Darlings actor Divya Vinekar passes away

Divya Vinekar, the actor many Hindi film fans will remember as the female constable in Alia Bhatt and Shefali Shah’s Darlings, has died. The news was shared on Instagram by RJ Rohini Ramnathan, a friend and former Fever FM colleague, in an emotional note that asked people not to overwhelm Vinekar’s family while they grieve.

A sudden loss for family and colleagues

Ramnathan wrote that Vinekar’s death “was sudden and unexpected” and said those close to her were still processing the news. No cause of death has been confirmed. She asked people to avoid enquiries in the immediate aftermath and said a cremation would be held at 10 am at Shivaji Park Hindu Crematorium for those who wished to pay their respects.

In the post, Ramnathan described Vinekar as “a pillar to me personally and professionally for all of us at Fever FM.” She praised her work ethic, kindness and knowledge, writing that those qualities made her “one of her kind.”

Why Darlings and Jalsa viewers will know her

Vinekar appeared as a female constable in Darlings, the 2022 dark comedy-drama directed by Jasmeet K Reen. The film used the uneasy relationship between a mother and daughter to examine domestic abuse — a tonal risk that leaned on smaller, credible performances around the leads. Her credits also included Jalsa, starring Vidya Balan.

Darlings asked audiences to sit with the discomfort of domestic violence inside a home that looked ordinary. The film worked because its margins — a constable, a neighbour, a late-night caller — felt lived-in, not decorative. Vinekar was part of that quiet machinery.

She also worked in radio and digital content. For a performer who moved across film, radio and digital, the loss was felt in different corners of Mumbai’s creative world — from film sets to the Fever FM family that Ramnathan remembered in her note.

What fans can do now

• Respect the family’s request for privacy and space.
• Avoid speculation about the cause of death, which has not been confirmed.
• Remember her work by revisiting Darlings and Jalsa.

In the filmi ecosystem, performers like Vinekar often sit just outside the spotlight. They give a cast its supporting texture — the constable at the station, the colleague in the room — and their absence is felt most by those who shared a studio or a radio station with them. Ramnathan’s tribute is as much a workplace farewell as a public announcement.

When a death is sudden and the cause is not confirmed, the most respectful response is restraint. The information that matters right now is already available: a cremation time and place for those who wish to bid farewell, and a request to let those closest to her grieve without added pressure.

There will be time for tributes and memories. For now, the clearest way for fans to honour a performer who gave texture to two much-watched films is to follow the request her own people made: give the family room, and let the work speak.

Source: The Times of India