Breaking News: We just heard that the Hindi remake of
Bodyguard is being made with Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor, an idea that has been floating around since the original Whitney Houston - Kevin Costner film came out in '92.
But, back in 1994, the (unofficial) remake was already in the works with Sridevi and Sunil Shetty - to be produced and directed by Sanjay Gupta no less.
These images were shot as a look test back in November 1994, published in December 1994 in Cine Blitz magazine as a potential cover shoot. It was also the first look at the new pairing of the brawn and the beautiful; Sunil Shetty and Sridevi.
The discussion was on for several months on making the film, but Sridevi was busy completing other projects. In the meantime, a film with a similar plot was already due for release - Angrakshak with Pooja Bhatt and Sunny Deol (released in Nov 1995). With the same story, the movie did average business, so the Sridevi-Sunil-Shetty-Sanjay-Gupta project never took off.
While they tried to re-work the movie Sri got pregnant and married + stopped working by 1997.
Wonder what the film would have been like with these two South Indian stars...
In a recent interview with Asia Spa magazine, Sridevi revealed she would have loved to do the role. It would have been her last film pre her self-imposed hiatus.
One of the quotes we remember from Sunil Shetty was, "Sridevi will be long remembered after these current girls come and go." How prescient he was!
This pre-film photo-session was published in Cine Blitz magazine to test the audience reaction - see if the duo would look good together. Sunil Shetty and Sridevi looked sensational and the response was phenomenal. Both South Indian stars, who made it big in Bollywood, had a lot in common - including their innate shyness and reticence.
While some were excited about the new on-screen pairing, of course there were critics carping that Sunil was too young for Sri - but here's a fact check; Sridevi was born in 1963, Sunil Shetty in 1961 - Sunil was in fact older than Sridevi. He appeared in Bollywood in 1992 (first film Balwaan), whereas Sridevi's first Hindi film was released in 1979 - hence the media wrongfully assumed that Sri was far older when she was anything but. She certainly didn't look it either!
Sunil Shetty, "Sridevi will remain superstar long after the present lot of heroines disappear."
