DIVYA BHARTI

DB
Some years ago, on 5th of April 1993, a young girl who was
dressed up in bridal finery and surrounded by hundreds of people
in a Mumbai suburb, instead of being sent to her "sasural", was
being taken to the crematorium. That was the tragic end of the
19-year old Divya Bharti, who had fallen from the window of her
fifth floor apartment around midnight on 5th April, 1993. Whether
the promising actress (who had risen within a short period and
was expected to reach the top in the coming years of Indian
Bollywood) committed suicide or met an accidental death remains
a mystery.

Divya Bharti had become a star from her very first film and
perhaps she was only actress of her times among the young lot
who had 14 films in hand without any release. Born on 25th
February, 1974 to Meeta and Om Prakash Bharti, Divya was in the
ninth standard when producers started approaching her to work
in films. She was discovered by director Kirti Kumar around 1988
in a Mumbai Video Library. She was to play the lead role opposite
Govinda in Radha Ka Sangam, but was later dropped.

Divya's big break came with Super Producer in Telugu Film

Industry Mr. D. Rama Naidu, for the Superb Hit of BOBBILI RAJA in
this picture the hero was son of the producer and the one of the
famous Telugu Film Star Victory Venkatesh. And it also created a
lot of new records in the Andhra Pradesh. People are seen Divya
was the little mask of Indian Bollywood No.1 Sridevi. After this hit
she got very good opportunities in Telugu Films. Assembly Rowdy
the mega hit of that year (hero Mohan Babbu now he was MP) and
Dharma Kshetram with the son of the Telugu Anna (NTR)
Balakrishna is also a box-office hit. And she got a good
opportunity to play a lead role with Andhra Pradesh Mega Star
Chiranjeevi in the film Rowdy Alludu and it was also a super duper
hit in Telugu and Tamil. And Divya popularity was spread all over
the India. Then some of the Hindi producers are come back to
give lead roles to Divya. Then she got first opportunity in Hindi
and she shifted to Telugu Film Industry to Bollywood.

Divya Bharti debut in Hindi film was Rajiv Rai's Vishwatma

opposite to the Indian Arnold Sunny Deol. Although the film sank,
Divya was noticed. People still remember her beautiful dance
number “Saat Samunder Paar Mein Tere......” Her Deewana with
Shah Rukh Khan, Shola Aur Shabnam with Govinda hit the bull's
eye. With in the industry though Divya was known as a hard
working actress when was infamous for her erratic mood swings.
She had allegedly slashed her wrists when she was thrown out of
Radha Ka Sangam unceremoniously. She married Sajid
Nadiadwala in May 1992 but the marriage was kept a secret for a
long time to safeguard her sharply ascending career. But she
needn’t really have been bothered because in 1992 she was
adjudged the best for the most Outstanding Popular Face Award
for the year.

When she was offered Rang opposite Kamal Sadannah rejected by

Karishma she asked the dress designer to alter the dresses made
for the other actress to suit her instead of wasting money on new
cloths. She was not in favor of wastage and neither she was not
money-minded. When Rajiv Rai offered her Mohra opposite Sunil
Shetty, she did not take a penny from him because he had
introduced her in Vishwatma. Films like Mohra, Vijaypath and
Laadla were left incomplete because of her sudden death. When
DD showed clippings of Laadla with Divya in the main role
followed by those done by Sridevi (who had replaced her in the
film), viewers felt that Divya was better in some scenes that
Sridevi! She did have the makings of becoming a big star but fate
decides over and above what the humans plan. Divya was
destined otherwise?

Manasvi Raj Mehta