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Indian cinema was blessed with some talented actresses in the 80s, including Rekha, Sridevi, Jaya Prada, and Amrita Singh, among others. But there was one shining star from the South, at the peak of her career, who tragically died at the age of 80. She was a sensation, and every director/ producer wanted to work with her. Scroll below to know who!
At that time, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, and Sathyaraj were among the highest-earning Indian actors. But our female leads weren’t any less! Vijayshanthi and Bhanupriya were also taking home huge paychecks.
Meanwhile, this South actress in question was also rising high in success. She was charging a remuneration of 1 lakh back in the 1990s while Rekha was getting paid 75,000.
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Unfortunately, due to family’s financial issues, she had to drop out of school in the fourth standard. That’s not it; she was also forced into child marriage at the age of only 14. The actress was a victim of abuse by her husband and in-laws and took the bold decision to walk out within two years.
We’re talking about Silk Smitha, whose real name was Vadlapati Vijayalakshmi. She was a s*x symbol between the 1980s and 1990s.
Smitha has worked in renowned movies like Moondru Mugam (1982), Sadma (1983), Layanam (1989), and Reshma Ki Jawani (2002). Her item numbers in the South films Amaran and Halli Meshtru led to a major boost at the box office.
Sridevi and Silk Smitha in 1983. Legends of Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema. A telling image of how their iconography emerged on film. They ruled the spectrum of technicolour dreams.
Adutha Varisu (The next heir) 1983 was a defining year for both. For different reasons. pic.twitter.com/dzZi54aosp
— Sridevi (@SrideviKapoor) December 18, 2023
On 23 September 1996, the South star Vadlapati Vijayalakshmi, aka Silk Smitha, was found hanging in her hotel room. She was reportedly disturbed about an “unspoken” issue that she intended to discuss with her close friend and actress Anuradha.
Silk Smitha was only 35 years old at the time of her demise, and excess alcohol in her body was revealed as the alleged cause of her death. Even after years, her unfortunate passing away remains a mystery because a suicide note was found but could not be deciphered.
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