The alleged suicide of popular TV and film actress VJ Chitra on Wednesday in Chennai has given rise to a question about the safety and security of female artists in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films. The death of Chitra , who was staying in a hotel in Chennai’s Poonamallee Road shocked her friends and associates alike as they claim that there was no reason for the artist to resort to the extreme step.

The list of young actresses who were found dead under mysterious situations is long and a matter of concern, according to veteran film journalist P K Srinivasan who has been associated with South India’s dream factories for the last four decades.

 “Ill not rule out the possibilities of foul play but it is for the investigators to prove that. This was an unfortunate incident and further proves that all is not gold that glitters,” said Srinivasan, author of well known  book Kodambakkam Diary.

Film buffs still remember the mysterious death of Vijayasree in 1974 when she was hardly 21. Popularly known as the Marilyn Monroe of south India, the actress took her life when she was the reigning diva of Malayalam and Tamil films. ‘She was the highest paid artist those days and producers were sanding in queue outside her Chennai residence to get her date. But she had dispute with one of the Malayalam film producers, a power person those days, who in one of his films, had shot her nude,” reminiscences Srinivasan.

Sreelatha Namboodiri, a colleague of Vijayasree, had told in a TV interview later that the artist was not the kind who resorts to extreme step. “She had a love affair those days and she was planning everything in advance. I still do not believe Vijayasree committed suicide,” said Sreelatha.

There were many like Vijayasree and Chitra who made it big in film industry only to end their lives by themselves.

Shobha, who won the National award for the best actress in the 1978  film Pasi (The Hunger) was hardly 18 when she was found dead in the house where she was staying with Balu Benjamin Mahendra, the Sri Lanka born movie director, who was 24 years older than her.

Jayalakshi Reddy, shot into national fame with the Tamil movie Aval Oru Thudarkathai directed by the legendary K Balachander. Why Jayalakshmi opted for a suicide is still unknown though people close to her say the death of her father took a heavy toll on her.

The list does not end with Jayalakshmi. Silk Smitha, who entered the Tamil film industry as a item girl and shot up to one of the leading artists in the country too was found dead when she ws at the peak of her career.

Memories of Smitha still haunt her fans in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu Kannada and even Hindi films. She was the reigning queen and star even if the film boasted of stars like Kalam Haassan or Rajinikanth. “There were reports about the physical assault suffered by Smitha from her living -in partner who is believed to have walked away with the entire savings of the artist. But for reasons known to the powers that be in Tamil Nadu, no proper investigation was held and Smitha’s death too was written off as suicide,” said Mankombu Gopalakrishnan, move maker and poet. 

There are at least six more actresses who had resorted to the extreme steps in addition to those who have been mentioned here.