When Shah Rukh Khan recalled his reaction to the death of Deewana co-star Divya Bharti: ‘I was supposed to do another film with her’ | Bollywood News

April 6, 2025

Before she turned 20, actor Divya Bharti had already acted in 20-odd films as the lead, winning a Filmfare award for Best Debut, and a Special Jury award at the Nandi Awards. One of the most promising talents of her time, Divya passed away at the age of 19 on April 5, 1993. Talking about her untimely death, Shah Rukh Khan, who made his onscreen debut in the 1992 film Deewana, opposite Divya, said once, “She was stunning as an actor. She was most unlike an actor, like I thought of myself.”

ALSO READ: Salman Khan used Mimoh Chakraborty’s career struggles as an example to motivate AD on Sultan set: ‘He isn’t even getting a chance to struggle’

In an old interview with NDTV, Shah Rukh Khan spoke about his late co-star with much fondness. “I was a serious kind of guy and she was this completely whacky, fun-loving girl,” said the superstar, who worked with her in the superhit film Dil Aashna Hai (1992) too. “I remember walking out of Mumbai’s Sea Rock, and I met her. She looked at me and said, ‘You’re not just an actor, you’re an institution.’ I was very touched by that… I realised that it meant a lot.”

Story continues below this ad

Reminiscing on learning the news of her death, Shah Rukh Khan revealed that he was in Delhi, and it came as quite the shocker. “I pray for her soul. I was sleeping in Delhi and they were playing my song, ‘Aisi Deewangi’ (from Deewana). I thought I’ve become a big star… I woke up in the morning and I saw that she had died. She had fallen off from a window. It was one of the biggest shocks, because I think I was supposed to do another film with her.”

ALSO READ: ‘Shah Rukh Khan is a star, you can’t push him like this,’ Gajraj Rao recalls Mani Ratnam cautioning him during Dil Se shoot

Divya Bharti, who made her acting debut in the Tamil film Nila Penne (1990), rose to fame with her role in Daggubati’s Venkatesh’s Telugu film Bobbili Raja (1990). She then went on to act with Telugu superstars like Chiranjeevi in Rowdy Alludu (1991) and Mohan Babu’s Assembly Rowdy (1991). Divya made her Hindi cinema debut with Sunny Deol’s Vishwatma (1991), and went on to appear in films like Suniel Shetty’s Balwaan, Govinda’s Shola aur Shabnam, and Jackie Shroff’s Dil Hi to Hai. In 1992, Divya Bharti had as many as 12 releases, including Deewana and Dil Aashna Hai with Shah Rukh Khan.

Source link