actor

Silk Smitha (born Vijayalakshmi Vadlapati; December 2, 1960 – September 23, 1996) was an Indian actress who appeared in over 450 films across Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi cinema. After early appearances in Malayalam films such as *Inaye Thedi* (1979) and *Karimpana* (1980), she adopted the screen name Silk following her role as a bar girl in the Tamil film *Vandichakkaram* (1980).

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Smitha was frequently cast in featured dance numbers and dramatic supporting roles. Her notable credits include *Moondram Pirai* (1982) and its Hindi remake *Sadma* (1983), *Sakalakala Vallavan* (1982), *Kozhi Koovuthu* (1982), *Khaidi* (1983), *Challenge* (1984), *Layanam* (1989), *Aditya 369* (1991), and *Spadikam* (1995). Her final film appearances were released posthumously in 1996.