Filmfare: July 1988: The Sridevi double page spread

 

Sridevi, "I have never said I won't work with Amitji. But then, what's there for any other artiste to do ina film starring him? He does everything himself!"

Sridevi, "As far as price is concerned, I don't think I charge all that much. If I were so expensive, do you think people like Harmesh Malhotra and Boney Kapoor would sing me for two films each?"

Indeed.

The cover shot and cover shoot is in the archive here.

Showtime: Dec 1988: Dimple Kapadia, Sridevi, Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna

Showtime: Dec 1988: Dimple Kapadia, Sridevi, Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna

 

Beautiful Sridevi on the cover of Showtime: The end of Film Magazines: Not with a Bang, but a Whimper

Sridevi on the cover of Showtime back in September 1988! The cover tag; "Heroines can't do without Sridevi!"

When publisher Nari Hira launched Showtime in April 1984 under Magna Publishing, it was conceived as the intellectual sibling to his scandal-heavy juggernaut, Stardust. Where Stardust traded in raw gossip and bite-sized industry insider talk, Showtime carved out a distinct voice: expansive profiles, nuanced film journalism, and high-impact cover shoots.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the magazine captured the peak of Hindi cinema’s golden era. Digital archives and collector markets on eBay reveal a clear pattern of who truly commanded the publication’s newsstand appeal. Sridevi was a dominant fixture, gracing the front cover over 20 times across her reign as the undisputed queen of Indian cinema. From defining 1980s solo heroics to early-90s transformations, her presence reliably drove readership. 

Beyond Sridevi, eBay archives and retrospective listings highlight a elite circle of superstars who repeatedly fronted the glossy title:

Amitabh Bachchan – A staple from the publication’s mid-80s inception through his legendary career transitions. Even when he had the infamous ban against Indian media, he still featured prominently in cover stories - whether he liked it or not. 

Rekha – Consistently photographed for high-fashion editorial spreads and candid personal deep-dives, the gorgeous diva was not just a Showtime staple, but a magazine staple. She loved doing creative, high gloss glamour shoots and made the careers of photographers. She did her own styling, often did her own makeup (had an assistant for hair!) and remains the most frequent magazine cover star of ALL time. 

Rishi Kapoor & Anil Kapoor – Regular cover choices during the late 80s rom-com and action wave.

Madhuri Dixit & Shah Rukh Khan – The defining faces of Showtime’s 1990s covers as the magazine documented the next generation of superstardom.

As print advertising contracted in the late 2000s and digital media reshaped audience habits, Magna Publishing consolidated its core operations. Showtime was gradually phased out, quietly shutting shop between 2008 and 2012 as the publisher shifted focus back to Stardust and Society. Stardust, which once dominated film journalism - be it good or bad - shut shop too. Left in a quiet whimper of mismanagement of editors and finances. Hard to believe as Stardust was so popular once, they were publishing a hot edition twice a month, published 

At their peak publishing output and readership in the 1980s and 1990s: 

Stardust: Published 1 main issue per month in English, alongside dedicated language editions (such as Hindi). At its physical zenith, its total print circulation reached between 250,000 to nearly 400,000 copies per month, boasting an estimated readership exceeding 10 lakh (ie 1 million) readers per issue as India's premier glossy film monthly. 

Showtime: Published 1 main issue per month. Positioned as a premier sister title to Stardust, its monthly print run at its peak averaged between 75,000 and 125,000 copies per month, catering to a more niche audience interested in extended features and in-depth profiles.

In terms of publishing frequency, both titles were monthly glossies, resulting in 1 issue each per month (12 standard issues per year, plus occasional special annual editions).

Today, back issues remain prized physical artifacts of Bollywood’s most glamourous media decade.

MOVIE: January 1988: Sridevi: One Woman Industry

In January of 1988, MOVIE magazine looked back at the year that was 1987 and, yet again, Sridevi was on top of the box-office pile. With 9 film releases that year (in Telugu and Hindi films), Sridevi was playing the long game of working non-stop, having multiple film releases and hedging her bets that one or the other was going to work. The quality... suffered. She was a victim of her own success. And to be fair, the 80s was not kind to anyone. 

As y'all know, I, and really most Bollywood watchers, are not huge fans of 1980s Hindi cinema - it certainly wasn't the golden era, more of a faux bronze patina age. Soooooo many bad films, music,  magazines, pictures, outfits, styling, wigs... Obviously, with a few notable exceptions. 

Movie Title	Language	Co-Stars	Box Office Verdict
Mr. India	Hindi	Anil Kapoor, Amrish Puri	Blockbuster
Aulad	Hindi	Jeetendra, Jaya Prada	Hit
Watan Ke Rakhwale	Hindi	Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty	Hit
Nazrana	Hindi	Rajesh Khanna, Smita Patil	Above Average / Hit
Jawab Hum Denge	Hindi	Jackie Shroff, Shatrughan Sinha	Average
Majaal	Hindi	Jeetendra, Jaya Prada	Average
Himmat Aur Mehanat	Hindi	Jeetendra, Poonam Dhillon	Flop
Maa Voori Magadu	Telugu	Krishna	Flop
Makutamleni Maharaju	Telugu	Krishna	Flop

Shatrughan Sinha turns 80! His quote on Sridevi, "Undoubtedly, she's the best actress..."

Shatrughan Sinha was 17 years older than Sridevi and the two worked in only one (flop!) film together, Sherni (1988). 

However, they worked a lot in several stage shows and he memorably handed Sridevi one of her many Best Actress Filmfare trophies.

In 1996, when the press was writing about the end of Sridevi's reign and supremacy, the Bihar behemoth pointed out that she was still a top star and great actress. 

The actor turns 80 today - and we wish him well. 

 

Sridevi with Mithun Chakraborty in Waqt ki Awaz (1988): Yet another 1980s Bollywood blockbuster

Released on July 1, 1988, Waqt Ki Awaz (The Sound of Time) was a major commercial success at the box-office despite lacklustre reviews and little critical acclaim, becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of 1988. 

With Mithun Chakraborty and Sridevi leading the cast, supported by Moushumi Chatterjee, Kader Khan, Shakti Kapoor, Ranjeet, Gulshan Grover and Asrani, the movie was one of the three blockbusters in the quartet of films Mithun and Sri did together. A remake of the 1986 Telugu film Khaidi Rudraiah, the stars made record collections for film producers at the time as they proved critics irrelevant. The wide chasm between audiences and reviewers... remain!  

Before there was Hollywood Reporter India, there was... Filmy Reporter!

The Hindi tabloid from the 80s is classic 80s film journalism; no quotes, gossip and innuendo, garish colours of all the top stars slapped together like a high school magazine cover with cutouts and square collages. But they were mindless fun! 

Sridevi, Mithun, Juhi Chawla, Jackie Shroff - the rockin' 80s. 

Sridevi's look from a song/dance scene in Guru - magazine from 1988!
 

Sridevi on the sets of Chandni - throwback to 1988

 

TBT: Sridevi's Centrefold from 1988!

Let's allll be glad 80s fashion, hair and makeup ended when it did! 

This Sridevi centrefold from Cine Blitz, May 1988! 

Sridevi in Mera Farz: The Hindi dub of Aakhari Poratam (1988)

Mera Farz (1989) is the Hindi dubbed version of the Telugu blockbuster Aakhari Poratam (1988), directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. Sridevi played the lead role of Pravallika, a CBI officer on a mission to expose a powerful criminal (played by Amrish Puri). Telugu superstar Nagarjuna was the lead but we Sridevi fans obviously only remember it for the leading lady! 

An action-drama where Sridevi’s character drives much of the story with strong action and dramatic sequences. The film is available on some YouTube channels and streaming platforms under the title Mera Farz. 

Aakhari Poratam originally released on 12 March 1988, the Hindi dubbed version, Mera Farz, hit the big screen on 5 April 1991  - fueled by the vast popularity of Sridevi in the Hindi belt. The film was a commercial success in Telugu and gained popularity in Hindi as a dubbed action-drama in some circuits. 

For us... the humour and the music somehow, just doesn't translate well. Better to watch the Telugu original with English subtitles. 

Sridevi on the sets of Hindi film Guru

On the sets of the Hindi film Guru back in 1988 - after some delay, the film released on 24 February, 1989. 
 

Sridevi, Shiv Hari and Yash Chopra: TBT To Sept 1988

In earlier post, we had stated the above image of Sridevi, music directors Shiv-Hari with film producer Yash Chopra was from the Mumbai premiere of Chandni in Sept 1989. In fact, we were off by a year! We stand corrected, its from the audio release of Chandni back in Sept 1988, published in Cine Blitz with the ultimate power couple on the cover; Jaya and Amitabh Bachchan. 

Sridevi's fashion reflecting the moment, season and year: A look back at 1988

Sridevi's fashion reflecting the moment, season and year: A look back at 1988! 

 

Stars of 1988 in Bollywood: Cine Blitz, Feb 1988

Stars of 1988 in Bollywood: Cine Blitz, Feb 1988 edition. 

I recognise Sridevi and Jaya Prada... 

Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in Ram Avtar (1988)

The songs were a smash hit, the film, not so much. Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in the poor man's remake of Sangam, Ram Avtar. 

 

TBT: January 1988: Sridevi's Cine Blitz centrefold:

Excerpt: 

Red Hot: The Shocking Break-Up! Straight from Sridevi! 

An inevitable second marriage. A suicide bid by the wife. A cheated second wife follows it up with a painful break. And a man is caught between his duty and his love. Much has been written about the Sridevi-Mithun affair. But these are the inside facts that no ones knows... 

 

Sridevi with Amitabh Bachchan in Dec 1988!!

The timeline of Khuda Gawah is so fascinating. If the image of Sridevi and Amitabh Bachchan in their costumes for Khuda Gawah was published in MOVIE magazine back in December 1988, then the discussion about the film started long before.  The film finally released four years later - May of 1992! 

Film producer Manoj Desai recollects, "We shot in Afghanistan during a war. Najibullah, a friend of the late Rajiv Gandhi, gave us an entire Lashkar for protection. Even our cameraman, WB Rao, would place his camera in a tent to shoot. 

 All the artists’ families, Amitji, Sridevi, and Danny Dengzongpa, were worried. I remember Teji Bachchanji told me that if anything happened to her son, I shouldn’t come back, I should die as well. Sridevi herself reminded me she had to take care of her mother, so she had better be brought back safely. Those were tense times.” 

-- Caption courtesy News 9 

Sridevi with Shatrughan Sinha in Sherni

The baritone one turns 79! Actor turned politician Shatrughan Sinha turns 79 today-- a vocal supporter of Sridevi from the early days, he has praised her to the skies since they were costars in 1988 in the Hindi film Sherni! We wish the actor well on his birthday. 

 

Waqt ki Awaz Film Posters: Sridevi and Mithun's blockbuster

Waqt ki Awaz film Posters: Sridevi and Mithun's blockbuster. 

Released in the summer of '88, ie 37 years ago during the peak of Sridevi-Mithun mania, the film was one of the biggest hits of the year. As Yash Chopra said of that time, it was the peak of saturation of violence. Every poster and billboard across Bombay (wasn't Mumbai then!),  the hero had a gun, and the world was ablaze. The stars kept changing, the guns were the same. Oddly, it's one of the weakest movies in the repertoire of the two leads but a smash hit. 80s was a bizarre time. 

Sridevi's denim on denim on denim look! The Saucy Centrefold

Throwback to October 1988, Sridevi's centrefold for Cine Blitz magazine, for the cover shoot and feature.