Kannada talents that departed early

The untimely demise of the promising young actor Chiranjeevi Sarja at the age of 39 has revived memories of the talents whose contributions to the Kannada film industry were cut short too early.

Some were killed in accidents, while others succumbed to health issues. A few chose suicide after struggling with financial, health or personal issues.

While it is purely speculative to wonder how the industry could have changed had these people lived on, it is a necessary and inevitable question.

Ramesh Aravind believes that to ponder over the ‘ifs’ is to look at an infinite number of doors that cannot be opened.

“It’s a pity fate was so cruel. Each of them would have enriched cinema in their own way had they lived on,” he says.

Lahari Recording company’s Lahari Velu, who is also an actor, views the death of youngsters with caution.

“Artistes without any film background, who reach the top through hard work alone, suffer at different levels. There is a lot of tension for them. It’s not enough to get to the top, staying there is the challenge,” Velu says. He recommends meditation.

He says that they are sensitive and hesitate to share their feelings. “The women among them often choose to end their life,” Velu adds.

Velu had shared the screen with Chiranjeevi in ‘Khaki’ that released earlier this year.

For filmmakers such as Rajendra Singh Babu, the question that premature deaths pose is how the industry would have changed had the actors lived on.

He says, “Death isn’t in our hands. These are actors who would have had a positive impact, but to say how they would have changed the industry had they lived is a difficult thing to say.”

Who all?

Practically every death of a young actor brings Shankar Nag to mind. The “Karate King”, as he was dubbed back then, died at 35 leaving a legacy that rivals even stalwarts who have grown old in the industry.

He was killed in an accident on the outskirts of Davanagere, while his wife Arundhati and daughter escaped with injuries.

Sunil, known for his good looks, was just 30 in 1994 when he was killed in an accident. He was at the peak of his career when his life was claimed by an accident. The actor Malashree, who was with him in the car, managed to survive.

Unfortunately, actresses have a shorter shelf life in the limelight than their male counterparts. Even so, 19-year-old Nivedita Jain had many more years left in her when she fell from the second floor of her Rajarajeshwari Nagar residence in Bengaluru. Hospitalised thereafter, she died 24 days later.

But even at 19, Niveditha had already had a couple of years down. She first came to prominence in 1994, at the age of 15, when she won the Miss Bangalore beauty pageant. She acted in nine films in all.

Called the ‘minugu thare’ (shining star) of the film industry, Kalpana was under mental and physical torture when she killed herself. Poor health and debt drove her to take the extreme step in 1979.

Manjula’s death in 1986 remains a mystery, but the mental pressure created by being overweight is sometimes given as the reason.

Although only 35, Silk Smitha had 17 years of experience in cinema when she killed herself. She had acted in about 450 films in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam when she was found dead at her Chennai apartment in 1996.

Soundarya was a winner of both national and state awards when a helicopter crash claimed her life at 31 in 2004. 

Anil Kumar, who did not have a very successful career in the industry and instead focused on television serials, was 32 when killed in an accident.

Hemanth, known for the film ‘Nenapinangala’ died of a heart attack at 27 in 2013.

Hemashree, who did not have a very successful career, but went on to unsuccessfully stand for an election from the Chikkanayakanahalli Assembly constituency in Tumakuru district in 2008 on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket, died at 29. The reasons for her death remain mysterious.