Sridevi

Wednesday, 26 March 2025

Jeetendra and Sridevi setting the stage on fire: TBT to the early 90s

The most brilliant business mind in Bollywood is undoubtedly Jeetendra. From his humble beginnings to the head of a film and television empire, he needs to do a masterclass on surviving the industry and rising in every phase.

One of the early proponents of lucrative stage shows in the west, aimed at the wide NRI diaspora craving for a sight of a screen legend, he pulled Sridevi on stage and the two made more than a pretty penny from star-studded stage shows abroad.

Some rare snaps of the two while they went on a world tour, dazzling Sridevi and Jeetendra on stage. To be honest, Jeetendra was no great shake on a dais but star wattage covered every flaw. Sridevi was of course fabulous.

Funnily enough, when you break down what stars make per hour on a film versus appearances, advertisements, stage shows, fashion shows, wedding appearances, the least amount of money an actor makes is during film production! Once you level up to a tier, the highest being where Shahrukh Khan stands today, making a film is a financial loss by comparison, when you can make serious dollars by strutting into a mehendi of a film fan family, instead of making a rupee in a movie! If you know, you know...

Goes without saying but we have a huge archive of images of Sridevi on stage here.

Wayback Wednesday: Sridevi, Boney Kapoor and kids Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor for Matrubhoomi: Circa 2004

Sridevi with Boney Kapoor and their children Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor. Sridevi was presenting the shocking Hindi film Matrubhoomi with Tulip Joshi in the lead.

This is around 2004.

Bespectacled Sridevi on the cover of Mayapuri, the Hindi tabloid

Bespectacled Sridevi on the cover of Mayapuri, the Hindi tabloid

Photos by Rakesh Shreshta.

Musical chairs in casting in Bollywood: The films rejected by Sridevi and accepted by her

Much ado is made about casting in Bollywood - which has historically been a game of musical chairs. Sridevi herself wasn't always first choice for what eventually went on to become her most iconic films. Perhaps most famously, Harmesh Malhotra offered Jaya Prada Nagina first but she refused the film as she was petrified of snakes. Sridevi took over - and how!

There were rumours Dimple Kapadia was offered the remake of Moondram Pirai - which went on to become Sadma, with Sridevi, and a devastating classic was etched for all time. Chandni was famously meant to have Rekha first, but Yash Chopra dropped the idea by the time the film started production.

Similarly, Sridevi famously left Beta as she was doing too many films with Anil Kapoor in the early '90s, Baazigar was supposed to have a double role of Sridevi opposite Shahrukh Khan but the producers thought the audience would never sympathise with anyone killing Sridevi so brutally on the big screen, so newcomers had to be brought in instaed. Lata Mangeshkar was a fan of Sridevi and wanted her to be the lead in Lekin... lekin Sridevi was too booked up and mostly out of the country in 1990-1991. Sridevi wasn't keen to play the helpless damsel in distress in Darr and had the wherewithal to say No to 'the' Yash Chopra. He couldn't get her to do a film with Madhuri Dixit either, despite it being a lucrative proposal. She easily said No to Subhash Ghai for a cameo in Yaadein, which in retrospect was a good idea. I don't have the strength to get into the discussion on why Sridevi said no to Baahubali; a topic done to death.

Casting in Bollywood as a chess game makes for interesting theory, as moves made depending on who has the power and who is the pawn, always makes for interesting copy. Well, at least clickbait-y copy!