This actress won National Award at young age, became superstar, died tragically at 17, life got ruined due to..

Mahalakshmi Menon, popularly known by her stage name Shoba, was a yesteryear Indian actress widely appreciated for her work in the Malayalam and Tamil film industry. Shoba made her debut as a child artist in the Tamil thriller film Thattungal Thirakkappadum. Over the course of her short but impactful career, Shoba won many awards, but after her marriage, Shoba's career lost its charm. Today, we will tell you her story. Shoba was born to Malayali parents in Madras. She began her career at the age of 3 or 4 with Thattungal Thirakkappadum. She got her breakthrough as the main lead actress in the 1978 Malayalam film Uthrada Rathri.

Shoba, to this day, is considered to be one of the most accomplished actresses in Indian history. At the age of 17, she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her role in the 1979 Tamil film Pasi. She also received three Kerala State Film Awards: for Best Actress (1978), Best Supporting Actress (1977) and Best Child Artist (1971); and two Filmfare Awards South for Best Actress in Kannada (1978) and Tamil (1979) films. 

But, despite all the success in her professional life, Shoba's personal life was riddled with worry and ultimately met a tragic end. 

Have you heard of South filmmaker Balu Mahendra, who directed Sridevi and Kamal Haasan's film Sadma in 1983? It is important to note that Balu Mahendra, the man who directed this tragic love story, was Shoba's husband, accused of 'murdering' his wife.

Ever since Shoba made her debut, she was considered to be the next big superstar. However, sadly, Shoba's career was cut tragically short when she committed suicide due to unknown reasons in 1980, at the age of 17. 

Shoba had fallen in love with married filmmaker Balu Mahendra who was also 26 years older than her. Shoba went on to marry him by going against her family. To this date, Shoba's death remains a mystery, with her husband also being accused of her murder. Whether Shoba's death was suicide or a conspiracy, we will never know. With what information we have, Shoba committed suicide by hanging herself at the age of 17.
 
The 1983 Malayalam film Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback directed by K. G. George is loosely based on her life and death.

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