Geeta Bali's death at the shockingly young age of 36 exhibits one of the strange quirks of fate. She died from contacting small pox, a disease she could have easily vaccinated herself from.

There has rarely been an actress as full of life as Geeta Bali. It was obvious that she revelled in life. And for a while, it seemed life was paying back the compliment -- her performances in Baazi and Albela made her a much-admired star. Later, she married the man she loved -- Shammi Kapoor -- and had two children. However, when Geeta decided to make a comeback to films with an author-backed role in Rano, and left on an outdoor shoot to Punjab, she contacted the dreaded disease.

She was rushed back to the best possible treatment in Mumbai but her temperature rose to 107 degrees; and she succumbed to the disease.