This is what we have heard and what we’ve been told. But doubts about the nature of her sudden and shocking death still remain.
Though Divya’s father had given her husband producer Sajid Nadiadwala a clean chit, and though Nadiadwala has moved on long back (his productions after Divya’s death were dedicated to her) the question that haunts those close to Divya is, what really happened to Divya Bharti that night?
How could she get so drunk and still climb the window sill of her apartment? To reach a place of life-taking imbalance one has to first be able to get to that place. And if she was so drunk why was she allowed to do something so dangerous by other people who were in the room?
Hema Malini who directed Divya Bharti in her introductory film Dil Ashnaa Hai feels Divya’s death was unnecessary. “Why did she have to die so young? She was so promising. She had all the potential of a big star. A promising career nipped in the bud, so shocking.”
Producer Pahlaj Nihalani who worked with Divya in Shola Aur Shabnam says, “People say many things about her death. But no one really knows what happened that night. It will remain a mystery. She was like a daughter to me. And so affectionate! She once injured her foot badly while shooting, still she limped back to work the next morning. I had to force her back to rest as shooting had been cancelled.”
Divya was married to Sajid Nadiadwala at the time when her shocking death happened. After her death every single film that Sajid produced until his re-marriage in 2004 was dedicated to Divya.
When Nadiadwala turned director with Kick in 2014, he paid Divya a tribute. In a memorable seqence he had Salman Khan dancing and lip-synching to the hit Viju Shah composition Saat Samundar Paar Mein Tere Peeche-peeche Aa Gayi.The song from Rajiv Rai’s Vishwatma was filmed on Divya Bharti. It was her acting debut.
Apparently Sajid paid the music company Saregama a small fortune, close to 1.5 crore rupees, for the rights to the song.
Cinema has a history of actresses who died young: Madhubala died of a heart ailment at age 33, Meena Kumari died at 39 of an alcohol-induced liver problem, Geeta Bali died at 35 of small pox, Silk Smitha died by suicide at age 36, Smita Patil died at 31 of post-pregnancy complications, Vimi, in her 30s died of alcoholism, Jiah Khan died at 25.
