South actress Silk Smitha, known as the industry’s ‘sex siren’, committed suicide on September 23, 1996, at her Chennai apartment.
Silk Smitha became an iconic name in the 90s for her bold choices. She featured in popular films like ‘Justice Raja’, ‘Kiratham’, ‘Antham’, ‘Mafia’, ‘Lockup Death’, ‘Gentleman Security’, ‘Karma’, ‘Coimbatore Mappillai’ and ‘ Subash’.
- Silk Smitha was born on December 2, 1960, in Elluru, Andhra Pradesh. Her real name was Vijayalakshmi Vadlapati.
- She left school after class four due to family financial constraints.
- The actress made her acting debut in 1978, with the Kananda film ‘Bedi’. But, she rose to fame with ‘Vandichakkaram’, where she portrayed the character of a bar girl named Silk – which later went on to become her stage name.
- She acted in more than 450 films during her career.
- While many know that Vidya Balan’s ‘The Dirty Picture’ was based on her life, the south star has also been brought to life by former actress Sana Khan in the 2013 Malayalam film ‘Climax’.
- She did many item numbers in films like ‘Vandichakkaram’, ‘Justice Raja’, ‘Kiratham’, ‘Antham’, ‘Mafia’, ‘Lockup Death’, ‘Gentleman Security’, ‘Karma’, ‘Coimbatore Mappillai’, and ‘ Subash’ – her last film which was released in 1996.
