Child artist Taruni Sachdev — better known as the ‘Rasna girl' — and her mother Geeta who died in the plane crash in Jomsom, Nepal, were cremated in Mumbai on Wednesday.
“She was cremated yesterday at 5.30 p.m. in the Santa Cruz crematorium,” her cousin Rahul Bajaj told The Hindu on the phone.
Fourteen-year-old Taruni had gone with her mother on a pilgrimage to Nepal. “She had no plans to be an actress. She wanted to be a fashion designer. She was an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna,” Mr. Bajaj said. The actor did a cameo in the national awarding winning Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Paa. She played the role of Auro's (Mr. Bachchan's character) friend.
Bollywood personalities were not seen at the funeral.
Taruni has featured in a number of ads. She has worked with many A-list Bollywood actors such as Karisma Kapoor and Vidya Balan. She also starred in two Malayalam films.
“She has done some 50 advertisements. She has done Tamil advertisements as well. She always had a smile on her face. She had love for everyone,” Mr. Bajaj said.
Taruni's smile and happy disposition was what made an impression on her schoolmate Tara Sutaria. “Many years ago, we shot for a detergent advertisement together. She was two years younger than I and she was really sweet. And aunty [Taruni's mother Geeta] dropped me home… I was scared since it was my first advertisement, but she made me feel comfortable. We have also dubbed together for a few advertisements, including some Tamil ones,” Tara told TheHindu on the phone.
“At school,” said Tara, “Taruni was the star of her class since she had acted in films.” The most memorable aspect of her personality was that “she was never upset. She was always happy,” recalled Tara.
