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Divya Bharti, a 90s star, appeared in over 20 films before 20. Her sudden death at 19 shocked the nation.
Shah Rukh Khan shared that when he heard about Divya Bharti’s death, he was in Delhi and was deeply shocked.
Divya Bharti, one of the brightest stars of the 90s, had already made her mark in over 20 films before her sudden death at the young age of 19 on April 5, 1993, shocked the nation. Shah Rukh Khan, who made his debut alongside her in Deewana (1992), often spoke of her with a lot of love.
Looking back on her passing, he once said she was “stunning as an actor,” adding that she was “most unlike an actor, like I thought of myself.”
In an old interview with NDTV, Shah Rukh fondly remembered his late co-star, describing himself as a “serious kind of guy,” while Divya was “a completely wacky, fun-loving girl.” He recalled a moment when they were walking out of Mumbai’s Sea Rock hotel, where Divya looked at him and said something that stayed with him. SRK recalled, “I remember walking out of Mumbai’s Sea Rock, and I met her. She looked at me and said, ‘You’re not just an actor, you’re an institution.’ I was very touched by that… I realised that it meant a lot.”
Shah Rukh Khan shared that when he heard about Divya Bharti’s death, he was in Delhi and was deeply shocked. He explained, “I pray for her soul. I was sleeping in Delhi and they were playing my song, ‘Aisi Deewangi’ (from Deewana). I thought I’ve become a big star… I woke up in the morning and I saw that she had died. She had fallen off from a window. It was one of the biggest shocks, because I think I was supposed to do another film with her.”
Divya Bharti started her career with the Tamil film Nila Penne (1990) and became popular in Telugu with Bobbili Raja (1990). She worked with stars like Chiranjeevi in Rowdy Alludu (1991) and Mohan Babu in Assembly Rowdy (1991). She made her Bollywood debut in Vishwatma (1991) with Sunny Deol and appeared in films like Balwaan, Shola Aur Shabnam, and Dil Hi To Hai. In 1992, she had 12 releases, including Deewana and Dil Aashna Hai with Shah Rukh Khan.