It's been 27 years since Divya Bharti died, but her death is still a mystery. On April 5, 1993, Divya Bharti dropped from the fifth-floor balcony window of her Versova, Andheri West flat. The actress was rushed to Cooper Hospital and pronounced dead. Her death was reportedly due to serious head trauma and internal bleeding.Divya's death was followed by many conspiracy theories, with many claiming that it was a planned murder. Today, on Divya Bharti's 47th birth anniversary, we take a look at the account of her untimely death.
Died at the age of 19
On April 5, 1993, Divya received a call from costume designer Neeta Lulla, who wanted to meet with her in the evening to talk about the costumes for her upcoming film Andolan. At the time of the fatal incident, Neeta and her husband, psychiatrist Shyam Lulla, were at her house.In the drawing room, the three of them were sipping drinks. Amrita, the housemaid, was in the kitchen preparing fried snacks to accompany the drinks. Divya went to the balcony and stood on the ledge while Neeta and Shyam were reportedly watching television. She lost her balance when she turned around and fell, suffering fatal injuries. She was still alive when the paramedics arrived, but she was in a lot of pain thus lost her life.
Sajid Nadidawala Broke Down
Sajid could not bear the shock. He literally froze for a moment and then fell on the ground with foam oozing out of his mouth. It was only when doctors tried to resuscitate him, Sajid started thumping violently. lt was then that the doctors realised it was a case of a heart attack.Sajid was immediately shifted to the lCCU (Intensive Cardiac Care Unit) of the hospital. Apparently, he too had been suffering from hypertension and high blood pressure. When he regained consciousness for a while, he told the doctors, "My wife Divya is down there.They say she is dead. Please do something and try bringing her back to life.”
Divya's father and brother blamed her mother for her death
Divya's father was simply uncontrollable at the hospital. He said:'They have killed my daughter. Burn down everything. I don't want anything, just give me back Divya,' he kept sobbing like a child. Divya's brother Kunal seemed equally shattered. Like a pillar of strength, he stood by his father, trying to console him. Later, when he just couldn't control his tears anymore he burst out, 'I shouldn't have left my loving sister behind. I was with her till ten minutes before she could jump down. She was very depressed, she told me that.
When Divya's mother arrived at the hospital, she was totally unaware that she had lost her only child. When Kunal and Mr. Bharati saw her, they became a little agitated. They both blamed her for what had happened, which was strange. Divya's mother, on the other hand, remained silent.
Divya’s Funeral
On April 7th, the funeral took place. Since the ceremony was held according to Hindu rituals, Divya was dressed as a bride with Sindoor in her maang. Sajid, who was dazed at the time, performed Divva's last rites as her husband. None of the senior Nadiadwalas were present, which was unexpected. The pyre, on the other hand, was lit by Divya's brother."Boney Kapoor, Govinda, the producers of 'Kartavya' - Rahul Gupta and Sunil Saini, Sanjay Kapoor, Saif (Ali Khan), and Kamal Sadanah,Hema, Babita, Karisma, Shilpa, Somy, Sangeata, Sabeeha; Kamal Sadanah, Amrish Puri, Varsha Usgaonkar, Tabu, and Sonu, attend the funeral.
Sridevi's experience at the set of “Ladla"
Sridevi replaced Divya in Ladla.
According to sources, the unusual incident occurred even when the film was being shot. Sridevi, according to Raveena Tandon, was stuck on the same dialogue that caused Divya Bharti trouble. Following this, the film's crew were scared.
Raveena told, “The first shot was an emotional one for us because Sridevi had stepped into Divya Bharti’s shoes after her untimely demise. Divya, Shakti Kapoor and I had shot a scene in Aurangabad where she fires us and throws us out of the office. While shooting the scene, Divya was constantly getting stuck on a particular line of dialogue and had to give several retakes before it was okay.”
She further said, “Around six months later, we were shooting the same scene with Sridevi in the same office and it was so eerie because she was stuck on the same line. All of us on the set had gooseflesh and Shakti ji (Shakti Kapoor) suggested we all chant the Gayatri mantra aloud. I held Sridevi’s hand as we said the prayers, then we broke a coconut and resumed shooting.”