V. J. Chitra

Chitra Kamaraj (2 May 1992 – 9 December 2020), better known as V. J. Chitra, was an Indian television actress and anchor.^[1] She rose to fame with her role in the Tamil soap opera Pandian Stores, and made her film acting debut in Calls (2021). She is known well for her appearance in shows such as Vilayadu Vaagai Soodu (2012), Sattam Solvathu Enna? (2013), Saravanan Meenatchi (season 2) (2013–16), Nodiku Nodi Athiradi (2014), Oor Suthalaam Vaanga (2014), Mannan Magal (2014), En Samayal Araiyil (2014), Ossthi Comedy Kusthi (2014), Ring O Ring (2014), Chinna Papa Periya Papa (2014–18), Darling Darling (2016–17), Dance Jodi Dance Season 1 (2016–17), Saravanan Meenatchi (season 3) (2017), Velunachi (2018) and Pandian Stores (2018–20).

V. J. Chitra
Born	Chitra Kamaraj (1992-05-02)2 May 1992 Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Died	9 December 2020(2020-12-09) (aged 28) Nazarethpettai, Tamil Nadu, India
Cause of death	Suicide by hanging
Education	Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed College for women (2012–2014)
Occupations	Television actress Video jockey Anchor
Years active	2013–2020

On 9 December 2020, Chitra was found dead in a hotel room in Nazarethpettai in an apparent Suicide by hanging. On 15 December 2020, her husband Hemanth Ravi was arrested and charged with helping her commit suicide. Police are still currently investigating the case.

Career

Chitra Kamaraj was born on 2 May 1992 in Chennai. Before becoming a full-time actor, she was a television host.^[2] After seeing Chitra host a television show, Radhika reached out with an offer for her to act in Chinna Papa Periya Papa (2016) alongside actresses Nirosha and Nalini. The success of the series prompted her to sign up for other shows including Saravanan Meenatchi, Velunachi. In Pandian Stores, Chitra portrayed the character Mullai, the role was replaced by Kaavya Arivumani after her death, and later by Laavanya^[3]

Chitra signed on to appear in her first film role in mid-2019 through Calls (2021). The film would feature her as a business process outsourcing professional and was shot in late 2019.^[3] It also marked her only film appearance.^[4]

Personal life

Chitra got engaged to Hemanth Ravi, a businessman, in August 2020 and got register married in October 2020. Her wedding was scheduled to be in February 2021 before her death.^[5]

Filmography

Television performances

List of performances on television

Year	Title	Role(s)	Channel(s)
2012	Vilayadu Vaagai Soodu	Anchor	Makkal TV
2013	Sattam Solvathu Enna?
2013–16	Saravanan Meenatchi (season 2)	Kalaiyarasi (Vettaiyan's Friend)	Star Vijay
2014	Nodiku Nodi Athiradi	Anchor	Makkal TV
	Oor Suthalaam Vaanga
	Mannan Magal	Vishali	Jaya TV
	En Samayal Araiyil	Anchor	Makkal TV
	Ossthi Comedy Kusthi		Raadan
	Ring O Ring	Contestant	Vendhar TV
2014–18	Chinna Papa Periya Papa Season 1 & 2	Periya Papa	Sun TV
2015	Saa Boo Thri Season 2	Anchor	Vendhar TV
	Jill Jung Juk
2016–17	Darling Darling	Anitha (Honey)	Zee Tamil
2016–17	Dance Jodi Dance Season 1	contestant
2016–17	Nanbenda	Participant
2016–18	Aaha Maamiyar Oho Marumagal	Anchor
2017	Saravanan Meenatchi (season 3)	Ghost (Special Appearance)	Star Vijay
	Zee Dance League	Contestant	Zee Tamil
2017–18	Anjarai Petty	Host
2018	Velunachi[6][7]	Velunachi	Colors Tamil
2018–19	Jodi Fun Unlimited	Contestant	Star Vijay
2018–20	Pandian Stores[8]	Mullai
2019	Raja Rani (Season1)	Mullai (special appearance)
	Vasool Vettai	Anchor
2020	Bharathi Kannamma	Mullai (special appearance)

Film appearance

List of performances in film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2021	Calls	Nandhini	Posthumous Release
2023	Parivarthanai	Naveen's mother	Posthumous Release (Photo presence)

Awards

These awards were awarded posthumously.

Year	Artist/Work	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2021	Chithra	Behindwoods Gold Icons	Most Celebrated Actress On Television	Won	[9]
		Femina Awards	Super Daughter	Won	[10]
	Pandiyan Stores	Vijay Television Awards	Makkalin Naayagi	Won
			Best Actress	Nominated
			Best Marumagal	Nominated
			Best Daughter	Nominated
			Best On Screen Pair	Nominated
2021	Life Time Achievement	Vijay Television Awards	Makkalin Nayagi (People's Actress)	Won

Death

On 9 December 2020, Chitra was found dead in a hotel room in Nazarethpettai at 9:32 am. Reports and autopsy results suggest that Chitra died from suicide by hanging.^[11][12] On 15 December 2020, her husband Hemanth Ravi was suspected was later arrested and charged with criminal offenses. However police officers are still currently investigating the whole case.^[13]

References

1. "Velunachi to go off-air soon". The Times of India. 24 July 2018. Archived from the original on 22 November 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
2. "Who is VJ Chitra? All you need to know about Tamil TV actress who committed suicide". The Free Press Journal. 9 December 2020. Archived from the original on 9 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
3. CR, Sharanya (18 September 2019). "Chithu to make her film debut". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
4. "VJ Chithu's debut film to release in Jan". The Times of India. 14 December 2020. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
5. "TV actress Chithu is engaged to a businessman". The Times of India. 26 August 2020. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
6. "Velunachi fame Chithra has a hidden talent; Watch the video". The Times of India. 4 September 2018. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
7. "Velunachi actress Chithra learns to climb trees". The Times of India. timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
8. "Pandian Stores crosses 200 episodes milestone". The Times of India. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
9. VJ Chitra Wins Most Celebrated Actress On Television Award 🔥 - Behindwoods Gold Icons 2021 | Chithu, 7 March 2021, retrieved 23 June 2021
10. சற்றுமுன் 2021க்கான சிறந்த மகள் விருது பெற்ற VJ சித்ரா Chithu won award 2021 best daughter, 22 March 2021, retrieved 23 June 2021
11. "Popular TV actor and host VJ Chitra found dead in Chennai hotel room". The News Minute. 9 December 2020. Archived from the original on 9 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
12. Chellappan, Kumar (13 December 2020). "Suicide by actresses raises safety concerns in South Indian film industry". The Pioneer. Archived from the original on 13 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
13. "Chitra's husband Hemanth arrested". The Indian Express. 15 December 2020. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.