Bollywood Divas Who Met Tragic Endings

Time Of Info By Ashley Shoptorshi Samaddar   June 25, 2023   Update on : January 31, 2025

Bollywood Divas

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

With their poised gestures, glamourous screen presence, and evergreen characters, Bollywood divas have made sure that their presence is not just felt on the screen but their names are also chanted by the audience and critics alike.

However, seldom do we look at female artists that reign over Bollywood, side-lining the dominance exerted by the hero-dominated industry.

While many like Helen, Asha Parekh, Zeenat Aman, Neetu Singh, and Hema Malini still appear on the silver screen, many others were compelled to bid farewell to this industry quite early in their career as tragedy hit them too hard.

Let us walk along memory lane, reliving the legacy of many such beautiful actresses who had to leave the industry too early but are still remembered for their remarkable performances.

Meena Kumari

“Tragedy queen” Meena Kumari saw success from a very early age, starting off her career as a child artiste. By the mere age of 38, the actress was able to bag 90 films, most of which garnered her positive criticisms.

However, Meena had to leave the world after being diagnosed with liver cirrhosis following her long association with alcohol, only three weeks after her biggest hit “Pakeezah” was released.

Her death not only left behind a vacuum in the industry but also made sure that the film reaches unparalleled success.

Madhubala

Madhubala was one of the most beautiful actresses of her period and is still recognized for her iconic roles in films such as “Mughal-e-Azam” and “Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi.”

Despite this, her private life was marred by tragedy, and she passed away at the tender age of 36 due to a protracted illness.

Silk Smitha

Silk Smitha became the talk of the town after “The Dirty Picture” featuring Vidya Balan as Silk dropped in theatres in 2011.

Remembered for her performance in classics like “Sadma” (1938), this South Indian actress was commended for her bold and daring role choices that were very uncommon during that era.

Unfortunately, Silk was found dead in her apartment at the mere age of 35. Her death gave way to a lot of speculations on how her insolvent financial situation and inconsistencies in her personal life led to her suicide.

Parveen Babi

Pretty, bold, stylish and cherished actress Parveen Babi ruled over the silver screens during the ’70s and ’80s. Her daring yet glamourous role choices led her way to become one of the most successful actors during her tenure, sharing the screen with some of the biggest actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, and Vinod Khanna.

However, the beauty queen’s body was found at her house when the actress was only 55.

Though her death was regarded as a natural one, many claims that the actress suffered from paranoia after a string of failed relationships, her affair with filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt being the most scandalous one.

Sridevi

Sridevi, the “Chandi” of Bollywood, took the internet by storm with her last two releases “Mom” and “English Vinglish”. Being one of the highest-paid actresses during her active years, Sridevi has over 300 films to her credit, most of which are super-hits.

Sadly, her life was cut short at the age of 54 when she drowned in a hotel bathtub in Dubai with the incident being reported as an accident.

Smita Patil

Smita Patil was an accomplished actress who became well-known for her commanding performances in parallel cinema.

She was honoured with several accolades, including the National Film Award, for her work in the film industry.

However, she only lived to be 31 years old due to having complication during childbirth, which resulted in her death.

Soundarya

Sowmya Sathyanarayan, better known by her stage name Soundarya, dominated the South Indian film industry by bagging over a hundred films in her short and successful career.

She became the talk of the town when she first appeared in Bollywood in “Sooryavansham” opposite Amitabh Bachchan.

Sadly, she had to leave the world at the age of 31 while she was on the peak of her career.

She was on her way to Karimnagar to participate in a campaign for the Telugu Desam Party when the plane in which she and three others were travelling crashed, killing all on the spot.

Divya Bharti

In the 1990s, Divya Bharti was a rising figure in Bollywood and had already made an impression with her roles in “Deewana” and “Vishtatma.”

However, a tragic catastrophe ended her life at the young age of 19. She tumbled from her apartment’s balcony and died on the spot.

Jiah Khan

Jiah Khan was a British-Indian actress who first appeared on screen in the Bollywood production “Nishabd” opposite Amitabh Bachchan.

Despite such a notable debut,  her professional life was cut tragically short when she passed away at the age of 25 by suicide. After Jiah was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his apartment, her mother accused her boyfriend Sooraj Pancholi, Aditya Pancholi’s son, of abetting the incident.

However, Sooraj was later acquitted of all charges.

Nafisa Joseph

Starting her career in beauty pageants and later as a video jockey, Nafisa Joseph made her debut with the Bollywood film “Kuch Dil Ne Kaha.”

However, she shook the world when she committed suicide at the mere age of 26, cutting her life and career tragically short. She was discovered by her flatmate hanging from the fan on the ceiling at her apartment.

With promising futures in front of them, these ten women won over millions of fans with their performances. There is no doubt that their untimely passing created a gap in the showbiz industry.

The catastrophes they experienced served as a wake-up call to the harsh truths of life and the perils of wealth and popularity. Even though they departed us too young, their legacy will endure forever thanks to the films they made and the memories they left behind.

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