3 minutes of readingNew DelhiFebruary 9, 2026 06:44 pm IST
Divya Bharti was just 16 when she entered the film industry and just 19 when her life came to a sudden and tragic end. In a career that lasted just three years, she appeared in 22 films and was already being compared to Sridevi.—hailed by many as the next big thing in Indian cinema. But fate had other plans. His meteoric rise was cut short on April 5, 1993, when he fell from the balcony of his apartment in Mumbai. However, behind this dazzling success lies a much more complicated emotional reality.
‘We went to clubs and bars’
Child actor Master Raju, who shared a close bond with Divya, recently spoke to Siddharth Kannan about the actress and offered rare insights into her personal life. “Divya Bharti and Pooja Bhatt were the two heroines I was very close to,” he recalled. “They were friendly, not sentimental at all. I spent a lot of time with Divya; we went to clubs and bars together many times. Like Salman Khan, Divya was also a close friend. We talked for hours.”
Reflecting on her career, Master Raju said Divya was widely seen as Sridevi’s successor. “People called her Sridevi’s replacement, a young Sridevi. She had a very promising career. What happened to her was extremely unfortunate. There are many things I wouldn’t want to say now, especially since she is no longer with us.”
‘Divya Bharti felt used’
He hinted that despite her professional success, Divya was deeply unhappy on a personal level. “She told me several things and gave me examples of people. She was lonely and sad. But nowadays there is no point in taking names and creating controversies. She was very happy with her career, but not with her personal relationships. Not with men or lovers; we are talking about other people. She felt used. She felt that because she earned and worked, people were wasting her money. That made her unhappy.”
At the same time, Master Raju clarified that Divya found solace in her marriage to filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala. “She was very positive about the man in her life. She was happy and hopeful, looking forward to the future with him. That part of her life was fine.”
His death was a devastating shock. “When she died, it shook me completely,” Master Raju said. “I was the first person in there and the last person out. It was tragic. This shouldn’t have happened.”
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When Divya Bharti died
Divya Bharti debuted with the Tamil film Nila Pennae in 1990 and quickly became one of the most sought-after actresses in Hindi cinema. On the afternoon of April 5, 1993, he fell out of the window of his fifth-floor apartment. Although she was rushed to the hospital, she was pronounced dead on arrival. The incident was officially declared an accident.
Recalling the scene in the hospital, producer Pahlaj Nihalani, who had cast Divya for Shola Aur Shabnam, told Pinkvilla, “She was alone at that time. No one had arrived yet. The moment I found out, I rushed to the hospital immediately.”