In the 90s, the term ‘star kid’ had not quite entered the Bollywood lexicon. But children of former actors and filmmakers had been trying their luck in films increasingly. Many of them were successful while others faded away. Among them was this one actress, who made more news for her off-screen controversies than her on-screen work, and the biggest of them all was her legal tussle with a future superstar.
The star kid who claimed she was a hero’s wife
Vastavikta Pandit is the daughter of the late Raaj Kumar. The actress lived a sheltered life as a kid, along with her two brothers Puru and Panini. It was only after the death of her father that she entered public life. She was first seen at the launch of her brother Puru’s film in 1996 and then entered films herself but was not successful, appearing in only a handful of flop films. Lawrence D'Souza, who directed her in the 2000 film titled Dil Bhi Kya Cheez Hai, once said, "I signed her for the film because she was Rajkumar's daughter. However, she failed to impress in front of the camera. I had to drop her after a few days of shooting."
Trouble began for Vastavikta because of her alleged obsession with Shahid Kapoor, whom she met at Shiamak Davar’s acting studio. She began calling herself his number one fan and allegedly stalked him too. In 2012, Shahid even filed a complaint at Mumbai’s Versova police station, where he said that Vastavikta Pandit had been harassing him. He claimed that when he leaves his house, Vastavikta often blocked his way and sat on his car’s bonnet, repeating that she is his biggest fan. "She moved into a house next to his building, introduces herself as his wife, blocks his car’s path and even follows him to his shoots," a source had told PTI then.
Vastavikta Pandit’s disappearance
Soon after Shahid’s complaint, the matter grew to become a national talking point. Vastavikta grew more reclusive and stopped appearing in public. The police were unable to trace her after several attempts as per reports and they tagged her as missing. Many in the industry would call Vastavikta ‘psychotic’ but without record of any history of mental illness.
