Smitha was born in a Telugu family to Ramallu and Sarasamma in Kovvali village, Denduluru, Andhra Pradhesh
Smitha left school after her fourth standard due to the family's financial constraints.Smitha walked out of a forced, early marriage at the age of 14, after she was ill-treated by her husband and in-laws.Smitha started her career as a touch-up artist as she was very much interested in make-up. She soon started playing small, character rolesSmitha was spotted by the late director Vinu Chakravarthy in a flour mill near AVM studios. He named her Smitha and took her under his wing.It was Vinu Chakravarthy's wife, Karna Poo, who taught her English. Karna also arranged dance, acting and etiquette classes for Smitha.Smitha got her break in her 1980 film, Vandichakkaram, in which she portrayed the role of a bar girl. The name 'Silk' was given to her only after her character's name in this movie.After Vandichakkaram became a huge hit, became a big hit, Smitha could not escape typecasting, severely limiting her range throughout her careerSmitha's break-out performance happened in the 1982 Rajinikanth film, Moondru Mugam, which made her the ultimate symbol of sensuality in South Indian cinema.A vast majority of her movies are considered 'softcore' by Indian standards and a common theme is her playing a bikini-clad, bold agent, beating up thugs.Her acting prowess did not go completely unnoticed, and in her rare non-sexual roles she impressed critics and audiences alike. She was particularly praised by film historian Randor Guy.Her most popular film happens to be Balu Mahendra's Moondram Pirai, starring Kamal Haasan and Sridevi. The film was remade in Hindi as Sadma.In the late 1980s, Smitha's popularity was at an all-time high. Producers apparently used to wait for Smitha's dates to start the movies, before proceeding to book other actors.Such was her audience-drawing power that in the words of Randor Guy, 'Films that were in cans for years were sold for huge prices by the simple addition of a Silk Smitha song.'Smitha happened to have only a small circle of close friends. She was apparently an introvert, and did not make friends quickly with anyone.Smitha, at the peak of her career, was also known for her short temper and straightforwardness, which many mistook for arrogance.According to co-stars, Smitha was punctual (coming to movie sets before the shooting commences), and ambitious (having learned to speak English fluently despite her limited education).Smitha was also unapologetic about her career decisions, and took full ownership for the same. She had always maintained that she had nothing much to complain about in the industry.Smitha was also described as having a 'soft-spoken' and 'child-like' personality by her friends and colleagues.In the morning of September 23, 1996, Smitha was found dead in her Chennai home, much to the shock of the industry. The reason behind her death remains a mystery.That morning, Smitha had contacted her friend, dancer Anuradha, to discuss a matter that was disturbing her. Anuradha said she will visit, after dropping her child at school.When Anuradha visited Smitha's home, she was found dead. Some believe that her decision was due to depression over her debt accumulated from producing movies.A few months after Smitha's death, it was declared in the postmortem report that Smitha died of suicide by hanging herself from a fan with a sari.A Bollywood film dedicated to Smitha's life was released in 2011, which starred Vidya Balan. Directed by Milan Luthria, the film was called The Dirty Picture.The Dirty Picture was released on Smitha's birthday along with its dubbed versions in Tamil and Telugu (Dec 2, 2011) and received favourable reviews.Vidya Balan won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of the bold actress.The family of Silk Smitha, however, were not happy with her depiction in The Dirty Picture. Smitha's brother NagaVara Prasad claimed the film was made without the family's consent.Interestingly, The Dirty Picture's producer, Ekta Kapoor, changed her statement by quoting 'The film is not based on Silk Smitha's life,' after the family's claims.In 2013, a Kannada film titled Dirty Picture, starring Pakistani actress Veena Malik, was released. The film was based on Silk Smitha's life and Veena Malik was praised for her performance.A Malayalam film, titled Climax, starring Sana Khan as Silk Smitha also released in 2013In a career spanning 17 years, she appeared in over 450 films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi languages