Even as the entire nation is grief-stricken with the untimely death of legendary Bollywood actress Sridevi her sudden demise reminds fans of the mysterious death of 90s' popular actress Divya Bharti.
Divya died on April 5, 1993, after she fell off the balcony of her fifth floor apartment in drunken state. Just like Sridevi, Divya's sudden and mysterious death had brought a shock wave across the country.
Both Sridevi and Divya were talented actress and were often pitted against each other, due to their strikingly similar look and acting prowess.
During an interview in 90's, when compared to Sridevi, Divya had said, "I was thrilled. I said 'Wow! What a compliment to look so beautiful and good!" She further added that the actress is better than her as she has got the pimpled face, which the make-up conceals. She also revealed the fact that, she had met Sridevi once and said that she is too good. She is tall and good looking. During their meeting for the first time, they did not have any conversation but only exchanged smiles."
Besides the looks, there are a few facts that draw a connection between the late actresses. Take a look here:
First, Divya's birth anniversary falls on February 25, just a day before Sridevi's death (February 24).
Secondly, both the actresses had started working at a very young age. While Sridevi entered the South film industry at the tender age of four, Divya was only 14-year-old when she started getting film offers.
Third, at the time of Divya's death, she was working as a lead in Laadla. Her untimely death resulted in the makers roping in Sridevi as the lead actress. Laadla also starred Anil Kapoor and Raveena Tandon.
In a recent conversation with Mumbai Mirror, Raveena revealed a moment when Sridevi was stuck on the same dialogue in Laadla that gave trouble to Divya. "The first shot was an emotional one for us because Sridevi had stepped into Divya Bharti's shoes after Divya's 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 said.
Further adding that "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 Shaktiji (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."
