# Divya Bharti

Divya Bharti (Hindi pronunciation:; 25 February 1974 – 5 April 1993) was an Indian actress known for her work in Hindi and Telugu cinema. She was among the highest-paid Indian actresses of her time and received a Filmfare Award and a Nandi Award for her performances.
Bharti began her career as a teenager while working as a pin-up model. She made her acting debut with the Telugu film Bobbili Raja (1990), which became a blockbuster at the box office. She subsequently starred in successful Telugu films such as Assembly Rowdy (1991) and Rowdy Alludu (1991), establishing herself as a leading actress in the industry. She received the Nandi Special Jury Award for her performance in Chittemma Mogudu (1992). In 1992, she transitioned to Hindi cinema, making her debut in the action thriller Vishwatma (1992). She gained wider recognition with the success of Shola Aur Shabnam (1992) and further solidified her position with Deewana (1992), for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.
On 5 April 1993, Bharti died at the age of 19 after falling from the balcony of her fifth-floor apartment in Mumbai. The circumstances of her death led to various conspiracy theories, but it was officially ruled as an accidental fall.

## Early life

Bharti was born in Mumbai on 25 February 1974 to Om Prakash Bharti and Meeta Bharti. She had a younger brother named Kunal and a half-sister Poonam, who was the child of Om Prakash Bharti's first marriage. Actress Kainaat Arora is her second cousin. She spoke Hindi, English and Marathi fluently. In her early years, she was known for her bubbly personality and doll-like looks. She studied at Maneckji Cooper High School in Juhu, Mumbai. Bharti was a restless student at school and completed the 9th standard before pursuing an acting career.

## Acting career
### Early roles and Telugu films

In 1988, Bharti, then a ninth-grader, was signed by filmmaker Nandu Tolani for one of his films. She was originally scheduled to make her screen debut in Gunahon Ka Devta in 1988, but her role was cancelled. She was replaced by Sangeeta Bijlani. Kirti Kumar (Govinda's brother) noticed Bharti at a video library. He was eager to sign her for his project Radha Ka Sangam opposite Govinda. Kumar met with director Dilip Shankar and managed to release Bharti from her contract. After taking dancing and acting lessons for months to prepare for her role, Bharti was dropped and replaced by Juhi Chawla. It was speculated that Kumar's possessiveness over Bharti and her childish nature was the cause of her replacement. Bharti's career was stalled until D. Ramanaidu, a Telugu film producer, offered her a leading role in the film Bobbili Raja opposite his son Daggubati Venkatesh. She began shooting in Andhra Pradesh for her screen debut. The film was released in the summer of 1990 and became a hit. Bobbili Raja remains one of the most popular and iconic Telugu movies. Later in the year, Bharti acted in a Tamil film, Nila Pennae, opposite Anand. The film was critically and financially unsuccessful.
In box office ratings, Bharti ranked next to Vijayashanti who has been widely called The Lady Superstar and Lady Amitabh of South Indian cinema. In 1991, Bharti had back-to-back hits with action comedy film Rowdy Alludu and drama Assembly Rowdy opposite actors Chiranjeevi and Mohan Babu, respectively. Later that year, Bharti began filming A. Kodandarami Reddy's action romance Dharma Kshetram under Sri Rajeev Productions. Bharti got to work with Telugu film actor Nandamuri Balakrishna.

### Transition to Hindi films and stardom

While Bharti celebrated her success in Andhra Pradesh, Bollywood's top directors were eager to sign her for films. Bharti's first Hindi film was Rajiv Rai's 1992 film Vishwatma. In an interview with Filmfare, she said that she liked her role as Kusum, Sunny Deol's love interest, in the film, describing it as a "very good role". The film was an average box office performer but gained Bharti wider recognition from the public as well as film critics. Bharti was most notable for the song used in the film Saat Samundar. A week later, Bharti's next film, Lawrence D'Souza's romantic drama Dil Ka Kya Kasoor, in which she starred alongside Prithvi, was released. The film was not a box office success but was recognised for its music.
   "I wanted to prove myself. But I've fallen flat on my face. Now, I have to begin my climb all over again. Yet, I'm positive that one day, success will be mine."
In March 1992, David Dhawan's romantic action drama Shola Aur Shabnam was released. It was popular with critics and was a box office hit in India, marking Bharti's first major hit in Hindi films. She achieved further success in Raj Kanwar's Filmfare Award-winning love story Deewana, which starred veteran actor Rishi Kapoor and newcomer Shahrukh Khan. It was one of the biggest hits of 1992. Her performance in Deewana was highly appreciated. Critics reported that Bharti belonged to a new breed of Hindi film actors who broke away from character stereotypes. Bharti won the Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year. By July 1992, Bharti's work in Deewana was said to have earned her more recognition.
She had several Hindi releases that year—the action drama Jaan Se Pyaara, which featured Bharti alongside Govinda once again, romantic drama Geet opposite Avinash Wadhawan, action Dushman Zamana alongside Armaan Kohli, and action drama Balwaan, which marked the debut of Suniel Shetty. The latter achieved moderate success. In October, she appeared in Hema Malini's romantic drama Dil Aashna Hai, which did not do as well at the box office. She portrayed a bar dancer who sets out to find her birth mother. The role earned her critical appreciation. Bharti decided to act in one Telugu movie per year to not disappoint her Telugu audience. Chittemma Mogudu was released in early 1993, again starring a popular couple of Bharti and Mohan Babu. In the last film to be released during her lifetime, the ensemble film Kshatriya, she co-starred alongside Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt and Raveena Tandon. It was released on 26 March 1993.
Bharti was replaced in films she had not completed, including Mohra (played by Raveena Tandon), Kartavya (played by Juhi Chawla), Vijaypath (played by Tabu), Dilwale (played by Raveena Tandon), and Andolan (played by Mamta Kulkarni). She was more than halfway through the filming of Laadla at the time of her death and the movie was reshot with Sridevi portraying the role. Shortly before her death, she had completed filming for Rang and Shatranj; these were released posthumously on 7 July 1993 and 17 December 1993 respectively and achieved moderate success. Although she had completed filming her scenes for both films, a dubbing artist was used as she never got the chance to dub for the films. Her incomplete Telugu film Tholi Muddhu was partly completed by an actress Rambha, who slightly resembled Bharti and hence was used as her body double to complete her remaining scenes; the film was released in October 1993. Divya was also the first choice for the iconic role of Simra ..
Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/118550593.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

## Personal life

Bharti met director-producer Sajid Nadiadwala through actor Govinda while working on the set of Shola Aur Shabnam, following which she converted to Islam, changed her name to Sana, and married Nadiadwala on 10 May 1992 at a private Nikah ceremony in the presence of her hairdresser and friend Sandhya, Sandhya's husband, and a qazi at Nadiadwala's Tulsi Buildings residence in Mumbai. The marriage was kept secret so as to not affect her prosperous film career.

## Death

In the late evening hours of 5 April 1993, Bharti fell from the balcony window of her fifth-floor apartment in Tulsi Buildings, Versova, Andheri West in Mumbai. When her guests Neeta Lulla, Neeta's husband Shyam Lulla, Bharti's maid Amrita Kumari, and neighbours realised what had happened, she was rushed in an ambulance to the emergency department at Cooper Hospital, where she died. She was 19 years old. Though her death was subject to conspiracy theories, her father denied any wrongdoing. The official causes of her death were deemed to be head injuries and internal bleeding. She was cremated on 7 April 1993 at the Vile Parle crematorium in Mumbai.

## Reactions and legacy

Bharti acted in 21 films during her short career and was one of the highest-paid Indian actresses at the time of her death. Her offscreen persona and unique acting ability have been highly appreciated and reminisced by many of her co-stars and critics. In 2022, she was placed in Outlook India's "75 Best Bollywood Actresses" list. Shah Rukh Khan, who shared screen space with her in Deewana and Dil Aashna Hai, once said that she was "stunning as an actor". Suniel Shetty has remarked, "I have not yet seen any other actress who is as talented as Divya Bharti. I don't think anyone had as much talent as she possessed. Her talent was unbelievable, she'd do masti and bachpana (fun and childish behavior) before the shoot commenced and when asked for, she'd give such a perfect shot that I used to forget my own dialogues!". Actress Karishma Kapoor has paid her tribute by saying, "She was so wonderful in Deewana.. couldn't take my eyes off! We really miss her a lot." Moreover, Chunky Panday has pronounced her to be "Chulbuli" (bubbly) and that "she was full of life, energy and loved to work with her in Vishwatma."
According to actor Govinda, "Juhi, Kajol, and Karisma are in a different spot, Divya had a totally different kind of appeal from those three. What she had was natural and God-given, it cannot be created by anyone, however much they may try. She had a raw, tamed, wild look about her which magnetised the audience." Producer Guddu Dhanoa, upon working with her in Deewana, has stated that, "Bollywood misses her a lot and the void which was created owing to her death could not be filled by anyone else." Archana Puran Singh in the caption of one of her social media posts has written, "Divya was a sweet soul, still remember sobbing the day she passed away."
New-generation artists like Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma have also remembered Divya Bharti in some of their interviews. Varun has revealed Bharti to be "one of the actresses from the 90s he would have loved to work with." Anushka Sharma has been quoted saying "I became a huge fan of Divya Bharti after watching her songs. I would dance to almost all her songs, especially 'Saat Samundar'. When she passed away, my mother didn't tell me for about a week because she knew I would break down." In 2011 Dev Anand made the movie Chargesheet, which was loosely based on her death and the mystery surrounding it.

## Filmography

List of the films acted by Divya Bharti :
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Language | Notes |
| 1990 | Nila Pennae | Suriya | Tamil | Debut film |
| 1990 | Bobbili Raja | Rani | Telugu | |
| 1991 | Assembly Rowdy | Pooja / Jyothi | Telugu | |
| 1991 | Rowdy Alludu | Rekha | Telugu | |
| 1991 | Naa Ille Naa Swargam | Lalitha | Telugu | |
| 1991 | Ek aur Faulad | Priya | Hindi | Unreleased |
| 1992 | Vishwatma | Kusum Verma | Hindi | |
| 1992 | Dil Ka Kya Kasoor | Shalini/Seema | Hindi | |
| 1992 | Dharma Kshetram | Mythili | Telugu | |
| 1992 | Shola Aur Shabnam | Divya Thapa | Hindi | |
| 1992 | Jaan Se Pyaara | Sharmila | Hindi | |
| 1992 | Chittemma Mogudu | Chittemma (Chitti) | Telugu | |
| 1992 | Deewana | Kaajal / Sonu | Hindi | Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut |
| 1992 | Balwaan | Deepa Sahni | Hindi | |
| 1992 | Dil Hi To Hai | Bharati | Hindi | |
| 1992 | Dushman Zamana | Seema Narang | Hindi | |
| 1992 | Geet | Neha | Hindi | |
| 1992 | Dil Aashna Hai | Laila / Sitara | Hindi | |
| 1993 | Kshatriya | Tanvi Singh | Hindi | Last release before death |
| 1993 | Rang | Kajal Malhotra | Hindi | Posthumous release |
| 1993 | Tholi Muddhu | Divya | Telugu | Posthumous release. Role completed by Rambha |
| 1993 | Shatranj | Renu | Hindi | Posthumous release. Last release |

### Unfinished films

List of 12 films Divya Bharti had signed/was acting at the time of her death :
| Year | Film | Role(s) | Language(s) | Notes |
| 1993 | Chinthamani | Chinthamani | Telugu | Shelved |
| 1993 | Dhanwan | Anjali Chopra | Hindi | Replaced by Karisma Kapoor |
| 1994 | Laadla | Sheetal Jetley | Hindi | Replaced by Sridevi |
| 1994 | Mohra | Roma Singh | Hindi | Replaced by Raveena Tandon |
| 1994 | Dilwale | Swapna | Hindi | Replaced by Raveena Tandon |
| 1994 | Vijaypath | Mohini / Vrushali | Hindi | Replaced by Tabu |
| 1995 | Andolan | Guddi | Hindi | Replaced by Mamta Kulkarni |
| 1995 | Kartavya | Kajal | Hindi | Replaced by Juhi Chawla |
| 1995 | Kanyadaan | — | Hindi | Replaced by Manisha Koirala |
| 1995 | Hulchul | Sharmili | Hindi | Replaced by Kajol |
| 1995 | Angrakshak | Priyanka | Hindi | Replaced by Pooja Bhatt |
| | Do Kadam | — | Hindi | Shelved |

## Accolades

| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
| 1991 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Actress – Telugu | Bobbili Raja | Nominated |
| 1993 | Nandi Awards | Special Jury Award | Chittemma Mogudu | Won |
| 1993 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Actress – Telugu | Chittemma Mogudu | Nominated |
| 1993 | Filmfare Awards | Lux New Face of the Year | Deewana | Won |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Bharti plays an unnamed girl in the film, who is later named Suriya.
* ↑ There are numerous variant spellings of the name. These include Divya Bharati and Divya Bharathi.
* ↑ Ninth grade, freshman year, or grade 9 is the ninth post-kindergarten year of school education in India
* ↑ Films are listed in order of release date.
* ↑ Films are listed in order of supposed release year.