Kollywood Stars Suicides:
1. Fatafat Jayalakshmi:
Jayalakshmi Reddy, who was popularly called Fatafat Jayalakshmi, was an actress who worked in Malayalam, Tamil and Telegu films. She starred in the movie ‘Aval Oru Thodar Kathai’ opposite Kamal Hassan, where she said the word ‘fatafat’ (quick) many times; it was from this dialogue that she got her nickname. She gained fame and acted with the top-billed actors of her time such as Chiranjivi, Rajini, Krishna and NTR. In 1978, Jayalakshmi was found hanging from her ceiling fan. The reason given was a failed marriage with then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Marudhur Gopalan Ramachandran’s nephew.
2. Shobha Mahendra:
In 1980, at just 17 (or 19) years of age, Shobha Mahendra was a celebrated south Indian film star who had worked in over 30 big films and had recently received the National Award for best actress for the movie ‘Pasi’. She was the wife of 45-year-old director Balu Mahendra. Her mother, Prema Menon, blamed Balu Mahendra for the suicide. After marriage, Shobha and Balu had fights over why he spent more nights at his ex-wife’s house. Further details that slipped out did not help the director’s case either – Shobha had hanged herself with a chiffon sari and someone had loosened the noose, her eyes were not swollen and the tongue had remained in her mouth. However, her death was ruled as a suicide.
3. Silk Smitha:
Named Vijayalakshmi, Silk Smitha had been an orphan in Andhra Pradesh who had been adopted by a woman. At 16, the girl had moved to Madras with her adoptive mother. She entered the film world as a make-up artist and then progressed to being an extra on the sets. She later moved on to her niche – seductive and vampish roles that utilized her eyes and figure. Those who knew her, state that her adoptive mother forced Smitha to accept all sorts of roles including soft porn ones. In September 1996, Smitha was found dead in her apartment in Chennai. The suicide was blamed on her failure to become a movie producer, a disillusionment in love and prolonged depression.
4. Viji:
Viji was popularly known as ‘Kozhi Koovuthu Viji’. She was well-known in the Tamil film industry. She had undergone a spinal cord operation at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai in 1996. Later, doctors discovered an acute infection that had been caused by this surgery, and Viji was left temporarily paralyzed. In 2000, after corrective surgery, Viji returned to films. However, in November of that year, she hanged herself from a ceiling fan. She left behind an audiotape blaming (already married) director AR Ramesh for her death. Ramesh had promised to marry Viji and then jilted her. Three days before her death, when Viji and Ramesh had crossed paths at a function, the latter had abused her. Ramesh, his wife and a friend were accused of abetting Viji’s suicide but were acquitted by the Mahila Court.
5. Monal Dhaval:
Monal Dhaval was the sister of leading Tamil film actress Simran. Before becoming an actress, she had worked as a model and won some beauty contests. Her debut film, ‘Paarvai Ondre Podhume’, was released in 2001 but Monal was almost immediately more famous in the news for throwing tantrums on the sets. She then went on to make an appearance in a few more films with moderate success. On April 30, 2002, she attended the launch of her movie ‘Paiye Janmam’ (Ghost Life) and then committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling fan in her room. Her sister accused choreographer Prasanna Sujit of having driven Monal to suicide by breaking off his relationship with her a few days prior to her suicide.
6. Prathyusha:
Pratyusha had entered the film industry at the age of 17 because her father had passed away during her childhood and someone needed to support the family. The 21-year-old actress had been the star of Tamil films like ‘Snehamante Idera’ opposite Nagarjuna and ‘Kadal Pookal’. Her suicide in February 2002 was a suicide pact with her boyfriend, Siddhartha Reddy, after both their families refused to give their blessings to their marriage. In a twist of fate, while Pratyusha died, her boyfriend was taken to the hospital and survived the suicide attempt. He was then sentenced to a five-year jail term and fined Rs 6,000 for abetting Pratyusha’s suicide. There was later some talk of the suicide having been a murder by her boyfriend, but there was no substantiated evidence.
1. Fatafat Jayalakshmi:
Jayalakshmi Reddy, who was popularly called Fatafat Jayalakshmi, was an actress who worked in Malayalam, Tamil and Telegu films. She starred in the movie ‘Aval Oru Thodar Kathai’ opposite Kamal Hassan, where she said the word ‘fatafat’ (quick) many times; it was from this dialogue that she got her nickname. She gained fame and acted with the top-billed actors of her time such as Chiranjivi, Rajini, Krishna and NTR. In 1978, Jayalakshmi was found hanging from her ceiling fan. The reason given was a failed marriage with then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Marudhur Gopalan Ramachandran’s nephew.
2. Shobha Mahendra:
In 1980, at just 17 (or 19) years of age, Shobha Mahendra was a celebrated south Indian film star who had worked in over 30 big films and had recently received the National Award for best actress for the movie ‘Pasi’. She was the wife of 45-year-old director Balu Mahendra. Her mother, Prema Menon, blamed Balu Mahendra for the suicide. After marriage, Shobha and Balu had fights over why he spent more nights at his ex-wife’s house. Further details that slipped out did not help the director’s case either – Shobha had hanged herself with a chiffon sari and someone had loosened the noose, her eyes were not swollen and the tongue had remained in her mouth. However, her death was ruled as a suicide.
3. Silk Smitha:
Named Vijayalakshmi, Silk Smitha had been an orphan in Andhra Pradesh who had been adopted by a woman. At 16, the girl had moved to Madras with her adoptive mother. She entered the film world as a make-up artist and then progressed to being an extra on the sets. She later moved on to her niche – seductive and vampish roles that utilized her eyes and figure. Those who knew her, state that her adoptive mother forced Smitha to accept all sorts of roles including soft porn ones. In September 1996, Smitha was found dead in her apartment in Chennai. The suicide was blamed on her failure to become a movie producer, a disillusionment in love and prolonged depression.
4. Viji:
Viji was popularly known as ‘Kozhi Koovuthu Viji’. She was well-known in the Tamil film industry. She had undergone a spinal cord operation at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai in 1996. Later, doctors discovered an acute infection that had been caused by this surgery, and Viji was left temporarily paralyzed. In 2000, after corrective surgery, Viji returned to films. However, in November of that year, she hanged herself from a ceiling fan. She left behind an audiotape blaming (already married) director AR Ramesh for her death. Ramesh had promised to marry Viji and then jilted her. Three days before her death, when Viji and Ramesh had crossed paths at a function, the latter had abused her. Ramesh, his wife and a friend were accused of abetting Viji’s suicide but were acquitted by the Mahila Court.
5. Monal Dhaval:
Monal Dhaval was the sister of leading Tamil film actress Simran. Before becoming an actress, she had worked as a model and won some beauty contests. Her debut film, ‘Paarvai Ondre Podhume’, was released in 2001 but Monal was almost immediately more famous in the news for throwing tantrums on the sets. She then went on to make an appearance in a few more films with moderate success. On April 30, 2002, she attended the launch of her movie ‘Paiye Janmam’ (Ghost Life) and then committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling fan in her room. Her sister accused choreographer Prasanna Sujit of having driven Monal to suicide by breaking off his relationship with her a few days prior to her suicide.
6. Prathyusha:
Pratyusha had entered the film industry at the age of 17 because her father had passed away during her childhood and someone needed to support the family. The 21-year-old actress had been the star of Tamil films like ‘Snehamante Idera’ opposite Nagarjuna and ‘Kadal Pookal’. Her suicide in February 2002 was a suicide pact with her boyfriend, Siddhartha Reddy, after both their families refused to give their blessings to their marriage. In a twist of fate, while Pratyusha died, her boyfriend was taken to the hospital and survived the suicide attempt. He was then sentenced to a five-year jail term and fined Rs 6,000 for abetting Pratyusha’s suicide. There was later some talk of the suicide having been a murder by her boyfriend, but there was no substantiated evidence.
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