Geeta Bali contracted smallpox while shooting the Punjabi film Rano, which she had insisted on completing, and died within days in January 1965 at just 34.
- Film
- Rano (left incomplete)
- Cause
- Smallpox
- Died
- 21 January 1965, aged 34
In her final years Geeta Bali committed to a Punjabi production, Rano, and was determined to see the shooting through. During the making of the film she caught smallpox, a disease still often fatal at the time.
It is widely recounted that she had continued working when her health demanded rest, and the illness overwhelmed her quickly. She died on 21 January 1965, aged 34, and the film was left unfinished — one of Hindi cinema's most poignant what-ifs, ending a career and a young family's happiness in a matter of days.
Sources
This page is an informational summary drawn from public reporting. Sensitive or disputed incidents are described as alleged; legal matters reflect the outcomes reported at the time, and the canonical account always rests with the linked sources.