Who was Taruni Sachdev? Vinayan recalls the ‘Vellinakshatram’ child actor

Director Vinayan recently looked back on his memories of child actor Taruni Sachdev, who played Prithviraj’s daughter in his 2004 horror film ‘Vellinakshatram’. Taruni made her Malayalam cinema debut through Vinayan’s own film and, in the same year, went on to portray Prithviraj’s daughter once again in ‘Sathyam’, also directed by him. Vinayan shared his recollection along with a photograph from the sets of ‘Vellinakshatram’, featuring a young Taruni.

“Taruni acted in my film ‘Vellinakshatram’ when she was just four years old. In the same year, she also appeared in ‘Sathyam’. In both films, Prithviraj was the hero. That extraordinary child, blessed with a natural acting charm that surprised everyone, passed away along with her mother Geeta in a helicopter crash in Nepal in 2012, when she was only 14,” Vinayan wrote.

Taruni began her acting journey through advertisements before stepping into films at a very young age. Her performance in ‘Vellinakshatram’, especially the song ‘Kookuru Kukku Kurukkan’, remains fondly remembered and continues to be popular among children even today. With just one Malayalam film, she became a familiar face. Born on May 14, 1998, in Mumbai, Taruni was the daughter of businessman Harish Sachdev and Geetha. Following ‘Vellinakshatram’, she went on to act in several other films across languages.

After appearing alongside Karisma Kapoor in a Rasna advertisement, Taruni became widely known as the “Rasna girl”. This recognition led director R. Balki to cast her in Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Paa’. In the film, Amitabh played a child affected by progeria, a rare condition that causes accelerated ageing, and Taruni appeared as his friend. Her final on-screen appearance was in the Tamil thriller ‘Vetri Selvan’, which was released in 2014. She had completed most of her key scenes before her untimely death, and the film was released posthumously.

On May 14, 2012, her 14th birthday, Taruni was travelling with her mother Geeta from Pokhara to the tourist town of Jomsom in Nepal on an Agni Air Dornier 228 aircraft when it crashed, claiming both their lives. The bodies were later brought to Mumbai, where the last rites were held on May 16. Nearly 20 passengers lost their lives in the tragic accident.