Shocking suicides: Actors who stunned us with their sudden exits

Actors often get caught in a world of fake; it's like a race for fame and stardom, although it's fleeting.

While a few get exhausted even before the race starts, some manage to run smooth and take the cup in all its glory, or rather make it seem so.

Here, Onmanorama lists out a few celebrities who chose to give up the race way too early.

Silk Smitha

Known for her bold roles, Silk Smitha committed suicide by hanging herself in her house to the ceiling fan. She had left a suicide note, which said she ended her life owing to a failed love affair and some financial crisis. She was also affected by alcoholism.

Sreenath

Sreenath was a popular Malayalam film and television actor who had acted in many hit films, including Shalini Ente Koottukari, Oru CBI Diary Kurippu, Kireedam. The actor was found dead in a hotel room. Rumour mills suggest that family issues and pressure from the film industry were the reason of his suicide.

Shobha

South Indian film actress Shobha had started her career as a child artiste in Tamil film Thattungal Thirakkappadum and later won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her role in the Tamil film Pasi at the age of 17. Reports suggest that Shoba was in a relationship with prominent director Balu Mahendra after becoming a lead actress and got married. She ended her life as their relationship was on the verge of separation.

Mayoori

Well-known in South India, actress Mayoori was much noted for her roles. As per reports, she wrote a letter to her brother, saying she lost faith in life. Love failure and career-related stress were later cited as the reasons for her sudden demise.

Jiah Khan

Tagged as a bubbly actress, Jiah Khan awed audience with her debut movie Nishabd. Reportedly, Jiah was dating actor Sooraj Pancholi and had problems in love life. She was found hanging in her Juhu apartment by her mother and her sister. The actress was allegedly depressed and thought that she was failing at everything.

Divya Bharathi

Divya was widely recognised as one of the finest actresses of her time. She started to get offers in films as early as 14 years of age, making her debut at age 16 with a lead role in a Telugu film. She died at the helm of her career in 1993 at the tender age of 19. She was found dead after she fell from the window of her fifth floor flat. Some say it was suicide because of a broken heart and some say she just fell. Her cause of falling was never officially confirmed.

Guru Dutt

Guru Dutt, often referred to as 'India's Orson Welle', was among the greatest film director and actor of all time. He had a failed relationship with his wife Geeta Dutt and actress Waheeda Rehman with whom he was having an affair. He was found dead in his house, which was caused by a lethal combination of sleeping pills combined with liquor.

Prince

Prince, popularly known as Nandu, was the youngest brother in the family of Uruvashi, Kalpana and Kalaranjini. Prince died at the age of 27 and the reason is still not confirmed. While some claim it was a love failure, some reports suggest that he went into depression after acting in a soft-porn movie (Layanam) and became a drug addict.