7 most shocking deaths in Telugu cinema

The accident of Kannada actors Uday and Anil has the entire country shocked. In a stunt gone horribly wrong, the actors jumped from a helicopter into a reservoir, where they drowned. The film’s team has been booked for this mishap. However, this incident has brought to the fore the fact that actors put themselves at a great risk when attempting death-defying stunts for films. Even in the Telugu film industry, there have been many such shocking deaths that reaffirm the fact that being an actor is not a piece of cake. Here are seven such celebs whose untimely deaths shocked the world…

Uday Kiran

This is perhaps the most famous as well as the most tragic death that Telugu cinema has ever witnessed. Uday Kiran had begun his career in a promising manner with three back-to-back hits - ‘Chitram,’ ‘Nuvvu Nenu,’ and ‘Manasantha Nuvve.’ But things started going downhill for him ever since he broke his engagement with Chiranjeevi’s daughter, Sushmita. His career steadily went on the decline after that and ultimately, the 32-year old committed suicide by hanging himself in his Hyderabad apartment. Chiranjeevi was allegedly blamed for destroying Uday’s career but nothing ever came of it.

Soundarya

Soundarya was one of the biggest actresses of the ‘90s. Over a period of over 12 years, she acted in over 114 films in the Telugu language alone and earned serious critical acclaim. She was praised all over for attempting strong character roles and staying away from safer, glamourous roles. Not just acting, her political career was also starting to look promising before she passed away in a tragic plane crash. On April 17, 2004, Soundarya was on board a flight from Bangalore to Karim Nagar, which crashed and Tollywood lost a great actress.

Bhargavi

Another talented actress whose life was snuffed out too early was Bhargavi. She is known for her role in Nani-starrer ‘Ashta Chamma.’ Just a few months after the release of the movie, the actress was found dead in her apartment in Banjara Hills along with orchestra operator, Praveen Kumar. Although suicide was never ruled out, the most popular theory behind her tragic demise was that Praveen, a jilted lover, killed her and later on committed suicide. Whatever happened, one thing is for certain, a great talent was taken away from Tollywood.

Divya Bharathi

The tragic death of Divya Bharathi shook the entire nation. She was a popular name in Tollywood before leaving her mark in B-town in the ‘90s. This gorgeous actress, who worked in both industries, passed away on April 5 1993, when she fell from the fifth floor of her Versova apartment. Her death created a lot of furore in the media. While the cause of death was declared as accidental, murder and involvement of the underworld was suspected. Her death remains one of the biggest mysteries of Indian cinema.

Yasho Sagar

Yasho Sagar was a young and upcoming actor who starred in a film called ‘Ullasamga Utsahamga’ opposite Sneha Ullal in 2008. However, his career was extremely short lived as he passed away in 2012 on December 25. Sagar was involved in a fatal car accident that also took the lives of two of his friends. He was the son of Kannada film producer, B.P.Somu.

Vijay

Choreographer Vijay passed away due to a natural disaster that took the lives of thousands of others. The dancer had gone to Nepal for shooting a movie titled, ‘Yetakaram.com,’ when the fatal earthquake struck. Vijay died in a car crash triggered by the earthquake.

Prasanth

This Telugu actor and choreographer died in the most bizarre of circumstances. Reportedly, he was in an affair with a married woman and was fleeing her house when her relatives came by. While trying to climb down the pipe, he fell from the sixth floor of the building in Moosapet, Hyderabad, and eventually lost his battle with death.