Naaka Bandi: Mahurat to Last shift

The cast and crew of Naaka Bandi. 

The first mahurat shot where you can see Sridevi, Chunky Panday, Sonam and a... surprise appearance from Boney Kapoor! 

Below, ? Dharmendra, Sridevi, Chunky Panday and ?

Why is Sex a sin? The guilt syndrome: Bollywood magazine's sexy spread

The sexiest celebrities of Bollywood in the 1980s Anil Kapoor, madhuri Dixit, Sridevi, Sonam, Rishi Kapoor... 

Sonam - of Tridev's Oye Oye fame - remembers Sridevi with love and admiration: Once a fan, always a fan

Years ago, I posted a picture of Sonam with Sridevi - and got barraged with comments from the uninformed twats on twitter and Facebook that it wasn't Sonam - they were confusing Sonam Kapoor (the outspoken first-born of Anil Kapoor) with yesteryear actress Sonam. Well, here's a quick recap of the star; Sonam (born Bakhtawar Khan), popularly known as the “Oye Oye” girl from Tridev, is a former Bollywood actress who enjoyed a brief but memorable career in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In fact, in the span of just six years, Sonam appeared in 28 films; 24 Hindi, 3 Telugu and 1 Bengali movie. 

Born on September 2, 1972, she entered films as a teenager. Her debut came with the Telugu film Samrat (1987), followed by a Hindi launch under Yash Chopra no less, with the much older co-star, Rishi Kapoor.  Sonam lied about her age to land her first film and, when she was just 15, worked in the film Vijay (a good film with great songs, that did average business) with a 20+ year older co-star. A common practice that the industry has yet to shed!

Sonam was a tabloid and film magazine darling, a favourite of photographers like Rakesh Shreshta, Jagdish Mali - she did sensational photoshoots, embraced 80s fashion and was regularly featured in all the glossies! En era of print media power, she graced several covers month after month, year after year. She quickly gained traction with nine releases in 1989 alone; she was no slouch and worked her tail off in multiple movies working multiple shifts. The niece of notable character actor Raza Murad, she was no nepo baby, but worked her way from the ground up, supporting her family.

Her breakthrough arrived with Rajiv Rai’s action blockbuster Tridev (1989), where she starred opposite Naseeruddin Shah. The energetic song “Oye Oye... Tirchi Topi Wale” became a massive hit, catapulting her to pan-Indian fame. Other notable films include Mitti Aur Sona (1989) with Chunky Pandey which gave her the best reviews of her career, Kroadh (1990), the Telugu hit Kodama Simham (1990) with Chiranjeevi. Ajooba (1991) reunited her with her first co-star Rishi Kapoor, and Vishwatma (1992) got her her hit songs once again. She was praised for her youthful fresh looks (she was a teen when she started after all!), dancing skills, and screen presence in an era dominated by established stars.

Sonam married director Rajiv Rai in 1991 and chose to quit acting shortly after to focus on family life. Rai was on top of Bollywood - serving one hit after another, while she gave birth to her son Gaurav Rai before turning 21 and chose maternity over the film fraternity. The couple later moved abroad (around 1997) amid industry challenges and personal reasons, living in the US until about 2012. The age-gap between the director Rajiv Rai and his leading lady Sonam, wasn't a big deal initially but the 17 year chasm between the two seemed ever widening as they split. After divorce, she returned to Mumbai, remarried, and largely stayed out of the spotlight for decades.

Sonam in Stardust 1989

In recent years, Sonam has embraced social media. She made a sudden and notable appearance on Instagram (@sonamkhan_72 ) around late 2022–2023, sharing throwbacks, interviews, and personal stories. Her account quickly gained traction - now boasting over 860K followers - thanks to nostalgic 90s fans rediscovering her iconic “Oye Oye” era, glamorous photos, and candid posts about motherhood and life. Her content mixes vintage clips, fashion, and reflections, resonating strongly with audiences who remember her peak.

Now in her early 50s and looking radiant, Sonam has expressed interest in a comeback with meaningful roles in films and OTT. She remains active as a mother (sharing her journey with her autistic son), reader, music lover, and fashion enthusiast. Her story - from meteoric rise and voluntary exit to graceful digital re-emergence - continues as meets the challenges of life head on.

For Sridevi fans, wondering why this deep dive into the life and times of Sonam? Well, she recently posted a throwback picture of the mahurat [launch] of the film Naaka Bandi, with Sridevi and wrote about what a fan she was of the South Indian icon; 

 

Sonam writes about Sridevi, "I met her at the mahurat of Nakabandi and barely got a hello. She was so reserved it hurt to watch. Like she was holding the whole world behind her eyes. 

Then came Chandni premiere night. I was there too. That night after the movie ended there was immense reaction — mostly a mixed bag within the film industry. Doubt everywhere. But I thought otherwise, and just like that the next day itself I sent her flowers. 

“A queen will be a queen”

I wrote a note along with the flowers. 

I loved her in Chandni and so did the rest of the world.  

Sridevi called Yash Ji and said, “Sonam has sent me flowers which are touching my ceiling.” He told me that when I met him at his office. It was a fan moment for me. Like, Sridevi ma’am even knows my name. Yay!  

She never forgot. She told Yash Ji I was the only actress who sent her flowers. 

When we met again for the Nakabandi patchwork, she thanked me for those roses. That was it. The ice broke. A simple gesture with no agenda made me her my friend, and God, I was so proud of that.

I was very young and she got that because she too started working at an extremely young age. That connection comes with honesty and zero malice. 

After that, she changed with me. The legend fell away. She’d tug at my sleeve, eyes sparkling, giggling like we were back in school. 

I still think of that New York to Bombay flight in 1990. We’d both just performed at Amitji’s concert. For hours she talked. No walls, no silences. Just her being soft, funny, real. Sometimes heartbreakingly honest. 

She left us too soon. But I got to know both of her: the queen everyone worshipped, and the child who just wanted to laugh. 

It was a privilege and an honor to have known her. 

A queen can be replaced but not Sridevi.

I still mean every word I wrote that night:

A queen will always be a queen because she was The Sridevi never meant to be replaced, till eternity. 👑

.

🦋Trivia - after I got married to Rajiv and he was making Mohra I told him to cast her in the movie, after the sad demise of Divya. Due to fate and date issues she couldn’t work in Mohra. She would have been the ideal Mast Mast QUEEN👑

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Sonam with Sridevi: Anil Kapoor's eldest daughter turns 41

 Sonam with Sridevi. 

 First-born to Sunita and Anil Kapoor, the two glamazon's of Bollywood. 

 Sonam turns 41 today. 

The Ghayal Party! Throwback to 1990 when Sridevi made a rare appearance for the Deols

June 1990; Dharmendra's home production of Ghayal releases - and the film fraternity en masse turns up to support the beloved actor and his son's (what turned out to be brilliant and popular) film. 

The film fraternity attendance was incredible - especially the leading ladies who turned up, dolled up to the hilt; from Rekha, Sridevi, Madhavi, Sonam, Madhuri Dixit, Dimple Kapadia, Amrita Singh and, of course, the film's leading lady Meenakshi Seshadiri. 

Sunny Deol's contemporaries, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Chunky Pandey attended, as did directors and producers like Shekhar Kapur, Pahalaj Nihalani, actors Amrish Puri, Karan Razdan with his wife Priya (the famed "Rajini" of television), among so many others! 

• More images in the archive here.
• Sridevi with Dharmendra over the years here.
• Sridevi with Sunny Deol over the years here.
• Six films of Dharmendra with Sridevi. 
• Six films of Sunny Deol with Sridevi 

Sonam with Sridevi

Sonam, Sridevi and Sreelatha at the Ghayal post-premiere party in 

 No, not 'that' Sonam. But the OG Sonam! Of Oye Oye fame. She was a huge Sridevi fan and friend. These rare images of the two (along with Sridevi's younger sister Sreelatha) from June 1990, when Sridevi (briefly) appeared at the premiere and after-party hosted by the Deols for Ghayal. 

More images of Sonam with Sridevi in the archive here.

Below a clip of Sonam talking about working with Sridevi in Naaka Bandi - the caption seems inaccurate, they were friendly but hardly 'best friends'! But oh well, for a clickbait caption, why not... Scroll to 19.30 when they first start talking about Sridevi. Excerpt: 

Q: How was it working with Sridevi?
Sonam: What was very surprising about doing Naaka Bandi was that I became friends with Srideviji. 

Q: That's again a rare thing. From what I've read, she was very choose about friends.
Sonam: Very choosy and, I used to look at her in awe, like, where did she come from? And she saw that child in me. So she started talking to me first. Then, the shooting of Chandni was going on, I had seen the trailer of the film, or I had gone to the mahurat [launch], I can't remember which, but after I sent her a huge bouquet and wrote, "Queen is always Queen!" 

Neelam, Sonam, Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi on stage at rehearsals: 90s throwback

Neelam, Sonam, Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi on stage at rehearsals: 90s throwback 

Sridevi and Jeetendra at the launch of Naaka Bandi

Thanks to the vast Sridevi fan diaspora, finally we have answers. We were trying to figure out which film this was from (hard to do as Sridevi did 16 films with Jeetendra!). Finally someone sent a note - its not from a movie the two starred in, but Jeetendra attended the mahurat (launch) of Naaka Bandi to support his frequent co-star Sridevi and the team making the film. See blow pic.

Not to mention Boney Kapoor (who also had nothing to do with the film - other than a shared interest for the leading lady!) was there to do the clap/first take of the movie.

In below pic the cast and crew of Naaka Bandi including Amrish Puri, Sridevi, Chunky Pandey and Sonam. With Boney Kapoor in the far left holding the clap-board for the movie. The film was launched in 1988 and released in 1990.

Sonam with Sridevi

The oddest friendship ever, Sonam, who was always a rising star but never quite in the A-list league and Sridevi, undisputed Queen of Bollywood. 

Love these rare pics of Sridevi caught in an unguarded moment.

Sridevi with other actresses: Sonam, Poonam Dhillon, Padmini Kolhapure, Aishwarya Rai, Neetu Singh, Suhasini, Vidya Balan, Hema Malini, Kareena Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Tina Munim, Jaya Prada, Meenakshi Seshadri

Sridevi shares the frame with other leading ladies of Bollywood; Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Poonam Dhillon, Padmini Kolhapure, Sonam, Sonam Kapoor, Hema Malini, Juhi Chawla, Kareena Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Tina Munim (now Ambani) Vidya Balan, Ramya Krishnan, Meenakshi Seshadri, and Sonam Kapoor.