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Silk Smitha

What is silk smitha?

· Emily Grant

Key facts

Birth name Vijayalakshmi Vadlapati[1]
Birth date 2 December 1960[1]
Death date 23 September 1996[1]
Film industries Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi[1]

Silk Smitha was the stage name of Vijayalakshmi Vadlapati, an Indian actress and dancer known for her work in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi films, and a major sex symbol of 1980s and early-1990s South Indian cinema.

Context

Silk Smitha, born Vijayalakshmi Vadlapati, became one of India's most popular sex symbols during the 1980s and early 1990s [1]. Her screen name 'Silk' came from the 1979 Tamil film *Vandichakkaram* [2]. She was found dead in her bedroom in 1996 in a case of suspected suicide [2]. The 2011 film *The Dirty Picture* was based on her life [2].

Documented claims

  • Silk Smitha was a major sex symbol of 1980s and early-1990s South Indian cinema. [1]
  • She was a key figure in the Malayalam softcore film genre in the late 1980s. [1]

Questions and answers

How did Silk Smitha get her stage name?

Her screen name 'Silk' came from the 1979 Tamil film *Vandichakkaram* [2].

When and how did Silk Smitha die?

She was found dead in her bedroom in 1996 in a case of suspected suicide [2]. Times of India reports she was found hanging by her sari from a ceiling fan on 23 September 1996 [3].

Sources

  1. Silk Smitha(1960-1996) — imdb.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)
  2. Silk Smitha: The silukku route - Times of India — timesofindia.indiatimes.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)
  3. Silk Smitha — en.wikipedia.org (retrieved August 3, 2026)

Sources last checked August 3, 2026. · More in People