Tomorrow, February 25 would have been Divya Bharti’s 44th birthday, had she survived that tragic night of April 5, 1993. Would she have been a proud mother? Perhaps. Would she have left behind a body of work to be proud of? Most likely, too.
Just 19 when she passed away, Divya had already made her mark in her all-too-brief stint in films. The offers had started pouring in when she was just 14, modelling offers followed by film roles. Her film debut in the Telugu drama Bobbili Raja came at a tender 16. More hits followed down south before she crossed over to Bollywood, debuting in Vishwatma.
Starring opposite some of the key leads of the time like Govinda and Rishi Kapoor, the doll-like Divya was the most in-demand heroine for that brief time. Not for nothing does she hold the record for acting in the highest number of films within the span of 1992 and 1993 – at 14 Hindi films, it remains the top score any star has been able to achieve. Hits like Shola Aur Shabnam and Deewana spurred her ride to the top… And just as the tiara settled onto her pretty head, it was curtains.
The vivacious, versatile actress passed away suddenly due to head injuries sustained after falling off the balcony of her fifth-floor apartment at Tulsi Buildings in Versova, Mumbai.
What happened that night…
While the complete and actual truth of that fateful night remains a mystery, here’s the apparent chain of events…
The fifth-floor apartment didn’t belong to Divya Bharti. Reports show it was in the name of ‘someone else’. The apartment could have rented by Divya, or by her husband, film producer Sajid Nadiadwala. They had married quietly eight months before the tragedy, post which Divya adopted the name Sana Nadiadwala.
Divya’s foot was in a bandage as she had suffered a minor injury. She had earlier, along with her brother Kunal, finalised a four-bedroom apartment on an ownership basis. She was said to be extremely proud and excited about the new house which she had earned for her family.
Life was hectic. She had returned from a shoot in Chennai and was scheduled to leave for another shoot the following morning. However, she desired to delay her departure by a day. During the day, she was apparently informed that fashion designer Neeta Lulla would visit her that evening to discuss costumes for her film Andolan, being produced by Sajid Nadiadwala.
That evening, Neeta and her psychiatrist husband Shyam Lulla were in her apartment. Bottles of alcohol sat on the table in the drawing room. Divya, sipping rum, was reportedly in high spirits. Her housemaid, Amrita, was in the kitchen, chatting with Divya as she prepared snacks.
At one point, Divya climbed out of the apartment’s window to stand on a 12-inch ledge. She reportedly turned around to face the drawing room, lost her balance, and fell. She sustained grievous injuries but was alive when the ambulance arrived. She succumbed at the nearby hospital.
Dr. Shyam and Neeta Lulla, Amrita, Meeta and Om Prakash Bharti, Kunal Bharti and Sajid Nadiadwala were interrogated by the police.
The reason of falling was never established though several theories circulated in the media at that time. These included falling under the influence of alcohol, being pushed by someone, suicide, and involvement of her husband and the underworld mafia. Investigation was eventually closed in 1998 and the reason of death was stated as Accidental Death.
Equally tragically, the housemaid Amrita, who had brought up Divya from the time she was an infant, slipped into a severe depression. She died following a heart seizure, within a month of Divya’s demise.
Thorns beneath the roses
For all the swift success in Divya’s life, there had been definite signs of strain…
Divya was known to be unpredictable, initially leading to her rejection from top-line projects. In fact, there were also rumours that she had attempted to commit suicide twice before. When once asked by a senior journalist if she would do an interview about the same to a popular film magazine, she supposedly shouted “No way,” and banged down the receiver. At the end of it, she was just a teen pushed into the limelight too early. And she paid a heavy price.
