1 Meena Kumari
August 1,1932-March 31, 1972; died 40
Cited as 'The Tragedy Queen', the actor-poet could not survive the trauma of troubled relationships, became an alcoholic and lost her life to liver cirrhosis – three weeks after the release of her iconic film Pakeezah. Late journalist Vinod Mehta's book, Meena Kumari: The Classic Biography, claimed she began with small pegs of brandy upon doctor's prescription to fight insomnia, which eventually became an addiction. She died a pauper; it is said she had no money to pay the hospital where she died.
2 Manmohan Desai
February 26, 1937-March 1, 1994; died 57
One of India's most successful film directors and producers, often called the 'Miracle man of Bollywood', Desai is said to have jumped off to death from the terrace of his Grant Road house. However, due to lack of substantial evidence, it could never be confirmed. A hugely successful masala filmmaker in the 70s, Desai is said to have been battling repeated box office failures in his last years along with a severe back illness.
3 Parveen Babi
April 4, 1954-January 20, 2005; died 51
The first Indian heroine to be featured on the cover of Time magazine, the hugely popular actress met with a tragic end. She was found dead in her Mumbai apartment, which came to light only when her housing society secretary complained to the police that she hadn't collected milk and newspapers from her doorstep for two days. The police had to break open the door, only to find her body with an old newspaper clipping of her lying nearby. It was said she had developed gangrene. For years, Parveen lived alone and rarely ventured out.
4 Madhubala
February 14, 1933-February 23, 1969; died 36
Born on Valentine's Day - the day of love - the gorgeous actress died of a heart disease - ventricular septal defect, commonly known as hole-in-the-heart. It was 15 years before her untimely death that she first got to know about her condition. In 1960, when she was married with singer-actor Kishore Kumar, the couple was told by doctors in London that she would survive only two more years. She survived nine. It is said her painful break-up with actor Dilip Kumar, with whom she had been engaged in the 1950s, had aggravated her condition.
5 Smita Patil
October 17, 1955-December 13, 1986; died 31
The dusky, talented actress who was a reigning queen of the radically political cinema of the 1970s, died of childbirth complications, merely 14 days after her son, Prateik, was born. But a few years ago, Smita's younger sister Manya Patil came on record to say that Smita actually died of heart break, brought about by constant probing of her personal life. Smita, who had married the already married Raj Babbar (he left his wife Nadira for Smita), would be always stressed out due to the barbed criticism hurled at her.
6 Priya Rajvansh
1937 – March 27, 2000; died 63
The beautiful but mostly underrated actress was found brutally murdered at her Juhu bungalow, which was initially thought to be suicide. Investigations later revealed she had been killed by her late husband Chetan Anand's two sons from his first marriage, along with two accomplices, for property. The actress had inherited a part of filmmaker Anand's property after his death in 1997.
7 Suraiya
June 15, 1929-January 31, 2004; died 75
The singer-actress, who remained unmarried till death, passed away in sleep at a Mumbai hospital where was admitted for various health problems. A superstar in the 40s, it came as a shock that she lived a lonely life and had turned into a recluse in her final years. Mystery shrouded her death as she had left no heir to her substantial property, with an old friend, Hasina Shabbir, even claiming she “noticed spots of blood on her face and injury marks on her legs”. The foul play was ruled out, and the property was eventually put up on sale.
8 Divya Bharati
February 25, 1974-April 5, 1993; died 19
The young and promising star's untimely death is considered one of the most shocking in Bollywood. Whether she jumped off the fifth floor of her Versova apartment or somebody pushed her or she just lost balance and fell off is unknown. What keeps the rumour mills abuzz till this day is a version that suggests she had links to the underworld and was possibly a witness to something nasty. Her end came about eleven months after her marriage to producer Sajid Nadiadwala. In 1988, her death was labelled as accidental by the police for lack of evidence.
9 Silk Smitha
December 2, 1960-September 23, 1996; died 36
The on-screen seductress and one of the most erotic actresses in Indian cinema, Vijayalakshmi Vadlapati or Silk Smitha, was found dead in her Chennai apartment. Believed to have poisoned herself, Smitha was battling depression due to failed romance, lack of work and huge financial losses. Despite having appeared in over 450 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi in her 17-year career, Smitha felt let down by her colleagues as many never accorded her the status of a mainstream commercial actress. Some even called her a soft porn star. A year before her death, she had a failed stint as a producer. Vidya Balan-starrer The Dirty Picture (2011) was inspired by Smitha's life.
10 Guru Dutt
July 9, 1925-October 10, 1964; died 39
The acclaimed director allegedly killed himself by an overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol. Doubts over whether it was a suicide or an accidental overdose linger on, but those close to him have recounted tales of his depression over his relationship with Waheeda Rehman and separation from wife Geeta Roy. According to Dutt's long time collaborator VK Murthy, it was Dutt’s third attempt at suicide. It is said his premature death was foreshadowed in the autobiographical Kaagaz ke Phool (1959).