Viveka Babajee
Viveka Babajee | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Viveka Babajee 27 May 1973 |
| Died | 25 June 2010 (aged 37) |
| Modeling information | |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Hair color | Brown |
| Eye color | Black |
Viveka Babajee (27 May 1973 – 25 June 2010) was a Mauritian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder. She held the titles of Miss Mauritius World 1993 and Miss Mauritius Universe 1994.[1][2] She was best known for her KamaSutra condom advertisements in the 1990s,[3] and for her involvement in the 1994 Manila Film Festival scandal.[4]
Babajee was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her apartment on 25 June 2010, at her Bandra residence in Mumbai. Police reports stated that she committed suicide due to depression.
Early life
[edit]The youngest of four sisters, Babajee was born in Port Louis, Mauritius on 27 May 1973.[citation needed] Her mother was Maharashtrian and was born in Hyderabad. Babajee moved to India in the mid-1990s.[citation needed]
Pageantry
[edit]Babajee represented Mauritius in the Miss World 1993 pageant in South Africa and in the Miss Universe 1994 pageant held in the Philippines. Following the latter event, she stayed on in Manila as a guest of her fellow pageant competitor Ruffa Gutierrez and cohosted the awarding ceremonies of the 1994 edition of the Manila Film Festival, during which she was embroiled in a scandal over results tampering with Gutierrez and several others that saw her announce the wrong set of winners. She subsequently left the Philippines after being vilified by the local press and declared persona non grata in Manila but maintained that she was manipulated into participating in the incident.[5][6][7]
Career
[edit]Babajee achieved success in India with KamaSutra condoms commercials. She also participated in music videos for Daler Mehndi's "Boom Boom", Harbhajan Mann's "Hai Meri Billo" and Abbey's "Phir Se". In 2009, her company, Cream Events, achieved success with the help of her ex-boyfriend and business partner, Kartik Jobanputra. She later broke all ties with Cream Events.
As a model, Babajee walked the ramp for top designers including Ritu Kumar, Ritu Beri, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, Rohit Bal, Suneet Varma, JJ Valaya, Tarun Tahiliani, and many others. In January 2010, she started her own event management business and managed projects like the Arjun Khanna show by Taj Colaba. Her company was named "VIBGYOR ENT" (Lifestyle and Boutik Events). VIBGYOR is an acronym for the seven colours of the rainbow (Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange & Red).
Viveka Babajee had been an anchor for FTV India. She made her debut film appearance in Yeh Kaisi Mohabbat, co-starring with Deeksha and Krishna, released in 2002. Even though the movie did poorly at the box office, Babajee's performance did not go unnoticed.
Death
[edit]She was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her apartment on 25 June 2010, at her Bandra residence in Mumbai. The police reports stated that Babajee committed suicide due to depression. The last entry in her diary, which was found next to her body, said, "you killed me, Gautam Vohra,"[8] and unconfirmed reports stated that she became depressed after separating from her boyfriend, Gautam Vohra.[9] However, in 2012, the case was re-opened by police after Vohra was arrested in connection with a murder case.[10]
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Film | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Yeh Kaisi Mohabbat | Priya Thakral | Hindi | Bollywood debut |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "List of Former Miss Mauritius World". Miss Mauritius Organisation. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ "List of Former Miss Mauritius Universe". Miss Mauritius Organisation. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ "Rare Kamasutra Condom Ad". YouTube. 27 June 2010. Archived from the original (VID) on 13 September 2021.
- ^ Requintina, Robert R (26 June 2010). "Supermodel-actress Viveka Babajee hangs self in India". Manila Bulletin.
- ^ Lo, Ricky (29 June 2010). "FUNFARE: Miss Mauritius: I'm also a victim". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ Sison, Bebot Jr.; Suerte Felipe, Cecile (2 July 2002). "Court junks raps vs Ruffa". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ Guerrero, Eileen (29 June 1994). "Seven Charged in Philippine Movie Scandal". Associated Press. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ "A nightmare birthday for Gautam Vohra". Archived from the original on 12 January 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ "Facebook messages provide new leads in Viveka case", 13 August 2010, NDTV
- ^ "Who wrote Viveka Babajee's 'suicide letter'?". NDTV. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
External links
[edit]
- 1973 births
- 2010 deaths
- People from Port Louis District
- Mauritian emigrants to India
- Mauritian expatriates in India
- Expatriate actresses in India
- Actresses from Mumbai
- People from Bandra
- Female models from Mumbai
- Mauritian beauty pageant winners
- Mauritian businesspeople
- Mauritian actresses
- Mauritian female models
- Mauritian people of Indian descent
- Mauritian people of Marathi descent
- Mauritian women in business
- Actresses in Hindi cinema
- Actresses of Indian descent
- Female models of Indian descent
- Miss Universe 1994 contestants
- Miss World 1993 delegates
- Suicides by hanging in India
- 2010 suicides
- 20th-century Mauritian people
- 21st-century Mauritian people
- Artists who died by suicide