Divya Bharti, actress
Age: 19 | Movies: 21
For her time, Divya Bharti was the star every girl wanted to be. She was in her late teens, pretty and the girl about town. What's more, she even got to romance some of the best men on screen – right from Shah Rukh Khan to Sunny Deol. In fact she was so popular that even before her first film released, she had over 14 films in her kitty! Divya's first film Vishwatma may have been an average hit but it was the song in the film – Saat Samundar – that made her an overnight star.
Some of her most notable films in 1992 included Deewana, Dil Ashna Hai and Shola Aur Shabnam making her the most popular heroine after Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit. Within the industry, she was known for her hard work as well as her erratic behaviour.
However, everyone was shocked when she reportedly jumped off a five-storey building in a state of drunkenness. Another version of the story goes that she was in fact pushed out of the house. Yet another version suggests she had links to the underworld and was witness to some nasty developments.
Parveen Babi, actress
Age: 56 | Movies: 58
At a time when all actresses insisted on covering up, Parveen Babi dared to bare all. Arguably one of the most successful actresses of the 70s, Babi was also the first Indian actress to be featured on the cover of Time magazine. In most of her successful films, she was paired opposite Amitabh Bachchan. They went on to give hits like Deewar, Amar Akbar Anthony, Shaan, Kaalia and Khuddar.
Her career went on the decline in the 90s and on January 20, 2005 she was found dead in her Mumbai apartment. The death came to public notice when her housing society secretary complained to the police that she hadn't collected milk and newspapers from her doorstep for over two days.
It is believed she had developed gangrene. When she died, her body was found with an old newspaper clipping of her.
Silk Smitha, actress
Age: 35 | Movies: 200
Any boy who hit puberty in the 1980s will tell you of Silk Smitha, that seductive south Indian actress who has acted in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and a few Hindi films. Even though she was pretty much a mainstream commercial actress, Silk Smitha was referred to as some critics as a soft po*n star. In fact one of her films Layanam is believed to have earned a cult status in the Indian adult film industry. It was remade in Hindi as Reshma Ki Jawani. Her most respected films though was the Kamal Haasan-starrer Moondram Pirai, which was remade in Hindi as Sadma.
It was on September 23, 1996 that Silk Smitha was found dead in her Chennai apartment. The previous year, she had tried to become a film producer but failed. It is believed that huge financial losses were just one of the reasons for her death. She also underwent serious depression because she felt let down by her friends and colleagues. Silk Smitha is believed to have committed suicide.
Manmohan Desai, filmmaker
Age: 58 | Movies: 21 (as director), 5 (as producer)
Of the 29 films he was associated with, as many as 13 films were stupendous hits. With a success rate of 65 per cent, Manmohan Desai seemed to have a good idea of what the audience wanted. But it was towards the end of his career, that Desai lost the magic touch. His previously successful formulas failed to find an audience and his films reeked of self-satire. Ganga Jamuna Saraswati and his son Ketan Desai's directorial ventures Allah Rakha and Toofan were disastrous failures at the box office.On 1 March, 1994 an ailing Manmohan Desai committed suicide by jumping off the terrace of his home on Grant Road. Very little is known about his death and its reasons.
Gulshan Kumar, music magnate and film producer
Movies: 12 (as producer), 1 (as director)
Brutally gunned down by members of the underworld, Gulshan Kumar's end was possibly as dramatic as a Bollywood movie itself. It seems the music magnate had gone to offer prayers at a temple he built in one of the Mumbai slums when some unidentified gunmen told him to 'finish your pooja in heaven'. Shots were fired and that was the end of Gulshan Kumar. The driver tried to protect his boss but was shot in the leg. The murder came in at a time when Bollywood was terrorised by calls from the underworld.
Gulshan Kumar was known to make music available to the masses by drastically reducing the rates of music cassettes. Kumar reportedly made millions by doing it and almost single-handedly killed all competition.
Kunal Singh
Age: 31 | Movies: 5
Kunal Singh had acted in four films down south before entering Bollywood. The film Dil Hi Dil Mein opposite Sonali Bendre, a really poor remake of You've Got Mail, failed miserably at the box office. That was pretty much the end of his career in the showbiz. On February 7, 2008 Kunal Singh reportedly committed suicide. He was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his Mumbai home. Many believe it was because his wife and two kids left him since the latter was not quite happy with his close friendship with a certain Laveena. Singh's father however believe that there is more to his son's death and has been insisting that it be investigated.
Monal
Age: 21 | Movies: 5
Monal was an upcoming actress of the Tamil film world, sister of actress Simran. She started her acting career in 2001 and did about five movies Paarvai Onre Podhumey, Badri, Lovely, Charlie Chaplin and Samuthiram.
On April 14, 2002, she reportedly committed suicide. The actress was found hanging in her room. There is little or nothing known about the reasons behind her suicide. Monal is survived by her parents and three sisters.
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