Divya Bharti’s mother once revealed she only entered film industry to escape academics

Actress Divya Bharti’s untimely demise left the cinema industry devastated 29 years ago, in April 1993. Divya had done a noteworthy amount of work in a relatively short period of time, and married producer Sajid Nadiadwala a year before her tragic death, making her one of the most popular and highly paid actresses of her time.

On the occasion of Divya’s birth anniversary, we revisit the day when her father Om Prakash Bharti and mother Meeta Bharti revealed that Divya was delighted to interact with less fortunate children and assist them in any manner she could. In fact, she would continue to buy them what they needed from a market in suburban Mumbai near Sajid Nadiadwala’s office. “She would take the children to the market, and would buy them stuff. She never carried any money with her. So she would ask the shopkeeper to take the money from Sajid,” her father told Bollywood Hungama.

Divya’s mother also claimed that she was never drawn to the glamour world and had no desire to become a wealthy and successful performer. She only wanted to get rid of her studies and eventually become a housewife. That’s how she got into movies.

“She was getting offers. There was a producer in the building next to ours. His manager would come to our house every day, and sit for hours. He pleaded with Divya to sign a film with them, and promised that all the work would be complete in three months. So, one day she asked me, ‘Mom, if I sign films, what will happen to my studies’? I told her, ‘You will need to stop studying if you decide to pursue films’. She was zero in studies. She would barely score anything. She said, ‘I don’t need to study anymore? Then please tell dad that I want to work in films,” revealed Divya’s mother. Divya’s father gave her permission to sign a film, and she never looked back again.