Self correction: Auditing this site

Oops... Nope! The look is from Balidaan! 

Earlier had posted this - but I was wrong. The look is from Balidaan, not Kalaakaar. Thank you to the fans who pointed it out - we want to be the most accurate and correct site on Sridevi - and everything pertaining to the late, great actress. 

The good thing about online publishing is the ability to edit and self-correct. Wish more would adopt this. 

Young Sridevi in Balidaan (1986): Action, Duty, and Sacrifice: Sridevi’s Sensuaous and Sensational Turn in ‘Balidaan’

Gorgeous Sridevi in Balidaan.  Not a great film, but my gosh Sridevi looks so pretty in the entire film! Highly recommend for hardcore Sridevi fans! 

Directed by S. A. Chandrasekhar and released on April 26, 1985, Balidaan is predictable eighties action-melodrama. A remake of the 1981 Malayalam hit Raktham, the film placed Sridevi alongside Jeetendra for the n'th time, in a high-octane narrative centered on police integrity, societal duty, and personal sacrifice. 

At the box office, Balidaan managed an average theatrical run, performing decently across single-screen circuits in North India without reaching the commercial heights of their previous mega-collaborations. The emotional core of the film rested on the dynamic between an honest police officer, played by Jeetendra, and his devoted partner, portrayed by Sridevi. 

Sridevi brought her effortless charm and dramatic composure to the role of Uma, offering a grounded counterweight to the intense action sequences, high-stakes bandit shootouts, and theatrical confrontations dominated by villainous turns from Kader Khan and Shakti Kapoor.

Bappi Lahiri’s musical score provided the soundtrack for the film. Duets like "Aaja Ek Ho Ja" and "Pyar Karne Ka Licence - rendered by legends Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle - gained moderate popularity on the airwaves, though they did not capture the runaway cultural momentum of Lahiri’s bigger dance anthems from the same era. 

The year 1985 was a remarkably steady period for Sridevi as she consolidated her supreme position in Hindi cinema while maintaining her presence in South Indian industries. In Hindi cinema, she appeared in three major features: Sarfarosh, Balidaan, and the summer comedy blockbuster Masterji opposite Rajesh Khanna, which emerged as her biggest Hindi success of the year. 

Across all languages, Sridevi saw a total of five film releases in 1985, including two prominent Telugu projects, Vajrayudham and Pachani Kapuram. The action-packed Vajrayudham, co-starring Krishna, proved to be a massive box-office hit in Andhra Pradesh, rounding out a prolific year that highlighted her unmatched pan-Indian appeal.

Sridevi in Balidaan

 Sridevi in Balidaan

Sensuous Sridevi in Balidaan (1985)

Sensuous Sridevi in Balidaan (1985)

Released on April 26, 1985, celebrating 40 years of this Jeetendra-Sridevi film. 

Jeetendra and Sridevi in Balidaan: Steaming things up in the bathtub

Jeetendra and Sridevi in Balidaan: Steaming things up in the bathtub! 

Released on 26 April 1985, one of the 16 films they did together, Jeetendra and Sridevi were almost sure-fire hits in the 1980s box-office with an unprecedented run of hit after hit (and the occasional flop--there are no guarantees in Bollywood!).  

Released 40 years ago today, celebrating the film's anniversary this fine day. 

Sridevi: The Highest Paid Indian Actress

 

Sridevi in a still from Balidaan (1985). The same year she signed Boney Kapoor’s Mr. India for a then-unheard of whopping 11 lakhs making her the highest paid leading lady of Indian cinema. From then on, there was no looking back as she maintained the highest paid tag till 1993; quiet possibly the longest period of time for any leading lady in Bollywood to maintain top tier strata. 

Rumour has it Madhuri Dixit got 50 lakhs in 1994 for signing Raja with Sanjay Kapoor after the record-breaking success of Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. 

Jeetendra and Sridevi in Balidaan

Jeetendra and Sridevi in Balidaan - one of the many hits these two superstars of the 1980s delivered in Bollywood. 

The stars steam things up in scenes for their usual song and dance routine... 

Brown eyed girl: Sridevi in Balidaan (1985)

 Brown eyed girl: Sridevi in Balidaan (1985) 

Rare pic of Sridevi on the sets of Balidaan

 

Sridevi, 22, on the sets of the Hindi film Balidaan. 

Sridevi and Jeetendra steam it up in Balidaan (1985)

Sridevi and Jeetendra steam it up in Balidaan (1985)

This was deemed scandalous in the early 80s - its such a non topic now in 2022!

Gorgeous Sridevi in white: Balidaan (1985)

 Sridevi in white - luminescent. 

The perfect chaand face... 

From a scene in Balidaan (1985) 

Sridevi in Balidaan

 Sridevi. Film still and on film. Gorgeous Sridevi in Balidaan

Soaps and suds party? Jeetendra and Sridevi did it back in 1985! Balidaan publicity stills

Soaps and suds party? Jeetendra and Sridevi did it back in 1985! 

Balidaan publicity stills. One of the many successful films of Sridevi and Jeetendra! Today is the 36th anniversary of this box-office hit. Putting the 'show' and 'biz' in show business. 

The movie is....ok, the two got a lot of criticism for the wet song and dance routines and gratuitous shower scene... but compared to what's on TV today, let alone in cinemas, this is tame by comparison. 

Released on April 26, 1985