She had arrived at the dais a few days ago, dressed to the nines, to accept her National Award for Best Actress for the offbeat movie Pasi.
However, everything changed for those who loved the less than 18 years old Shoba, when it was discovered that she had committed suicide in her home in Chennai, then Madras, on May 1, 1980.
As soon as her mother, Prema, a supporting performer in Malayalam cinema, asserted that it was a homicide, a controversy over her passing quickly developed.
Acclaimed cinematographer-director Balu Mahendra, Shoba's spouse of more than 18 months, was accused.
Balu Mahendra, who has been married before and also has a son by his first wife.
Shobha disliked the fact that Mahendra allegedly spent the most of his nights at the home of his first wife, including the night before the event. He reportedly comforted her by stating that he had to meet his nine-year-old kid.
When it seemed that the general public's interest was waning, a new development occurred. Prema Menon, Shobha's mother, informed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in a letter that she believed "foul play" had taken place.
She said that Balu Mahendra, a 45-year-old director and cinematographer, had been placing "colossal financial demands" on her. After receiving a copy of Prema Menon's letter to the prime minister, Tamil Nadu Governor Prabhu Das Patwari immediately instructed the police to launch a comprehensive probe.
But after the suicide theory gained traction and forensic tests ruled out murder as the cause of death, the case was abandoned.
The autopsy report explained it as a clear case of suicide. While the police made a investigation into the possible causes leading to her death, the film industry and the public were overtaken by shock, almost tangible it seemed.
Thus came to an end the career of a young actress who made her acting debut in comedian J P Chandra Babu's film Thattungal Thirakkapadum and quickly established herself in movies in all four south Indian languages.
Shoba mainly appeared in Tamil and Malayalam films, while she also appeared in a couple Telugu and four Kannada films.
Balu Mahendra was the director of one of her more well-known Kannada films, Kokila, starring Kamal Haasan and Mohan.
Manavuri Pandavulu, her Telugu film, was also a great hit. Shoba was one of the first actors Balachander, a renowned director whose eye for talent has long been unparalleled in Kollywood, chose for a significant role in his movie Nizhal Nijamagiradhu.
Nevertheless, Durai, who had chosen to cast Shoba in Oru Veedu Oru Ulagam, was the one who gave her the biggest break in Pasi.
