‘Cursed’ TV show led by 3 women was scarred by tragedy when 2 actresses died, third left showbiz forever; ex-Miss India Nafisa Joseph prayed for ‘peace’

Nafisa Joseph was Miss India, later became a MTV VJ

Nafisa Joseph, who led the show CATS, was a popular model and VJ before she appeared on the show. Nafisa had won the Miss India pageant in 1997, and went on to compete in the Miss Universe the same year. She qualified till the top 10 of the pageant. At this time, Nafisa wanted to pursue a degree in law and work in human resource development for her “basic concern for humanity and the poor and downtrodden,” she said at Miss Universe. She was extremely concerned about the poverty plaguing India and when asked about the “biggest injustice” in the world, Nafisa said that it was “to bring a child into the world and not even be able to offer him/her peace.”

Nafisa Joseph was Miss India 1997. She later became a VJ on MTV. (Photo: Express Archives)

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Upon returning to India after Miss Universe, Nafisa got a lot of love from the entertainment and modelling industry. During an appearance on Shekhar Suman’s Movers and Shakers, Nafisa said that she was convinced by others to participate in the pageant and gave in because she was “curious to know about the life of a Miss India.” Though she did admit that she was “scared” and wondered where her life would take her next.

Shortly after her Miss India tenure, Nafisa was called in to judge the VJ hunt at MTV India but, surprisingly, they ended up hiring her as a VJ. She appeared on the music channel during the era when the likes of Mini Mathur, Maria Goretti, Cyrus Broacha, Malaika Arora also appeared on the channel. She hosted several shows here and was quite popular among the youth.

Nafisa passed away at 26 in 2004

It was during this time that Nafisa started getting some acting roles as well and she was then seen in the Sony TV show CATS. In a chat with India Today at the time, she said, “If CATS does well, I might consider theatre because I’ve heard true actors come from there.” The show went on for 32 episodes and since the show was aired weekly, the show aired for a little over seven months.

Three years after CATS, in 2004, Nafisa died at her home in Mumbai due to suicide. She was engaged to businessman Gautam Khanduja at the time and the two were supposed to get married the next month. Before this, she had been briefly engaged to actor Sameer Malhotra.

Nafisa Joseph passed away at 26.

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Kuljeet Randhawa and Nafisa Joseph were best friends

Nafisa’s death sent shockwaves across the industry, with her friends and peers mourning her passing. Kuljeet Randhawa, who was her co-star on CATS, was deeply shocked after Nafisa’s untimely passing as the two had become best friends during the shoot of CATS. Kuljeet’s career was on the rise, just like Nafisa, and unfortunately, like her best friend, she too passed away, two years later.

Kuljeet did her graduation in Psychology from Delhi University and started her career with the popular television show Hip Hip Hurray. She shot to fame with CATS, and later, she appeared on the Star One show Special Squad. It was on this show that she met Bhanu Uday and the two started dating each other.

Kuljeet died in 2006 at 30

Special Squad was on air during the Remix and Sarabhai vs Sarabhai era of the channel and gathered a significant following. Kuljeet was the lead actress on the show but following a change by the producers, actor Gauri Pradhan was brought in. Six episodes later, Kuljeet quit the show. At the time, it was suggested that she had quit because of Gauri but she later clarified that Gauri had been extremely warm with her, and implied that her disagreement was with the producers. She then grabbed a lead role on Sahara One’s Kohinoor and finished shooting her debut film.

In 2006, at the age of 30, Kuljeet died by suicide at her home in Mumbai. At the time, her boyfriend Bhanu Uday was not in the city and he could not arrive for her funeral. Kuljeet left a note where she implied that Bhanu had nothing to do with her actions.

Malini Sharma in CATS. (Photo: Express Archives)

Malini Sharma left the entertainment industry despite early fame

Not just Nafisa and Kuljeet, the third woman from the trio, Malini Sharma, also got some fame in the early 2000s. Malini first stepped into the spotlight after she appeared in the Bombay Vikings music video “Kya Soorat Hai”, which became an instant hit. She then appeared in Mika Singh’s music video “Sawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag”, which continues to be quite popular.

When Malini landed CATS, her career was rising as a model and she tried to make her mark as an actor. And it appeared that CATS was helping her in establishing herself as it was partly due to this show that she got a pivotal role in Vikram Bhatt’s Raaz, that turned Bipasha Basu and Dino Morea into overnight sensations. Malini had a small role here but she left an impact.

At this time, Malini had gotten married to actor Priyanshu Chatterjee, who had made his debut with Tum Bin. The two stayed married for a short time, and divorced shortly after. But, despite all the success that was coming her way, Malini left the world of showbiz. She reportedly worked as an art director on Rani Mukerjee and Saif Ali Khan-starrer Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, but was never seen in front of the camera again.

The three women were loved on CATS but with the tragedies that happened in the years after the show, they have become a part of one of Indian television’s forgotten chapters.