Viveka Babajee
Babajee, best known for her Kamasutra ads, became popular in India in 1994. She was also the face of brands like Coca-Cola and Live-In Jeans. The former Miss Mauritius was working as a part-time fashion coordinator. On June 25, 2010, at the age of 37, Babajee committed suicide by hanging herself at her Bandra apartment. Police suspect she may have committed suicide because of her failing business or a spat with boyfriend Gautam Vora.
Randhawa was an Indian television actress and model born on January 1, 1976. She had played roles in television shows like Hip Hip Hurray, C.A.T.S., and Special Squad on STAR One channel. At the age of 30, after just having finished a role in the movie By Chance, the former Gladrags model hanged herself in her Juhu apartment, with a suicide note blaming it on her struggle with the pressures of life.
Joseph was an MTV video jockey and a model in the Indian fashion industry. She started modelling at the age of 12 and won the Miss India Universe pageant in 1997 as the youngest contestant. She was to marry Gautam Khanduja, a businessman who claimed to have been divorced. But the marriage was called off when Joseph discovered that Khanduja was still married. On July 29, 2004, at the age of 25, Joseph, who was depressed, hanged herself in her flat in Mumbai.
Madhubala
Mumtaz Begum Jehan Dehlavi aka Madhubala was an Indian actress who achieved fame with her 1949 film Mahal. Her beauty became legend and her Hindi film career blossomed. Madhubala had a five-year romance with actor Dilip Kumar but eventually married actor-singer Kishore Kumar. In a routine checkup it was discovered that Madhubala had a hole in her heart. After living with the condition for nine more years, she died on February 23, 1969, shortly after her 36th birthday. Her marble tomb in the Santa Cruz Muslim cemetery was controversially demolished early this year to make space for new graves.
Silk Smitha
Smitha was a South Indian actress, more famous for her roles in soft-po*n films. Though born Vijayalakshimi, she adopted the screen name Silk Smitha in the course of her career. Smitha left school in the fourth standard to become a film star. Her most respected film is Moondram Pirai, where she impressed critics and audiences. In 1996, Smitha was found dead in her Chennai apartment. The 35-year-old actress was suspected to have committed suicide due to financial problems, disillusionment in love and dependency on alcohol.
Meena Kumari
Mahjabeen Bano, popularly known as Meena Kumari, was a Hindi film actress and poetess. Her breakthrough in Indian cinema was defined by her role in Baiju Bawra in 1952, for which she became the first actress to win the Filmfare award. She was known for her tragic roles in films but her own life was no less tragic. In 1952, she fell in love with and married film director Kamal Amrohi, who was already married at the time. After marriage they developed conflicts which finally ended in divorce in 1964, after which she turned an alcoholic and found solace in intimate relationships with younger men, like Dharmendra. She lost her good looks due to her drinking habits and consequently illness. She died a tragic death of liver cirrhosis at the age of 39, shortly before Pakeezah, rated as one of her best films, was released in 1972.
The Mother India actress started her career at the age of six and became famous after her role in Taqdeer in 1943, opposite reigning star Motilal, at the age of 14. Nargis met Raj Kapoor on the sets of the 1948 film Aag and thus followed an affair between the two that defined the golden era of their movies together. But this affair ended in the late 1950s and Nargis went on to marry actor Sunil Dutt in 1958 and gave up her film career thereafter, except for her role in Raat Aur Din in 1967 for which she won the National Award for best actress. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died just four days before the premiere of her son Sanjay Dutt's debut film Rocky in 1980.
Kunal Singh
South Indian actor Singh had also done several Bhojpuri movies and the lead role in Hindi film Dil Hi Dil Mein opposite actress Sonali Bendre. Singh had a strained relationship with his wife, Anuradha. He was allegedly having an affair with Lavina, a struggling actress. His wife left his house with his children after a heated argument concerning this relationship. In 2008, Singh's body was found by Lavina hanging from the ceiling fan in his Oshiwara apartment.
Producer, director, and actor Guru Dutt was named in CNN's list of Top 25 Asian Actors of All Time in 2010. He made such films as Mr & Mrs 55, Pyaasa, Kaagaz ke Phool, and Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam, some of the greatest Hindi films of all time. He married playback singer Geeta Roy in 1953. Their marriage later broke up. Guru Dutt was also romantically involved with actress Waheeda Rahman. He had sleeping problems and one night, after consuming alcohol, he took sleeping pills, apparently a habit. But the mixture resulted in his death, either by accidental overdose or his third and successful suicide attempt.
Sodhi was the winner of Amul STAR Voice of India in 2007 and had participated in reality show Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar. His first album was a religious Gurbani album. In July 2008, Sodhi visited the Maldives with two fellow contestants from STAR Voice of India to perform in a concert. He drowned in the hotel's swimming pool. The suspicious circumstances of his death and injuries on his head gave rise to allegations of murder.
Bharti started her acting career in 1990 with Telugu films and entered Hindi cinema in 1992 with Vishwatma. She did 14 Hindi films in 1992-1993, thus creating a world record of the number of films done by a newcomer in the first year. She married producer Sajid Nadiadwala in 1992. A year later, aged 19, she fell to her death from Nadiadwala's five-storey apartment building in Mumbai. The circumstances of her death were suspicious, but the case was closed in 1998.
An actress known for her bold, glamorous, and Westernised looks, Babi was paired with the biggest stars of the 1970s and 1980s in many successful films. She was also known for her affairs with married actors and directors. In the 1980s, rumours of Babi suffering from schizophrenia surfaced and she became a victim of excessive paranoia, always pointing fingers and fearful that people wanted to kill her. In 2005, Babi was found dead in her Mumbai apartment owing to complications from diabetes. No one claimed her body. She was buried in Santa Cruz after her ex-lover Mahesh Bhatt and Ashok Pandit offered to perform the last rites.
Patil was a Hindi and Marathi film actress who was known for her roles in parallel cinema. Also a photographer, Patil was discovered by Shyam Benegal when working as a Doordarshan newsreader. She became known for playing roles of empowered women and was a women's rights activist in real life. She was labelled a home-breaker and received high criticism when her lover Raj Babbar divorced his wife Nadira to marry her. She died at childbirth, six hours after giving birth to her son, Prateik Babbar. Her death is believed to have been caused by gross medical negligence.
Bali was a Hindi film actress who became a star in the 1950s. She was living in near-poverty when she got a break in films. She received a Filmfare nomination for the best actress award for her role in Vachan and another as best supporting actress for Kavi in 1955. She married a younger Shammi Kapoor the same year and continued acting despite marrying into the Kapoor family. In 1965, at the age of 35, she died of smallpox.
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