Unlike her contemporaries who worked their archetypal roles and looks (the sati-savitri or the kotha-seductress or the vamp or villain's moll or the tear-stained bhabhi and so on), Sridevi's doll-like demeanor and versatility meant she willingly tried various looks and avatars according to the fads and fashion of the time. She was in her early 20s when she hit Mumbai's movies and worked in various films her contemporaries were scared to broach. Not wanting to shatter their image (or illusion) that had been created over years on film. Count the number of courtesan films and songs Rekha did, count the number of weepy family dramas Jaya Prada did. As she had no expectation of making it big in Bollywood after the initial failure of Solva Saawan, Sridevi tried every role that came her way with zest and pizzazz. By sheer volume of work, she broke into the scene - there were as many as nine to a dozen releases in the early '80s as every few weeks, a Sridevi film hit the marquee. The good, the bad and the noisy, she did 'em all. And the law of averages caught up and Sri became the rage - leaving her contemporaries in the wake of her hostile box-office takeover.
Dimple Kapadia (gorgeous but fickle), Meenakshi Sheshadiri (pretty but hammy), Rekha (Diva, and deluded), Bhanupriya (from the word-go she was a poor-man's Sridevi!), Radha (who?!), Jaya Prada (ah, the arch-rival) and the rest of the ilk just didn't command the position of Sridevi. Even Jaya Prada had to reluctantly admit that in the race, Sridevi was Number one to ten - while Amrita Singh (a gifted actress but box-office poison) praised Sridevi for being irreplaceable unlike her or her contemporaries.
Eventually, Sridevi changed her tune as well; at first she was rather nonchalant about making it in Hindi cinema, never fully trusting the scenario. She had said in the early days that Madras (Chennai now!) was home, Mumbai was an alien city. And she hated it - in the beginning! She never committed to moving to Mumbai and famously stayed at expensive hotels for the better part of a decade. The enormous work ethic and massive success followed and Sridevi moved bag and baggage to Mumbai, albeit reluctantly at first.
Meanwhile, here are some remnants of Sridevi in the early days, working a short-cut. Sridevi at age 23 here. Cute. It was a look test for the film Raasta back in 1986. It was meant to be yet another film with Mithun - but the film was shelved for reasons unknown.
Eventually, Sridevi changed her tune as well; at first she was rather nonchalant about making it in Hindi cinema, never fully trusting the scenario. She had said in the early days that Madras (Chennai now!) was home, Mumbai was an alien city. And she hated it - in the beginning! She never committed to moving to Mumbai and famously stayed at expensive hotels for the better part of a decade. The enormous work ethic and massive success followed and Sridevi moved bag and baggage to Mumbai, albeit reluctantly at first.
Meanwhile, here are some remnants of Sridevi in the early days, working a short-cut. Sridevi at age 23 here. Cute. It was a look test for the film Raasta back in 1986. It was meant to be yet another film with Mithun - but the film was shelved for reasons unknown.
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