She was stunningly beautiful (and still is) and her figure was not very far ahead of her acting talent. Yet, for some reason, she hardly lived by the end of a movie. Always a sidekick, Sarika played characters doomed to death in nearly all of her movies. 
Starting as a child star in the 80s, Sarika came to comparatively better popularity after starring in movies Jaani Dushman (1979), Kranti (1981), and Vidhaata (1982). In all these, her character died, the result of a villainous murder or just her own sacrificial death to save her sweetheart (the hero of course). Her death in Vidhaata, saving the hero Sanjay Dutt’s life, seems like setting a trend for Sarika being cast in such roles. Raj Tilak (1984) was such a flick, and you would almost never see her making it till the end of the movie, alive, in her career spanning over most of the 80s.
Married to Kamal Hassan, she left movies to be the good housewife. But her marriage failed, though her talent didn’t. After all those deaths in subordinate characters, Sarika finally won the hearts of critics and audiences at once by playing the lead role in Parzania (2007) and claiming the National Award for her performance. Like some timeless beauties, Sarika looks fresh and is making a comeback in an important role with the Big B in Johnny Mastana, later this year. So finally we have the beautiful Sarika really alive!
