Taruni Sachdev | |
---|---|
Born |
Mumbai, India |
14 May 1998
Died | 14 May 2012 Jomsom, Nepal |
(aged 14)
Other names | Rasna Girl |
Occupation | Model, actress |
Years active | 2003–2012 |
Parent(s) | Haresh Sachdev Geeta Sachdev |
Taruni Sachdev (14 May 1998 – 14 May 2012) was an Indian model and child actress, best known for her work in television advertisements and films. She made appearances in Rasna advertisements and the Bollywood film Paa (2009), playing Amitabh Bachchan's classmate.
Taruni Sachdev was born in Mumbai to a city-based industrialist, Haresh Sachdev and his wife Geeta Sachdev. She did her schooling at Bai Avabai Framji Petit Girls High School in Bandra, Mumbai. Taruni's mother was a congregation devotee member at the Radha Gopinath Temple of ISKCON (Hare Krishna movement), Mumbai. Taruni also performed in dramas at the temple festivals.
Taruni acted in several television advertisements for products such as Rasna, Colgate, ICICI Bank, Reliance Mobile, LG, Coffee Bite, Gold Winner, Shakti Masala, Star Flush Dreams. She was one of the busiest child models in the industry and has acted along with Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Vidya Balan in the Hindi film Paa (2009). She also starred in two Malayalam films: Vellinakshtram (2004) and Sathyam (2004). She was the highest paid child artist of her time with over 50 commercials to her credit and is most remembered for her appearance as the Rasna girl alongside Karishma Kapoor.
Taruni Sachdev died in the Agni Air Flight CHT plane crash in Nepal, on 14 May 2012, her 14th birthday. Taruni's mother Geetha Sachdev who accompanied her on the flight also died. Before Taruni left on 11 May 2012 for the Nepal trip, she hugged all her friends, saying, "I'm meeting you guys for the last time". Though it was a light-hearted joke, according to her classmates, Taruni had "never hugged her friends or sent them goodbye messages before leaving for any of her earlier trips..." The last message Taruni sent to her best friend before boarding the flight was jokingly asking what would happen if the plane crashed, followed by "I love you."