Sridevi: New addition to Hindi stars from South: Throwback Tuesday

Throwback to 1979! Sridevi's first Hindi film launch party. 
 

Sridevi's first Hindi film as a leading lady: Solva Sawan (1979)

Sridevi's first Hindi film as a leading lady: Solva Sawan (1979). 

At age 16, starlet Sridevi stepped unsteadily into the Hindi film industry with this third remake of 16th Spring ie the Tamil original 16 Vayathinile (1977) and Telugu Padaharella Vayasu (1978), which was re-shot frame by frame with different actors to serve the Hindi belt - except for the exceptional leading lady, Sridevi. A lot changed in the Hindi revamp, the music, the lyrics, several key actors. 

Unlike its predecessors, the film was a critical and commercial flop. Even for a hardcore Sridevi fan like moi, watching the Hindi version with Amol Palekar as Sridevi's love interest--who was 19 years older than Sridevi and looked it--was difficult to stomach. Somehow, there was a 'watchability' to the Tamil original with its stellar cast of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan } the holy trinity of Tollywood. 

Sadly, Sridevi didn't enjoy the Hindi remake, the film tanked and the awkward, gawky teen who spoke no Hindi and barely spoke English returned to Madras studios, where she had innumerable films waiting in the wings. 

Biding her time, it took another four years, a head-to-toe makeover, and Sridevi would return with a bang... Or should I say banger, with Nainon main sapna in Himmatwala (1983). 

PS: Have no official record of when Solva Saawan released in 1979, but the original 16 Vayathinile released on 15 September 1977 ie 47 years ago today. 

Rare pic: Sridevi with Dina Pathak in Solva Saawan (1979)

Rare pic: Sridevi with Dina Pathak in Solva Saawan (1979)
 

Sridevi's look in Solva Saawan (1979)

Sridevi's village belle look in Solva Saawan 

 

For years she had been essaying parts of a much older woman than her biological age and finally at age 16, she played the part of a 16-year-old in her first Hindi film Solva Saawan (16th Spring). A coming of age tale, a remake of her own smash hit in Tamil and Telugu, the Hindi film vie was a dismal flop.

Shot in one stretch over a period of 35 days in Jharkand, Sridevi didn't speak a word of Hindi and mouthed her lines while a dubbing artist did a voice-over for her. Her only film with Amol Palekar, she had great respect for the award-winning actor and director. 

However, when you look back on interviews Sridevi did while describing her experience working on her first Hindi (Bollywood!) film, it was abysmal from the get-go. 

Despite having done the Tamil and Telugu versions of the same film (which were blockbusters and garnered her much critical acclaim), by the time she started work on the Hindi version, she was bored beyond belief. She didn't speak the National language, Hindi, and was uncomfortable with the Bombay (pre-Mumbai!) team. What she remembers of it, she messed up her first take - a bad omen, she said she knew the film was destined to flop. 

Funnily enough, she wasn't too perturbed by the film's failure at the box-office as it meant, she wouldn't have to leave her home state. Sridevi famously said in her Tamil magazine interviews that she would do a few more films, get married and settled down, and bid movies adieu when she was in her early 20s. 

Destiny however had so much more for the young actress, who went on to become a legend in her own time. 

Sridevi's first Hindi film as a leading lady: Solvaa Saawan

 

Sridevi's publicity still for Solvaa Saawan (1979). Though she appeared briefly in the Hindi film Julie as a supporting actress - well, more like an extended guest appearance - this was Sridevi's first role as a leading lady. 

On the record she said she liked working with her senior co-star Amol Palekar, but did not enjoy the experience of the remake of her own Tamil hit, 16 Vayathinile

Everything about Sridevi's first official Hindi film, Solvaa Saawan, in the archive here.

Sridevi: From ingenue to legend

Sridevi: From ingenue to legend...  

From her first film in Mumbai, Solva Saawan to the VIP in MAMI 2012, what an epic and unprecedented journey. 

Sridevi's first Hindi film co-star remembers her fondly: Amol Palekar

PUNE: “It was heart-wrenching. This is not the age,” was Amol Palekar’s reaction when he heard the news of Sridevi’s sudden demise on Sunday.

The 54-year-old actress had died of a cardiac arrest in Dubai [*First official report suggested Sridevi had a heart-attack]. The moment Palekar heard, memories of his long association with Sridevi came flooding back.

Introduced to each other by Kamal Haasan, Palekar was Sridevi’s co-star in her Hindi debut film, ‘Solva Sawan’ (1979).

“It was an absolutely fascinating experience,” Palekar told TOI, reminiscing about shooting that film. “We forged a good friendship. She was extremely young, and I still remember how shy and guarded she was, as she was not very comfortable speaking English,” he recalled.

‘Solva Sawan’ was the Hindi remake of a 1977 Tamil film starring Sridevi and Haasan. “Kamal called me and told me about ’Pathinaru Vayathinile’, which needed a Hindi remake. He said only I could do the lead role. I watched the original and said Sridevi must act in the Hindi remake too. So I met her at her residence,” he recalled.

To this day. Palekar rues the fact that the Hindi film industry never witnessed Sridevi achieve her full acting potential. “If you watch her in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, you’ll know what a superb actress she was,” Palekar said. “It was hardly seen in Hindi films, compared to her work in Tamil films, especially those by K Balachander and Balu Mahendra. (She was) absolutely to be admired and loved,” Palekar said.

While shooting ‘Solva Sawan’, Palekar said, Sridevi and he became close friends. So much so, every evening after the shoot, Palekar and Sridevi would chat away. She would share anecdotes from her South Indian films, working alongside actors like Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. “At the time, both Kamal and Rajnikanth had yet to achieve superstardom. She acted in some beautiful films alongside them, directed by Balachander and Mahendra. I had seen those films and so, we would chat a lot about those films, about her performances; it was a wonderful experience,” Palekar said.

Among the fan mail Palekar got, following the release of ‘Solva Sawan’, was a letter by Surinder Kapoor, the father of Anil and Boney Kapoor. The letter sang Sridevi’s praises. “He wrote a very beautiful letter praising the film, my performance, among others. In the last para, he wrote, ‘Sridevi is such a lovely, fresh, vivacious young girl. I was quite surprised to find such a talented actor and I am sure she will go along way,’” Palekar said.

Sridevi was thrilled to hear about the letter.

Then, as time progressed, they drifted apart. “It wasn’t a cut, but a dissolve, a slow dissolve, as we say in show business,” he said.

They did bump into each other at the odd function. At one such gig, Palekar recalled, he was sitting in a corner when Sridevi spotted him and made a beeline for him. “She was a big star by then, with roles in ‘Mr India’ and other successful films. But she chatted with me with the same old affection,” Palekar said, “She was still shy, of course, but she had matured and grown up so beautifully.”

He added: “In fact, she sat with me throughout that function. We kept chatting and reminiscing our time shooting that first film.”

More images and info on Sridevi's first Hindi film - Solva Saawan (1979) - here.  

Sridevi at age 16 in Solva Saawan (1979)

Sridevi's first Hindi venture as a leading lady; Solva Saawan 

Sridevi with Dina Pathak 

Sridevi at age 16: First interview with Filmfare in 1979

On the eve of Solva Saawan's release, 16-year-old Sridevi in her first magazine spread in Mumbai. The film was released in 1979 and Sridevi really was 16 at the time. 

Below: The first ever appearance of Sridevi in Filmfare magazine, Jan 15-31 1979 issue. The 16-year-old who didn't make cover but went on to dominate many after. 

Sridevi
The Latest 16-Year-Old

by Jyothi Venkatesh

Photograph: Balkrishan

Sridevi is the youngest heroine who has come from the South to the Hindi screen. She is barely sixteen. B Saroja Devi, Savitri, Padmini, Vyjayanthimala and Lakshmi didn't come here exactly this young.

After co-starring with her in Solva Sawan, Amol Palekar, not one to compliment anyone easily, has been praising Sridevi's talent. This film is a re-make of Pathinaru Vayadhinile, the runaway hit in Tamil which featured Sridevi in the same role. 

When Sridevi visited Bombay, I found her at her hotel suite flanked by her father and mother all set for an interview. She wore a salwar kameez perhaps indicating her desire to make it in Bombay. In Madras, one usually gets to see Sridevi in the traditional pavadai thavani. 

It was her fist exposure to the English film press, she said. She looked ill at ease. Once she started talking, it was clear she needed to brush up her English as well as her Hindi. In fact, she said her voice in Solva Sawan had been dubbed. However, Sridevi is fluent in Tamil though her mother-tongue is Telugu. 

Sridevi's first Hindi film: Solva Saawan

Solva Saawan came and went with the wind. However, Sridevi remained forever. Seen here in her debut Hindi film, Solva Saawan.

Sridevi's first Hindi film: Solva Saawan (1979)

Sridevi in her first Hindi film Solvaa Saawan (1979).

Sridevi,"Solvaa Saawan was and still is a bad memory. I had earlier done the Tamil and Telugu versions of the same film, so by the time I got to the Hindi version, I was bored sick! One vivid memory of the film is my messing up the first take on the first day of shooting, which I’m very superstitious about. I knew then, that the film would be a flop."

Sridevi's first Hindi film as a leading lady, Solvaa Saawan (1979)

The first Hindi film of Sridevi as a leading lady was Solvaa Saawan, a remake of her own Tamil film 16 Vayathinile. However, in its Hindi incarnation, unlike the Tamil original, the movie flopped badly at the box-office. Sridevi was just 16 when the film released and as the film nose-dived, she thought her career in Bollywood was a fail-start. She packed her bags and returned to Madras*, vowing never to return. (*Madras became Chennai in 1998!). 

Solvaa Saawan was directed by Bharathi Rajaa, with cinematography by P.S.Nivas, with leading lady Sridevi, actors Amol Palekar, Madhukar and Dina Pathak. The film score was composed by Jai Dev.

In her debut role as a heroine, Sridevi (herself 16 when the film was shot) plays the 16-year-old Mehna, who refuses the advances of a mentally challenged character played be Amol Palekar. Mehna falls in love with a city vet but refuses to commit to him, and finds herself being rejected in turn.

With this new perspective, Mehna begins to accept Amol Palekar's character and encourages him to defend himself against those who constantly mock him. But when an evil villager, played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda, attempts to rape Mehna, Palekar's character kills him by throwing a brick at his head. Palekar's character is arrested for murder, and the film concludes with Sridevi waiting in vain at a train station for his return.

The film (a remake of the South Indian hit 16 Vayathinile filmed two years earlier with Kamal Hassan and Rajnikanth) did not perform well despite pre-reports of a potential superhit  - like its Tamil predecessor.

Need to repeat this again (and again) but Sridevi was just 16 while the movie was shot and released and her co-star Amol Palekar was... 19 years older!! Palekar had just turned 35! This wasn't an exception but the norm, older actors with younger leading ladies is so common (even now!), it borders on the cliché. 

But, here's a point to note, Sridevi did say she had no qualms about working with her much older co-star. Back in 1979, the fine actor was having a career defining y ear - Palekar won one of his several Best Actor awards (eg below picture of Amol Palekar with his Best Actor win for Gol Maal in 1980 with Jaya Bachchan, who won Best Actress for Nauker). Sridevi often said she learned so much observing thespians and she's never interfered in the casting choices of her producers and directors. Having worked with actors 20, 30, 40 years older than her, this was nothing new for the newcomer. 

Sridevi on her first Hindi film, Solvaa Saawan.

Sridevi, "Solvaa Saawan was and still is a bad memory. I had earlier done the Tamil and Telugu versions of the same film, so by the time I got to the Hindi version, I was bored sick! Moreover, I didn’t know Hindi and I was most uncomfortable working in the alien atmosphere of Bombay. I was missing Madras terribly and I just wanted the film to be done and over with. One vivid memory of the film is my messing up the first take on the first day of shooting, which I’m very superstitious about. I knew then, that the film would be a flop. Secretly, I was quite happy because I thought that I wouldn’t have to work in the horrible place Bombay (laughs) anymore. I thought I’d go back, work for a couple of years more, get married, and go away. But God willed it otherwise. Only one thing worked in my favour. The first of my Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films were all terrible flops, after which I rose to the top in all the bilingual films. So Solva Saawan’s failure was in fact a good omen for better things to come.

Q: If Amol Palekar approached you for a film today, would you do it for purely sentimental reasons, considering that he was your first romantic lead in Hindi films?
A: Well frankly, I accept a film only on one criteria – the script and the quality of my role. If it was Amol Palekar, I’d definitely consider seeing his script and hearing him out. But further than that, it’s only my role that matters. But I am quite sure that if he approached me, he’d definitely have a very good script, because he’s a very fine actor. I remember his performances in Chitchor and Rajanigandha. I’ve also heard that he is a very talented director. And a good director can make the world of a difference to even a weak script.

Left: On the sets of Solvaa Sawan (1979), director P. Bharathiraja, Sridevi and Amol Palekar. The music was composed by Jaidev while cinematography was handled by P. S. Nivas. The remake of Bharathiraja's debut film 16 Vayathinile (1977), the original Tamil film had Kamal Hassan, Sridevi, and Rajinikanth. The film was also remade in Telugu Padaharella Vayasu (1978), again starring Sridevi in the titular role.

UPDATE: At the launch party of Solva Saawan, a very young Sridevi with her co-stars.

Left: A rare pic of Sridevi, age 16, with her first Hindi film co-star, Amol Paleka, 35. Solva Saawan was a remake and a major flop at the box-office.

Sridevi once again paired with a co-star more than double her age. A trend that has thankfully died down by now...