ALL of Sridevi's Filmfare Covers from 1980s to 1990s

During her reign in Bollywood, Sridevi graced the cover of Filmfare many, many times from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. Some of the best of the lot are here below. We are in the long and arduous process of collecting ALL Sridevi covers here.

Khalid Mohammed, ex-editor of Filmfare and screenwriter, was a self-professed fan and so was his predecessor Rauf Ahmed - and Pritish Nandy too. The magazine did quite a few interviews with Sridevi. He also kept the diva's fans happy by giving her sole space on the front page. Initially.

You can see the style evolution of not only Sridevi, but also of the magazine. As it changed size, font, colour, paper (from mat to gloss) and so on. 

In time, like Sridevi herself, the film magazine got polished with a glamorous, flawless sheen. Filmfare evolved, so did Sridevi, well, so did Bollywood. And like her box-office, the covers are a bit hit and miss...  

Prospect of seeing Sridevi again is exciting - Balki: The unique (and brilliant!) trailer of English Vinglish

R. Balki Sridevi and her English Vinglish director Gauri Shinde will soon take centre stage to promote their film. 

Yes, it's going to be an all-women's show as the release date September 21 approaches for English Vinglish. 

After much deliberation, the film's producers R. Balki and Eros Entertainment have decided to stick to the original date and not get scared off by Kareena Kapoor and Heroine. 

Says Balki, "We believe every film, no matter what the gender of its protagonist, has its own audience. I am sure Madhur Bhandarkar's film will be very exciting. But the prospect of seeing Sridevi again is equally exciting." 

Having had his say, Balki will now move into the shadows. "Let the two ladies have their say. I have done what I had to. I'm just the film's producer. Now it's up to Sri and Gauri to take the film to the audience." 

Both Sridevi and Gauri Shinde are painfully shy of speaking in public. We believe their respective husbands have been giving them pep-talk at home as to how to field uncomfortable questions from the press and public. Interestingly, the Big B did a cameo absolutely free of cost for English Vinglish. 

Says Balki, "With Amitji, I wouldn't dare to discuss money." The trailer of English Vinglish where Sridevi is 'seen' (actually we only see her back for most of the trailer) trying to make sense of the censor certificate has got a mixed response from the audience. Says Balki, "We wanted the first trailer of Sridevi's comeback film to create questions in the audiences' mind. If audiences are wondering why Sri is attempting to read the censors' certificate, then we've succeeded in doing what we set out to. It's Sridevi coming back. That's not an ordinary happening. This is therefore not a routine trailer." 

How the trailer with Sridevi reading the censor certificate got past the censors is another story. Recounts Balki, "We first submitted the trailer with Sri reading a mock-certificate which had all the details from a real censor certificate including the CEO's signature. Then when the trailer was actually certified, we changed the mock-certificate with the real one and then we had to again submit the trailer with the real certificate. I don't think the censor board had ever come across such a situation." 

Balki feels the effort of submitting the trailer to twice to the CBFC has been worth it. "They have been very sporting about it. Considering we were asking them to bend the rules to accommodate our whimsical trailer, they took it in their stride." 

Published on Friday, 29 June 2012 10:55 Written by Kiran Arora

English Vinglish: Talking the talk

Sridevi recalls her experiences shooting for English Vinglish and her comeback to the screen after nearly 14 years.



What Sridevi remembers about shooting English Vinglish in New York is the city's vibrancy, the friendly people and her director, the debutant Gauri Shinde and producer R. Balki making sure that the month long shooting schedule was a picnic. “I will never forget my stay there because it was so much fun and a great working experience. Gauri and Balki are such friendly people and they made sure that it was like a holiday for all (actors) giving us the best of food and free time to go sight-seeing. I remember hundreds of Indian people would gather there to watch us shoot and try to click photographs. But Gauri, who did not want my look to be revealed would shield me with four reflectors from all four sides,” says the actress who is making her comeback on the big screen after nearly 14 years.

The plot of the film is pretty unusual, Sridevi a simple woman has a problem understanding and speaking the English language. She goes across the globe with her broken English but eventually gains mastery over the language. Ask her what was the most challenging part of playing her character, and the actress says that she was never had to work or prepare for her part. “I was so involved in playing my character which was scripted so brilliantly by Gauri, that I never felt that I had to work on anything. Despite being her debut film she would be laughing on the sets all the time, even when we were shooting very serious scenes. That’s because she was very self confident,” says Sridevi.

As for working with Amitabh Bachchan after a gap of almost two decades, she replies, “He shot for only two-three days, but there’s been no change in his style of working. Like before he brings so much positivity and energy on the sets.”

English Vinglish releases on September 21.

From Screen Correspondent
Posted: Jun 29, 2012 at 1051 hrs IST


I will never forget my stay in New York. It was so much fun and a great experience. Gauri and Balki made sure that the shooting was like a picnic — Sridevi

Sridevi's comical take on Meena Kumari: Naaka Bandi

Sridevi brings the laughs on the sets of Naaka Bandi. A blah film, where the best thing in the entire movie is, of course, Sridevi!

Sri does impressions of past legendary Indian actresses - and this was her 2 second impression of Meena Kumari. She does it with genius comical flare.

Manish Malhotra's Muses: Sridevi and Kareena Kapoor

As Manish Malhotra has often said, Sridevi remains his firm favourite - which is saying something considering the designer dresses just about all the top leading ladies of Bollywood. 

From the same collection, Kareena and Sridevi have been seen attending award shows wearing a similar - if not the same - sari. 

A gauzy, shimmering, Swarovski crystal studded, chiffon sari in beige/nude. 

Kareena wore her sari earlier this year at Filmfare awards show. And Sridevi wore it at SIIMA award show just this past week. 

Point to note, Kareena's 29, Sridevi's 49 - and they are both rocking the Manish creation. The sari-connection is lovely as both have styled it similarly and the fashion blogs have been comparing the two. Who do you prefer? 

 Goes without saying who we prefer! ;o) 

Thankfully, there's a mutual admiration society as Kareena herself has said, very, very often that she's a huge Sridevi fan. 

So no on-line war here. 

Meanwhile, see entire archive of Sridevi - Manish Malotra working together here.

Past occasions where Sridevi and Kareena Kapoor shared the stage together below. In fact, click on tags below to see our huge archive of Sridevi with Kareena Kapoor images, quotes, features etc. 

 

Sridevi and Boney Kapoor at SIIMA awards 2012, in Dubai

Sridevi, in a shimmering Manish Malhotra sari sparkled at SIIMA Awards 2012. 

In a sea of newcomers, aspiring stars, rising stars and wannabes, Sridevi shone. 

Without question, she was the superstar at the event and all eyes were on her. 

She presented a trophy to the gifted Dhanush and he bowed down to Sridevi on stage. Sridevi was of course a frequent co-star of his father-in-law, the legend Rajinikanth.