his gym.

10.Sanjit Bedi: Popular Television actor Sanjit Bedi passed away recently in June 2015 after losing a battle with prolonged illness. Sanjit was suffering from brain sickness and was in coma for a long time. The actor passed away in June, at a young age of mid forty. Best known for his role in Sanjivani, he also starred in programs like Jaane Kya Baat Hui, Kyaa Hoga Nimmo Kaa and Kasautii Zindagii Kay

Silk Smitha - Interview from Filmfare

WHO WAS SILK SMITHA?

SILK Smitha's rise from an aspiring starlet to super star status can only be described as meteoric. Coming from an obscure Andhra village, this star struck peasant girl, had acted in over 200 films in Tamil, Telugu, Malyalam Kanada and Hindi in short span of 4 years.

Her first film surprisingly, was in Malayalam, Innayaihhed. She had a minor role. It was her second film, Vandichakram (her first Tamil film} that she became SILK Smitha after her portrayal of an arrack waitress. The role won her tremendous acclaim. A host of roles cast in glamourous moulds followed.

She was born on 2nd December, 1960 and In 1996, Smitha was found dead in her Chennai apartment. She had tried to turn int a film producer but financial problems, a disillusionment in love and an alcohol dependency apparently led to depression. It is suspected that Smitha committed suicide by poisoning herself. Her Filmfare interview is dated December 1984.

Vamp, seductress, night club dancer par excellence with few inhibitions about shedding her clothes, Silk Smitha has become a household name for film goers in South India. And with ‘Sadma’, she has become familiar to Hindi audiences.

I heard to lot about her. That she was a sizzler; a piece of red hot property ensuring success of any film. That she was ruthless in her dealings with press; that she treated producers and film makers like scum. That she was haughty, unsocial and disrespectful towards colleagues and senior artistes. I had heard…

It was unthinkable that anyone with such a reputation could continue to thrive in any profession, leave alone be at the top. It was, therefore, with considerable trepidation that I set out to meet “Silk” Smitha and out what made here click. I was in for surprises.

I was granted a audience without the usual starry fuss. Standing before me was not the glamour puss of over 200 films, but a dark looking girl with those hauntingly dreamy eyes so characteristic of her. She was neither haughty nor curt. On the contrary, she appeared eager to talk to us. The interview (conducted in her comfortably furnished living room) in Telugu accented Tamil with a few English words thrown I, took nearly two hours. And what unfolded was the story of a star-struck village girl’s struggle against tremendous odds.

Today, ‘ Silk’ is at the top as far as glamour roles are concerned. But the peak is narrow and precarious. But the peak is narrow and precarious. Others like Anuradha and already crowding the summit. How long will the ‘Silky’ days last before the inevitable fall comes?

I understand that you were born and brought up in a rural atmosphere with no film background. How then did you enter films?

Some uncles and cousins of mine are in Telugu films. But that had nothing to do with y entry into films. Even as a small girl I wanted t become a great actress, so when I came to Madras and got a role in the Malayalam film ‘In-ayaithedi’. I was very happy.

How did your family react to your entry into films? 

At first there was considerable opposition. They did not want me to become an actress. But now I have a good name and money. Now there are no problems.

You seem to be specializing in glamour roles…
Well, actually I wanted to become a character actress like Savithri, Sujta and Saritha. But in my second film ‘Vandichakram’ (her first film in Tamil), I was put in a glamour role. It was in that film that I played the character called ‘Silk’ Smitha….. (Laughs). It was actually a very good role and people liked my performance. It led to more and more glamour roles. I cannot afford to displease my producers and directors so I continue to accept them. But my ambition remains the same. To become a good character role for ‘Alaigal Oviathikillai’, which was a hit. But somehow I continue to get more glamour roles.

But now that you have a standing in the film industry, will you be more choosy in your roles? Will you insist on switch-over to serious roles when you are approached for future films?
I’d love to make a name for myself as a character actress. But I’ll never insist that I will d only serious roles. You see I depend onn my producers and directors for my success. They have utilized my talents to sell their films, but in the process they have also made me what I am. I shall do whatever roles they want me to. 

You have acted in over 200 films-you must have worked with various directors and actors. With whom do you like working the most? 

Bharathi Rajaa is a very good director. I like working with him, so also with Balu Mahendra. He is a perfectionist. He will retake the same shot several times until he gets the effect he desires. But he is very pleasant in his behaviour and can extract work and maximum co-operation from the actors and actresses.
 

Kamal Haasan is the best actor I have acted with. In Telugu, Chiranjeevi is very good. Both of them are very good dancers too. I love doing dance scenes with them.
There has been a lot of criticism about you in the press. That success has gone to your head. That you are very discourteous and disrespectful in your dealings with film makers and co-artistes. Any explanations? 

These are malicious allegations made against me in magazines which claim to be film magazines but are actually purveyors of yellow journalism. They have written a lot of bad things about me which are simply not true. They have accused me of treating my producers and others badly. Now, that is totally untrue. If it were true, then nobody will be casting me in their films. Why should I treat my producers badly when I know very well that I wouldn’t have been what I am but for them?
They have accused me of being disrespectful towards senior colleagues and artistes like Sivaji Ganesan, because I sit with my legs crossed in front of them. It is my habit to sit with my legs crossed when I am relaxing. I have been that way since childhood. Nobody had ever told me that was bad manners. But now, just because it does not suit the social norms of some narrow-minded journalists, it is being turned into a big issue.
 

 They have accused me of being disrespectful toward MGR sar by boycotting a function at which he was presiding. (In Tamil Nadu where movie stardom is an adjunct to political ambitions, it is considered blasphemy for actors and actresses to keep away from a function presided over by chief minister M.G. Ramchandran.) I would not even dream of boycotting any such function. You see, I had given dates for the shooting of a Telegu film with Chiranjeevi who was leaving the country the next day. And this particular function was also fixed for the same date. I am working to a very tight schedule and if I do not agree to shooting on that particular date, the producers would have had to wait for some months before I could give them a date again. I never dreamt that would be misconstructed as showing disrespect to the chief minister. (shrugs}

If, as you say, all these allegations against you are false, then why are these stories spread?
My career has been short. Just about 4 years and in this time I have acted over 200 films. Naturally, there must be several people who are jealous of my success.  I think it is such people who are behind all this malicious propaganda. They're trying to damage my reputation. Quite recently, you were involved in an enforcement case...? 

Yes, there is a story behind that incident. I had to go to Singapore on a publicity tour at the request of music director, M.S. Viswanathan. MSV's family was accompanying us. Though I have acted in so many films, I am basically a shy person. I get nervous when I have to address people. I develop stage fright if I have to dance before a lot of people. I agreed to accompany MSV's party only on the condition that I would not be asked to dance. At a function in Singapore, I was introduced to the audience. I said namaskaram and left the stage but the people started clamouring for me to dance. That day I was escorted by the police to the room.
 

Then MSV came to my room and told me that my fans would not let the programme go on unless I danced before them. He asked me to oblige. I refused. The very next day, without even telling me MSV and his family left for India, leaving me alone. I think that was highly irresponsible behaviour on the part of a senior, respectable person like MSV  leaving a woman alone to fend for herself in a strange land. I somehow persuaded the organisers of the trip to return my passport and I too flew back to Madras.

At the airport, I was cleared by the customs. I had to pay a small amount of duty on some of the things I had brought for me. It was later that some enforcement officials come to check up on me. There were six of them from the CBI I think. They searched all my things, then apologised and went away. They said they had received information that I was smuggling something. I don't know who gave such information. I also don't know what happened to that case after that.Is it your ambition to get into Hindi films in a big way? 

I want to act in as many films as possible it does not matter which language. I had an opening in Hindi films through Jaani Dost. Then there was Sadma which is a remake of  Moonram Pirai. I had a longish role in another Hindi film. I don’t remember the name. I am now doing few more films... I am not familiar with Hindi names...
Well, if I continue to continue to get glamour roles, i cannot continue for a long. You see in such roles there are several limitations. But my ambition in life is to become a good character actress. I know I can succeed if only I am given a fair chance.
What about plans of matrimony? 

(Laughs} I will marry and settle down at some stage. But not just yet. Only after I have achieved all I want in acting.

Silk Smitha - The mystery of India’s biggest sex symbol

The sheer mention of this name increased the heart rate in thousands of men, and envy and disgust to thousands of women in the darkest era of Indian cinema, the over-the-top and sleazy 80’s. And to this day, her sultry personality, her mesmerizing eyes and her irreverently sexy aura hasn’t left our memories even 18 years after her mysterious death in 1996. Such was her legacy that it even spawned Vidya Balan’s most successful movie till date, The Dirty Picture and numerous adaptations in regional cinema.

Some loved her, some hated her, and some loved to hate her. But she will never be forgotten.

When we look back on ‘Silk’ Smitha’s short yet fiery roller-coaster of a life, from being a gutsy young girl in a remote village in Andhra Pradesh to becoming the biggest sex symbol this country has ever seen.

Before ‘Silk’, Early life:

She was born in 1960, to a couple of poor parents in the non-descript village of Somavarappadu, Andhra Pradesh as ‘Vijayalakshmi’.

‘Letting go’ was not a strange concept to her

Due to her family’s financial constraints, she left school after the fourth grade. Not too much later, her parents married her off at a considerably young age. And when her husband and in-laws started ill-treating her, she fled to Madras to live with an aunt, and pursue her dreams.

From Vijayalakshmi to Smitha

Before the ban on female make-up artists, Vijayalakshmi started out as one herself for a D-grade artist. It was at this time when director Vinu Chakravarthy was awestruck by her raw beauty, and saw potential in her. He took her under his wing, got his wife to teach her English and even arranged dancing lessons for her. Vinu felt that she needed a new name, a new identity. On a late summer afternoon, Vijayalakshmi became ‘Smitha’.

And from Smitha to ‘Silk’ Smitha

Her first major role came in the form of a bar dancer in Vandichakkaram(1979). In the film, the regular drunks at the bar called her Silukku, which roughly translates to ‘oomph’ in Tamil, much to her character’s disdain. Little did she know, ‘Silukku’ would become ‘Silk’, a name that the world would have on its lips for a long time to come.

She brought back the dead, and buried the dying

In a brief period, Silk had become the queen of erotica, with her item numbers and ‘special’ performances set the screens on fire, the audience hungry for more and the cash registers running. It’s believed that shelved films that were lying in the cans for years were brought back from the dead, with a simple addition of a Silk Smitha song. On the other hand, she also inadvertently destroyed the careers of many a starlet who were on their way to oblivion anyway.

She was a sex siren, nonetheless, but she shut her critics up every now and then

Many bigwigs in the industry, even after exploiting her for their own success, panned her for being a sellout and that she wouldn’t last long. And while never refused the glamorous roles offered to her for the sake of a few producers and directors, she stuck it back to her critics with nuanced performances like in Alaigal Oivathillai and Moondram Pirai. She always wanted to be a character actor, and working with her favourite directors Bharathiraja and Balu Mahendra gave her those rare chances to expand her horizons.

She was highly misunderstood by most people

Like how our society is even today, Silk was often met with preconceived notions and was written off by many dailies and magazines of those days as a rude, disrespectful and curt. In reality, the people who really knew her loved her for her surprisingly plain, generous and honest personality. One incident that got her a lot of bad press was her refusal to perform at MS Viswanathan’s party in Singapore, following which MSV and his family abandoned her there and left for India. Her firmly-rooted principles were often misjudged, and got her into trouble every now and then.

She knew that she would never last as a glamorous heroine

After having done around 200 films, she still believed that her image would not last forever. To find her true calling, she turned a film producer in the mid-90’s and set out to invest everything into her new ambition.

Her sudden death shocked many, and haunts a few to this very day

On September 23, 1996, Kannada actor Ravichandran, a close friend of Silk, was busy shooting and found out that she had frantically tried to reach him. He tried to speak to her, but the call never got through due to poor connectivity. But he sensed that evening that she might have been wanting to tell him about something that troubled her.

The very next day, Ravichandran along with the rest of the world was shocked to hear that Silk had taken her own life. Though no one knows for sure, Silk was going through many problems which might have caused this decision: financial issues, disillusionment in love and severe depression. Like a burning star, Silk was all of just 35 years of age when she left us.

Silk Smitha (2 December 1960 – 23 September 1996)

Silk Smitha, the sultry actress and B-grade movie queen from South India, has a rags to riches story. Silk Smitha’s real name was Vijayalakshmi, she was born on December 2, 1960. Her active period where she flourished as an item girl and seductress was between 1979 and 1996.

Silk Smitha also known as Silk Sumitha, was born in a poor family, in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh. Due to financial problems in the family, she had to drop out of school in fourths standard itself. She blossomed to grow as a sultry looking girl and she was constantly propositioned and physically ‘exploited’ by men, which is why Vijayalakshmi’s parents married her off at a very young age. However, the ill-treatment from her husband and in-laws made Silk Smitha leave her husband’s home and move over to Madras where she lived with her aunt.

Silk began her career as a touch-up girl to B-grade actresses in B-grade films and then got break in small character roles. Vinu Chakravathy, a director chanced up her in a flour-mill and found that she had potential for bigger things. He renamed Vijayalakshmi as ‘Silk’; his wife taught her English. The girl proved to be a fast learner and she even took dancing lessons from another teacher.

In 1979, Silk Smitha got a role in a Malayalam film called ‘Inaye Thedi’; her sex appeal found her a lot of takers who wanted to star as a cabaret dancer or vamp in their films. Soon, she began to get typecast in these films. In the same year in 1979, Silk got her major role in a Tamil film called ‘Vandi Chakkaram’ and the movie was a superhit. The character that she played was also called ‘Silk’, so Vijayalakshmi as she was known to everyone, changed her name forever to ‘Silk Smitha’. But her sensous appeal and dusky skin gave her only movies where she was to play the seductress, the vamp or the cabaret dancer, limting her choice in roles.

Silk Smitha began to drop her clothes to get more attention and attention she did get, as she became most men’s secret fantasy in the 80s as she flourished rapidly in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam cinema. Her dance numbers and bold sequences had men eating out of her palms, so much that they would buy tickets only to watch Silk Smitha. She was indeed a hot property who would outshine the heroine too. Silk Smitha truly was the first red-hot item girl, but then critics dismissed her as a cheap actress. Most of her subsequent movies had the softcore appeal while in some she would be a cheap version of a desi-Bond girl wearing bikinis and strutting her stuff .

Silk Smitha’s signature rolling of tongue, biting of her lower lip, looking at her lover in a trance-like manner through hazy, sultry eyes and her voluptuous figure had the junta rushing to the movies with a pretext of watching the film, while the real reason was to check her out. Silk Smitha would charge as much as Rs. 50000 per dance sequence and she would do two or even three sequences in a day. There was even a movie called Silk, Silk , Silk where Silk Smitha played a triple role. In less than 10 years of her entry, Silk Smitha had done 500 films which included A, B and C grade films.

But there was much more to Silk Smitha beyond her sex appeal, she was an accomplished actress too. Some of the best performances of Silk Smitha are in movies like Alaigal Oivathillai (1981) where she played the role of a neglected wife who is hurt by her husband’s infidelity. Writer Jerry Pinto says, “Watch Silk Smitha’s sequences and you will find a sense of lingering sorrow. It’s almost as if there were two Silk Smithas there: One watching her own self dance, detached and dispassionate about being put through these calisthenics.”,

Layanam (1989) is one of the most famous adult films in India and it starred Silk Smitha in her sizzling best. The movie was dubbed in many languages across the country including in Hindi as Reshma ki Jawani (2002). Most people know about Silk Smitha’s sensuous yet brilliant performance as a woman who has a huge crush on Kamal Hassan in Balu Mahendra’s Moondram Pirai, which was remade as Sadma. Silk Smitha had fulfilled her dream of working with A-grade stars, she had brushed with the best of male stars in her time, Shivaji Ganeshan, Rajnikanth, Kamal Hassan, Chiranjeevi and Mithun Chakraborthy.

Silk Smitha had a string of lovers and some of them were producers, directors and even A-grade actors who were besotted by her. Director Velu Prabhakaran confessed that he had an intimate relationship with Silk Smitha and had cheated on his girlfriend for her. Director Vinu Chakravarthy who was already married, had a secret relationship with Silk Smitha as well

Silk Smitha Death

Silk Smitha was found dead in her Chennai apartment, having committed suicide. The cause of her death is not known, it may have been her disillusionment of

Silk Smitha’s popularity began to wane by mid 90s. She had a live-in boyfriend who had promised to start her luxury life from scratch and lured her into producing films. If reports are to be believed, Silk Smitha’s two movies that she had produced flopped and she was in debt for Rs. 20 million while the third one was stuck due to loss of funds.

Silk Smitha could not reconcile to the fact that she was back to her impoverished day that she never wanted to go to, after she had reveled in luxury. She did get the odd film over, the last one beign a movie called Subaash, a Tamil film, that released two days before her death.

The police directed examining doctors to send a part of Silk Smitha’s body parts to forensic scientists to find out if there were traces of poison in her body, she might have been poisoned before hanging her by the fan; they felt. A post-mortem report on Silk Smitha revealed a large amount of bananas and chocolates in her stomach.

On September 23,1996, Smitha was found dead in her Chennai apartment, Saligramam, hanging by a rope from the ceiling fan of her bedroom. She had tried to turn int a film producer but financial problems, a disillusionment in an unrequited love and an alcohol dependency apparently led to depression. It is suspected that Smitha committed suicide by poisoning herself. She had left a suicide note in which she had written that she was frustrated with repeated failures in her life and so she was taking the extreme step.