Remembering her in an old interview, Shah Rukh had said, “Divya Bharti was, I think, stunning as an actor. She was most unlike an actor, like I thought of myself. I was a serious kind of guy and she was this completely whacky, fun-loving girl.” He also shared a touching memory from the Sea Rock Hotel after dubbing for Deewana. He said, “I walked out of Sea Rock, I saw her and said hello. She looked at me and said, ‘You’re not just an actor, you’re an institution.’ I was very touched by that… I realised that it meant a lot.”

Divya’s sudden death on April 5, 1993, at just 19, left everyone in shock. Shah Rukh was in Delhi when he heard the news. He said, “I pray for her soul. I was sleeping in Delhi and they were playing my song, Aisi Deewangi. I thought I’ve become a big star… I woke up in the morning and I saw that she had died. She had fallen off from a window. It was one of the biggest shocks, because I think I was supposed to do another film with her.”

In just a few years, Divya had built a remarkable career. She began in 1990 with the Tamil film Nila Pennae and rose to fame with Vishwatma, especially for the hit song Saat Samundar. In 1992 alone, she had 12 film releases and went on to win the Filmfare Lux New Face of the Year Award for Deewana. Her passing cut short what was clearly a very bright future.

See Also: Divya Bharti’s 30th Death Anniversary: Throwback to how Shah Rukh Khan got to know about her death