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!
