A lost photo changed this actress’ destiny, was once a Doordarshan anchor, romanced Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar, died at 31 due to…, she is…
“There is no age to live, nor to die, life is just a name for shock.” This line is for that evergreen and beautiful actress, who said goodbye to the world at the age of just 31. Her big eyes, radiant face, and serious acting skills still mesmerise the audience. While watching her films, people watch every scene and expression carefully. But do you know that this actress, who became a Bollywood superstar, was once a Doordarshan news anchor, and one of her photos changed her fate?
Born on 17 October 1955 in Mumbai, Smita Patil studied in Marathi medium schools. After completing her studies, she started reading news in Marathi on Mumbai Doordarshan. In her biography ‘Smita Patil: A Brief Incandescence’, Maithili Rao shared an interesting anecdote.
According to Maithili Rao, Smita’s friend Jyotsna Kirpekar used to read news on Mumbai Doordarshan. Her husband Deepak Kirpekar, who was a photographer by profession, often used to take pictures of Smita. One day, Deepak went to the Doordarshan Center with Smita’s pictures, where, while entering the centre, the pictures fell on the ground. While handling them, Mumbai Doordarshan director PV Krishnamurthy noticed them. He asked, “Whose pictures are these?” When Deepak told him about Smita, the director expressed his desire to meet her.
Smita Patil was initially not ready for this work, but after a lot of persuasion, she went to Doordarshan Center. When she was asked to sing in the audition, she sang the national anthem of Bangladesh “Amar Shonar Bangla”. Her voice impressed the director so much that she was immediately selected for the news anchor. After this, Smita started reading news in Marathi. Her voice was so sweet that even people who did not understand Marathi would turn on the TV and sit to listen to her.
Smita’s film journey also started from here. Famous director Shyam Benegal saw her on TV and decided to sign her in his film. Smita made her own identity in parallel cinema with her acting. Smita married actor Raj Babbar who was already married. Their son Prateik Babbar is an actor today and has appeared in films like ‘Reservation’. Unfortunately, Smita passed away on 13 December 1986 at the age of just 31, which shocked her fans.
News