Divya Bharti

Divya Bharti
Born Divya Om Prakash Bharti
(1974-02-25)25 February 1974
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Died 5 April 1993(1993-04-05) (aged 19)
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Cause of death Accidental fall
Nationality Indian
Occupation Actress
Years active 1990–1993
Spouse(s) Sajid Nadiadwala
(1992 –1993; her death)

Divya Om Prakash Bharti (25 February 1974 – 5 April 1993) was an Indian film actress, who starred in a number of successful Hindi and Telugu motion pictures in the early 1990s. Known for her acting versatility, vivacity and beauty, she is regarded as one of the most popular and highest-paid actresses of her time.

Bharti aspired a career in films at a young age, and started to get offers at age 14, while she was doing some modelling assignments. After several unsuccessful attempts, she made her debut with a lead role in the successful Telugu drama Bobbili Raja (1990), aged 16. After featuring in a number of high-grossing Telugu films, she progressed to Bollywood films in 1992 with the action thriller Vishwatma. Bharti went on to have commercial success alongside acclaimed actors such as Govinda and Rishi Kapoor in films like Shola Aur Shabnam and Deewana, respectively; the latter of which garnered her a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.[1] She acted in over 14 Hindi films between 1992 and 1993, which is to date an unbroken record in Hindi cinema.[2] Although a teenager, Bharti played adult roles in all her films.

Bharti died on 5 April 1993, aged 19,[3] from head injuries sustained after falling off the balcony of her fifth-floor apartment at Versova, Mumbai.[4][5]

Early life

Bharti was born in Bombay (present-day Mumbai) to Om Prakash Bharti, an insurance officer, and his wife, Meeta Bharti.[6] She had a younger brother named Kunal and one half-sister Poonam, who was the child of Bharti's father's first marriage.[7] Actress Kainaat Arora is her second cousin.[8]

She spoke Hindi, English and Marathi fluently. In her early years, Bharti was known for her bubbly personality[9] and for her doll-like looks.[10]

Bharti studied at Maneckji Cooper High School in Juhu, Mumbai. She was an average student and completed 9th standard before pursuing an acting career.[11]

Career

1988 – 1990: early work and public recognition

In 1988, Bharti was discovered by filmmaker Nandu Tolani. Upon seeing her, Tolani insisted on signing her for one of his films. At that time, Bharti was in the ninth standard (in ninth grade). She was originally scheduled to make her screen debut in Gunahon Ka Devta in 1988, but her role was cancelled.[12] Kirti Kumar noticed Bharti at a video library, and thus was eager to sign her for his project Radha Ka Sangam opposite Govinda, as he was searching for a new face. Weeks later, Kumar met with Dilip Shankar and managed to release Bharti from her contract. After taking dancing and acting lessons for months to prepare for her role, Bharti was eventually dropped and replaced by Juhi Chawla.[12] Though the reasons remain unclear, it was speculated that Kumar's possessiveness over Bharti and her childish nature were the cause of her replacement.[13]

Bharti's career was stalled until D. Ramanaidu, Telugu film producer, offered her Bobbili Raja opposite his son Daggubati Venkatesh. Without hoping for success after experiencing many failures in Bollywood, she commenced shooting in Andhra Pradesh for her screen debut. The film was released in the summer of 1990 and became a colossal hit.[14] Bobbili Raja remains to this day one of the most popular Telugu movies. Bharti acted in only one Tamil film, Nila Penne opposite Anand. The film was critically and financially unsuccessful.[14]

1990 – 1992: Rise to stardom in Telugu cinema

With more hits in the Telugu cinema, Bharti established herself as one of the most popular Telugu actresses.[15]

In box office ratings, she figured next to Vijayshanti. In 1991, Bharti had back-to-back hits, including Rowdy Alludu and Assembly Rowdy, opposite actors Chiranjeevi and Mohan Babu.[16]

Later that year, Bharti began filming A. Kodandarami Reddy's action romance Dharma Kshetram under Sri Rajeev Productions. Bharti got to work with Telugu film actor Nandamuri Balakrishna.[17]

1992 – 1993: Rise to stardom in Bollywood

While Bharti celebrated her success in Andhra Pradesh, Bollywood's top directors were eager to sign the Telugu superstar for their upcoming films. Bharti's first Bollywood film was Vishwatma opposite Sunny Deol, directed by Rajiv Rai, and was released on 2 January 1992. The film was an average grosser at the box office and gained Bharti wider recognition from the public as well as film critics.[18] Notably, the music of the film was very successful, especially the song "Saat Samundar", which became a favourite, and put Bharti in the limelight of Bollywood.[18]

A week later, Bharti's next film, Lawrence D'Souza's romantic drama Dil Ka Kya Kasoor, alongside Prithvi released. Though the film failed at the box office, it brought her name in the Filmfare magazine's "Top Ten Best Actress Performances" of 1992. The movie was also recognized for its outstanding music.[19] But after the failure of the film at the box office, she was quoted as saying, "I wanted to prove myself. But I've fallen flat on my face. Now, I have to begin my climb all over again. Yet, I'm positive that one day, success will be mine." (Stardust, March 1992).[20]

In March 1992, David Dhawan's Shola Aur Shabnam was released. It was popular with critics and was a box office hit in India,[21] reviving Bharti's career once again. It also gave a big boost to Govinda's career and launched David Dhawan as an established director.[22] Shortly thereafter, Bharti achieved further success in Raj Kanwar's Filmfare- award-winning love story Deewana[23] starred veteran actor Rishi Kapoor and newcomer Shahrukh Khan, which is regarded as one of the biggest blockbuster hits of 1992. Her performance in Deewana was highly appreciated.[24]/ She received a Lux Face of the Year title. Critics reported that Bharti belonged to a new breed of Hindi film actors who broke away from character stereotypes. Bharti and Shahrukh Khan won the Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year and Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut respectively.[19] By July 1992, Bharti's work in Deewana was said to have earned her more recognition.

She had several other releases that year, among them Jaan Se Pyaara, which featured Bharti alongside Govinda once again, Geet opposite Avinash Wadhawan, Dushman Zamana alongside Armaan Kohli and Balwaan which marked the debut of Sunil Shetty.[25] The latter being a low budget film, achieved moderate success. In October, Hema Malini's Dil Aashna Hai, which once again featured her opposite Shahrukh Khan was released, which didn't do as well at the box office. Divya's performance as a bar dancer who sets out to find her birth mother was however appreciated.[26] Bharti decided to act in one Telugu movie per year in order to not disappoint her Telugu audience. Thus, Chittamma Mogudu was released at the end of 1992, starring once again the popular couple of Bharti and Mohan Babu.The ensemble film Kshatriya in which she co-starred alongside Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt and Raveena Tandon was the last film to be released during Bharti's lifetime.[27]

Bharti's sudden death on April 5, 1993 left several films incomplete and some were shelved after announcement. She was more than halfway through the filming of Laadla at the time of her death and the film was reshot with Sridevi replacing her. She was replaced in several films she had signed and started filming for such as Mohra, Kartavya, Vijaypath and Andolan.[28][29][30] Some movies which she had signed for were subsequently shelved, such as Parinaam with Akshay Kumar, Kanyadaan with Rishi Kapoor, Bajrang with Sunny Deol and Chal Pe Chal with Jackie Shroff.

She had completed filming for Rang which was released posthumously in July 1993. Her incomplete Telugu film Tholi Muddhu was partly completed by Indian actress Rambha, who slightly resembled Bharti and hence was used as her body double to complete her remaining scenes and the film released in October 1993.[31] Her final completed film was Shatranj which was released in December 1993.

Bollywood legend Dev Anand made a movie titled Chargesheet which was loosely based on her death and the mystery surrounding it and was released on 30th September 2011.

Personal life

Bharti met director-producer Sajid Nadiadwala through Govinda at the shooting of Shola Aur Shabnam, and they were married on 10 May 1992. Divya got married to Sajid in a private ceremony, with the presence of her hairdresser-friend Sandhya, Sandhya’s husband and a Qazi at Nadiadwala’s Tulsi Buildings residence (in Mumbai).[32]

Death

Divya died on April 5, 1993, aged 19, from head injuries sustained after falling from the balcony of her apartment in Tulsi Buildings, Versova, Andheri West (Mumbai). The cause of her falling was never established and several theories circulated in the media during that time, including falling under the influence of alcohol, being pushed by someone, suicide and the involvement of her husband and underworld mafia.[33][34][35][9] The investigation was closed in 1998 by Mumbai police and the reason of death was stated as accidental death.[10] She was cremated on 7 April 1993 at the Vile Parle crematorium, Mumbai.[32][36]

Filmography

#YearTitleRoleLanguageNotes
1 1990 Bobbili Raja Rani Telugu Debut film
2 1990 Nila Pennae Nila Tamil Debut Tamil film
3 1991 Naa Ille Naa Swargam Pratusha Telugu Dubbed
4 1991 Rowdy Alludu Rekha Telugu
5 1991 Assembly Rowdy Pooja Telugu
6 1992 Dharma Kshetram Mythili Telugu
7 1992 Vishwatma Kusum Hindi Debut Hindi film
8 1992 Dil Ka Kya Kasoor Seema/Shalani Saxena Hindi
9 1992 Shola Aur Shabnam Divya Thapar Hindi
10 1992 Jaan Se Pyaara Sharmila Hindi
11 1992 Deewana Kaajal Hindi Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year
12 1992 Balwaan Deepa Hindi
13 1992 Dushman Zamana Seema Hindi
14 1992 Dil Aashna Hai Laila / Sitara Hindi
15 1992 Geet Neha Hindi Partly dubbed
16 1992 Chittemma Mogudu Chittemma Telugu
17 1993 Dil Hi To Hai Bharati Hindi
18 1993 Kshatriya Tanvi Singh Hindi Last release during her lifetime
19 1993 Tholi Muddhu Divya Telugu Posthumous release; partly completed by South Indian actress Rambha
20 1993 Rang Kajal Hindi Posthumous release; dubbed
21 1993 Shatranj Renu Hindi Last release after her death; dubbed

References

  1. ↑ "Shah Rukh Khan's autobiography Twenty Years In A Decade to release soon". Daily News and Analysis. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  2. ↑ "Divya Bharti created world record". daily.bhaskar.com. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "Looking at stars who died young". Rediff.com. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  4. ↑ Chopra, Sonia (7 April 2008). "Divya's journey: The 'ageless' diva over the years". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  5. ↑ "The sad truth: Celebs who committed suicide". India Today. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  6. ↑ Anil Saari; Pārtha Caṭṭopādhyāẏa (2009). Hindi Cinema: An Insider's View. Oxford University Press. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-19-569584-7. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  7. ↑ "Remembering Divya Bharti". BollySpice. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "Divya Bharti's cousin Kainaat Arora to make Bollywood debut with Grand Masti". Movies.ndtv.com. 9 August 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Four Bollywood beauties unsolved death mysteries - Free Press Journal". www.freepressjournal.in. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Bollywood mysteries that remain unsolved even today - The Times of India". The Times of India. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  11. ↑ "Early Life of Divya Bharti". Divya Bharti Portal. Retrieved 28 July 2012. Divya, who can be arguably termed India's Greta Garbo...
  12. 1 2 Yashpal; Anand (journalist) (1 January 2006). Divya. Sahitya Akademi. p. 266. ISBN 978-81-260-1797-3. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  13. ↑ "Remembering Actress Divya Bharti – Rare Photos & Videos". merepix.com. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  14. 1 2 Ma Satya Bharti (1981). Death Comes Dancing: Celebrating Life With Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-7100-0705-6. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  15. ↑ "Mohan Babu impresses in Rowdy". Rediff.com. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  16. ↑ India today. Thomson Living Media India Ltd. 2002. p. 224. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  17. ↑ Outlook. 43. Hathway Investments Pvt Limited. 19 June 2003. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  18. 1 2 Subhash K. Jha; Amitabh Bachchan (1 November 2005). The Essential Guide to Bollywood. Mumbai: Roli Books Private Limited. p. 275. ISBN 978-81-7436-378-7. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  19. 1 2 India today. Thomson Living Media India Ltd. 1994. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  20. ↑ Bhawana Somaaya (2007). Hema Malini: The Authorized Biography. Lotus Collection. p. 320. ISBN 978-81-7436-467-8. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  21. ↑ "Divya Bharti created world record".
  22. ↑ "I've been critical about my father David Dhawan's work'". Rediff.com. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  23. ↑ "'movie that launched actors Shah Rukh Khan'". Rediff.com. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  24. ↑ "Kriti Kapoor lives in a self-inflicted shrine made for Divya Bharti". The Asian Age. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  25. ↑ Ramesh Dawar (1 January 2006). Bollywood Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow. New Delhi: Star Publications. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-905863-01-3. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  26. ↑ "Malini-become-Hidinba". amarujala.Com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  27. ↑ Gulzar; Govind Nihalani; Saibal Chatterjee (2003). Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema. Popular Prakashan. p. 659. ISBN 978-81-7991-066-5. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  28. ↑ Rachit Gupta. "Flashback Friday: Forever young - Divya Bharti". filmfare.com. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  29. ↑ Anjali Muthanna (4 December 2013). "What happens to incomplete films when actors die? - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  30. ↑ "Divya Bharti: Death remains unsolved mystery". Jagran. 25 February 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  31. ↑ Kavirayani, Suresh (4 June 2013). "The dark side of showbiz spotlight". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  32. 1 2 Roshmila Bhattacharya (24 April 2011). "Too young to die". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  33. ↑ Neha Borkar (25 February 2015). "10 Celebrities Who Died Under Mysterious Circumstances". indiatimes.com. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  34. ↑ Priyanko Sarkar. "10 Bollywood Personalities Who Died Mysteriously". www.mensxp.com. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  35. ↑ "PHOTOS: Who killed Divya Bharti ?". Sahara Samay. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  36. ↑ Farhana (5 April 2016). "Remembering Divya Bharti". filmfare.com. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
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