Death ends Nivedita’s yearning for extremes

The family said Nivedita was practising catwalking in preparation for the Miss India contest when she lost her balance and fell head-first to the ground. But the night-dress she was wearing and uncertainty about the spot she fell at makes her neighbours believe something was amiss.

Born to an Assamese mother and a Jain father, 23-year-old Nivedita — her father claims she was 19 — made news both on and off screen during her short career. She won the Miss Bangalore beauty contest before being selected as a heroine for the Kannada film, Shivaranjini.

The film industry oftencomplained about the interference of her ambitious and dominating mother which frequently affected shooting schedules.

The actress was also interrogated in connection with the death of an Army officer who committed suicide three years ago, leaving a note saying he had been jilted by Nivedita.

She earned accolades for her role in Sunil Kumar Desai’s Prema Raaga Haadu Gelathi and was described as Prema Devathe (Love Goddess), with a Jain businessman even volunteering to build a "temple" housing her statue.

Her mother reportedly tried to force her into enter politics and Nivedita almost made it to the women’s wing of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee thanks to her contacts with politicians like former Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. But a campaigning stint for her film industry colleague and rival Janata Dal candidate Ambarish in the Lok Sabha elections marred her chances of making to the Congress committee.

In an interview, Nivedita had claimed she wanted to experience the extremes oflife, joy and sorrow, like Hindi filmstar Meena Kumari.