Richa Sharma (Sanjay Dutt’s First

        Some Lesser Known Facts About Richa Sharma

• Richa was born in India but few years after her birth, her parents shifted to New York.

• She was always fascinated by cinema since her childhood and when she was in 9th standard, she met Dev Anand in New York and expressed her wish to work with him, and after few years, Dev Anand signed her for his film ‘Hum Naujawan’ (1985).

• Before making her Bollywood debut, she was studying Architecture in New York.

• She first met Sanjay Dutt at the inauguration ceremony of his film at Hotel Sea Rock in Mumbai. Though she didn’t notice him much, he had a huge crush on her.

• Sanjay proposed to Richa in 1987 while he was shooting for a film in Ooty. Richa was initially hesitant and asked for some time, but Sanjay was impatient and bedevilled her with calls till she accepted his proposal and got married the same year in New York. 

• In late 1988, just a few months after the birth of her daughter, she was diagnosed with the terminal illness of ‘brain tumour.’

• According to media reports, Richa came to know about her husband Sanjay’s affair with Madhuri Dixit when she was going through her ‘cancer’ treatment in New York. In order to save her marriage, she returned to India with her daughter in 1992. Richa made several attempts to work things out, but Sanjay wasn’t interested and even filed for a divorce in 1993.

• Unfortunately, the same year, Richa’s tumour relapsed reappeared, and Sanjay was criticized by the media for his callousness towards Richa.

• For better treatment, she flew back to New York, whereas, Sanjay was arrested for possession of illegal arms. When Sanjay came to know about Richa’s declining health, he expressed the desire to go to New York, but the court rejected his plea. Later, he got permission to visit Richa in New York, but it was too late as she was on the verge of death, wasn’t able to recognize anyone, and wasn’t able to speak as well.

• After a long and courageous battle with ‘brain tumour,’ on 10 December 1996, she took her last breath and died at her parent’s house in New York.

• After her death, her daughter Trishala lived with her aunt (mother’s sister Enna) and her grandparents in Bayside, Queens, New York.

• In 2016, Trishala shared Richa’s letter on Instagram that she wrote when she was dying. She wrote, “We all walk together. Each one chooses their own path. I chose mine. But I am left in a dead end street. How do I go back? Do I get another chance? Time tells all. I’ll wait even if it takes long. I know deep inside there is no way I’ll be left behind. I still have hope. My guardian angel will take me some place where my dreams will be waiting. They will welcome me in with their arms open with care.”