Silk Smitha: Oomph girl Silk Smitha would have turned 62 on December 2 were she alive. Born as Vijayalakshmi Vadlapati in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, she rose to stardom because of her sizzling looks, killer dance moves and oomph factor. Even 26 years since her death, Silk Smitha continues to rule her fans’ hearts. Here we take a look at Silk Smitha’s life, career, and never say die spirit .
At a young age of 14, she ran away from a forced marriage . Smitha started her career as a touch-up artist and then gradually went on to do brave roles on the silver screen. She even featured in various popular dance numbers. She came to understand sensuality very early on. In 1992, she became the ultimate sex symbol with Rajinikanth’s Moondru Mugam.
Producers lined up in front of her
Her raw sexuality on screen was her USP and producers lined up to have her one dance number in their films. She was the ultimate object of desire; men who saw her oozing oomph on screen once, never forgot her. Tamil film historian Randor Guy has even stated, “Films that laid in cans for years were sold by the simple addition of a Silk Smitha song.”
Silk Smitha was bold and never shy of showing the skin in skimpy outfits. She was different from the other actresses of the time and her self-confidence and courage made her stand out and carve a niche for herself. In an industry where men reigned supreme and women were mere subordinates, Silk Smitha had the courage to confront them. She was a true feminist who took immense pride in her work.
From poverty to stardom
The list of hits Silk delivered in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and even Hindi is endless, but her own life was not an easy one. She wanted to escape poverty and dreamed of working in films. But the struggles she faced to get her big film break saw her work as a domestic servant, a touch-up girl and more, just to make a meagre living and survive in the male-dominated industry.
With Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan films like Thanga Magan, Sivappu Sooriyan, Mooram Pirai, Sakalakala Vallavan, and big dance numbers, Silk Smitha became a brand in herself.
More popular than top heroes
She was more popular than some top heroes of her time. She enjoyed a lot of fame but her personal life was in turmoil. She impressed critics and audiences with her acting prowess in the movie Alaigal Oivathillai (1981), where she played a wife who was hurt by her husband’s rape of their maid.
Silk was found dead in her home in Chennai on September 23, 1996. According to the postmortem report written a few months after Smitha’s death, she committed suicide. The reason behind her death remains a mystery.
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