The most comprehensive fan blog dedicated to India's most beautiful and greatest actress of all-time (in our humble opine!), Sridevi. Sridevi aka Sreedevi, ruled Indian cinema (with awesome performances in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi films) in a career spanning 50 incredible years featuring 266 films. Born in Sivakasi on August 13 1963, her untimely and tragic death on February 24, 2018 left a nation in mourning. In our hearts, she'll forever be, the eternal Queen of Bollywood.
Outside the sets of the hit film Maqsad. A movie with little to speak of other than it is the usual 80s masala potboiler. The only thing worth revisiting is the epic dance off between the famous feuding Telugu superstars, Jaya Prada and Sridevi.
We have a hundred pics from the set in the archive - scroll away.
Rajesh Khanna and Sridevi in Nazrana. The on-set pics that were on many tabloid covers in the 1980s!
Remembering the first Indian superstar, Rajesh Khanna, who was born on December 29, 1942, in Amritsar, India!
Sridevi worked with him in four films, ALL were hits. Not sure she enjoyed the experience tho'... he had a famously mercurial temperament. And was always, always late on set, keeping the punctual south Indian superstar... waiting! When she became 'the' top star of her time, she stopped working with him altogether.
Ah but que sera sera. Let's remember Rajesh Khanna for the phenomenon that he was. His successes, the music in his films, his range and variety. Sure he failed on occasion, but we remember the triumphs more, don't we?
Rajesh Khanna spoke well about Sridevi, but not as gushingly as his ex-wife Dimple Kapadia or daughter Twinkle Khanna or son-in-law Akshay Kumar did. All mega fans of Sridevi!
From the film Naya Kadam, one of the big blockbusters of 1984.
Released on 5 October 1984
Screenwriter Vijay Kaul, Sridevi, director Ravi Tandon, Rajesh Khanna, producer Judah Solomon and Shafi Inamdar on the set of Nazrana (1987) at the SeaRock Hotel.
Funnily enough, Sridevi had an ambivalent relationship with both - but it didn't translate on screen.
Remembering Kakaji today - on his death anniversary. By the end, Rajesh Khanna had turned so philosophical about his meteoric rise to superstardom and the tragic Grecian fall to infamy (I mean Jaanleva Black Blood his penultimate film, was just a mere indication of how far he had come down from the zenith of national craze and fame to the nadir of cringe)... Bollywood is not for the meek or the weak. It's a daily battle - we appreciate any actor for their longevity more than their success.
When you see the film now, it's so tame compared to what stars of today wear, but back in 1985, Sridevi received maximum flak for her role in Masterji. So much so, she turned the wheels of her career to another direction; major acting parts, double roles, title roles, above the banner star-vehicles, earning the tag; the biggest female superstar of India. Ever. In a way, she took the constructive criticism on the chin, but had her head held high, never looking back.
Released on 5 October 1984, today is the 38th anniversary of the hit film.
At some point or another, many actresses have spoken about how temperamental and mercurial Rajesh Khanna was. Hmm.
The tenth biggest hit of 1984.
Countless movies bombed during the year leaving no trace behind. Despite media hype that preceded them, and the screaming banners.
Among them, Rajesh Khanna's home spun Alag Alag, Gulshan Rai's much-touted Yudh, Yash Chopra's love story Faasle, K Raghavendra Rao's disastrous Masterji Even the South Indian movie moghuls seemed to have lost their touch - each of their films left the box-office cold. Stone cold.
Shows, if nothing else, that the audiences are no longer fooled by formulae junk.
Notes;
Lol, above excerpt would be relevant even today. Clearly, history repeats itself.
At the time of publication of the article, it didn't look like Masterji was doing well, but in the final tally, Masterji was not a flop - but considered the 12th biggest hit of the year. It was a slow but steady earner for producers.
However, despite its success, Sridevi regretted doing the film and the flak she got for it.
Sridevi's naiveite was visible when she expressed genuine shock and surprise at the flak she received by the media - and when the film was released with an "Adult" certificate, Sri, famous for having a large fan base of young people, was stunned. It was one of the few times Sridevi dismissed the film from her long list of box-office hits and never discussed the movie again. She also let her displeasure be known to the producers and makers for the way it was shot, the choreography, the suggestive dances and so on.
Sridevi's no was a firm no, in the past she famously went along to get along. Never creating a scene or obstruction while shooting a film. In a way, it helped Sridevi understand her own power as she set the rules then on, never kowtowing to intimidating producers, directors or co-stars.
Compared to the social mores of today, the film is tame, would barely raise an eye-brow, but back in the mid 1980s, Bollywood was a different minefield; some great films flopped (Jaag Utha Insaan) while unexpected ones - like this and every film she did with Khanna - rocked the box-office.
Archive of Sridevi and Rajesh Khanna features and images from the film Masterji here.
