In Remembrance: Soundarya

     Soundarya, the Indian actress who had appeared in approximately 100 films has passed away on Saturday April 17, 2004. She was 32.

     Soundarya, who had been campaigning for Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party, was among four persons killed when their small plane crashed moments after take off from an airstrip outside of Bangalore in southern India. She had been on her way to an election rally in the Karimnagar district of Andhra Pradesh state. The cause of the crash is currently under investigation, although eyewitnesses claim that aircraft caught fire shortly after takeoff.

     Born Sowmya on July 18, 1971 in Bangalore, India she dropped out of medical school to pursue a career in acting in 1992. Her father was noted Kannada-language producer and director Satyanarayana.

     In 2002 she won the Indian national award for producing and starring in Dweepa, a film about the clash between modern society and traditional values.

     In April 2003, she married Raghu Sridhar, a software engineer. In deference to standard Indian film production convention, she continued to act after her marriage.