The Sexy Siren of the 80\'s – Silk Smitha. She was the Helen down South at a time when South Indian heroines were slowly emerging out of their homely roles. Silk Smitha scorched the big screen with her item numbers. Her height, her body structure and the look she had in her eyes is what endeared her to the audience. Born Vijayalakshimi into a poor family in Eluru in Andhra Pradesh, she left school after fourth standard, determined to become a film star. Moving in with her aunt in Madras then the centre of the South Indian film industry, she soon found a sponsor who renamed her Smitha. Smitha made an entry into films through
Veenayum Naadamum but it was after the character in
Vandichakram that she got Silk pre-fixed to her name. Though she did roles that portrayed her like a sex bomb, she’s proved herself to be a reasonable good actress with films like
Moondraam Pirai and
Alaiygal Oyvathillai. Her dance numbers and her bold performances in films like
Moondru Mugam made her the ultimate symbol of sensuality in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu cinema. Her item numbers in films like
Amaranwere also celebrated at the box office.
Silk Smitha revolutionized southern India\'s prolific film industry through her song-and-dance and cabaret numbers in some 300 films. She initially played serious lead roles in several Telugu films, but, over-partial to revealing, sequined bodices and low-slung, tight-fitting saris, she was eventually typecast as the ultimate sex-siren, utterly desirable but just out of reach. Smitha became a household name after Tamil films like Moondram Pirai, Moondru Mugam and
Kozhi Kuvuthu. Besides Tamil cinema she also featured in scores of Telugu, Malayalam and even mainstream Hindi films Then, after nearly 20 years of playing such roles, her career floundered and she moved, rather disastrously, into producing movies. Two of her Telugu at the box office flopped. Smitha had borrowed heavily to make these films and this, combined with her unhappy personal life and alcohol dependency, finally led to her committing suicide. In 1996, Smitha was found dead in her Chennai apartment. Financial problems, disillusionment in love and an alcohol dependency apparently led to depression and she committed suicide. She had the desirable height and physique for the roles she did. Who can forget her performance in
Pon meni... with
Kamal Haasan in Moondram Pirai. She is gone.. .but her memories still lives in the form of her music videos, such as
Nethu rathiri yamma... and many others, especially the evergreen
Pesakoodathu... with Rajinikanth. None can stand before the one and only Glamorous Queen of South Indian filmdom who seduced her fans with her mesmerizing eyes and glamorous smile. She was a sensation and a whole generation of movie-goers lapped up to her movies.
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