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Chennai, May 18: Continuing the recent trend in Tamil film industry, Kollywood of actors and television artistes ending their lives, one more TV artiste, Shraddha, allegedly committed suicide.

Shraddha committed suicide by hanging herself at her Kotturpuram residence in Chennai.

Shraddha, a 21-year-old artiste was a part of several mega serials.

According to police, she was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her River Dale Apartments at Kottur Gardens on Wednesday morning.

The incident comes close on the heels of another television star Vaishnavi, who allegedly committed suicide after being dumped by her co-star lover Dev Anand.

Police said Shraddha killed herself on Tuesday night. The exact reason for the extreme step was not known.

She left a suicide note addressed to her parents saying, "I don't deserve to be your daughter."

A senior police official said investigation was on in the case. Deputy Commissioner Pari and Assistant Commissioner Balachandran have started their work on the case.

But according to her parents, she was given to frequent emotional outbursts and used to quarrel with them on her education plans. She might have taken the extreme step due to frustration, they said.

Shraddha had acted in popular serials like Kolangal currently being aired on Sun TV and Kalki on Jaya TV.

Apart from pursuing M Sc Bio-Informatics from a city college she was also working as an executive with a garment company.

Shraddha's body was sent for post-mortem to the Government Royapettah Hospital in the city.

The police are investigating from several angles to ascertain whether it was a case of love failure.

The death of Shraddha yet again brings to the fore the painful and dark side of the tinsel world.

Actresses and suicides

by Meher Khanna - TVpoint

Chennai: Shraddha Vishwanath was just three months away from tying the knot but she chose the noose instead. Suicide is something that the world of glamour knows only too well. Only last month, Vaishnavi ended her life by hanging herself at her residence in Anna Nagar in Chennai.

Now, Shraddha Vishwanath (21), a B.Sc Microbiology student, was found hanging from the fan of her room on Wednesday night, at her Kotturpuram residence in Chennai, a suicide note found near her held none responsible for the extreme step.

Shraddha had acted in popular serials like Kolangal currently being aired on Sun TV and on Kalki, which airs on Jaya TV. The police are investigating from several angles to ascertain whether it was a case of love failure.

Often, below the laughter and the tinsel is a brittleness that cannot cope with the fame and publicity. No celebrity industry is immune but a look at the history of South Indian cinema shows that suicide has reaped a bitter harvest here.

Also, note in Feb, this year television actor and model Kuljeet Randhawa committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling fan of her Juhu apartment. Randhawa (29) left behind a two-page suicide note saying she was taking the drastic step since she couldn’t cope with life’s pressures.

Behind the screen: Thin red line between glamour, tragedy

NewIndPress

Chennai: Television star Shradha’s suicide on Wednesday has yet again unmasked the pain and stress concealed behind the glamorous faces that make an unfailing appearance in the drawing rooms of millions of households everyday.

Charukesh, Shalini, Vaishnavi and now Shradha - the list of television artistes who ended their lives prematurely, only seems to be growing.

According to Film News Anandan, Kollywood’s most well known public relations officer and film chronicler, ‘‘these suicides only strengthen the fact that far from being glamorous, the stars become victims of insecurity and loneliness.’’

Tracing the history of suicides in filmdom, he said the first death which made headlines was that of the gifted Shoba, who had ended her life in the late eighties after a strained marriage with ace director Balu Mahendra. She had taken the extreme step on the day her much acclaimed film Pasi was to receive an award.

Fatafat Jayalakshmi who had not flinched to do some daring scenes in those days was the next to follow after a failed love affair. And then came the untimely deaths of Silk Smitha, Monal (Simran’s sister), Viji, Kalpana, Mayura and others.

C R Celin, a psychiatrist who had counselled some of the stars, said ‘‘Self-pity and loneliness sets in very soon in the minds of these actors. Although they show symptoms of depression and also express their intention to commit suicide, it is more often than not ignored by the family members and friends. They have no one to turn to.’’

Due to insecurity and mental imbalance, they easily fall prey to anyone who gives them some attention and mistake it for love. ‘‘Whether it is due to a void that has been created in their lives or anything else, the actors have to realise that they have every reason to live,’’ she added.