Sridevi: The Face of pan-Indian cinema

A simple pink salwar kameez, minimal accessories, but that luminous face. We've long stated she was/is/forever will be the face of Indian cinema. 

Can you recognise the two looks from two disparate films?! 

Rare photo of Sridevi on the sets of Gumrah

 Gorgeous Sridevi ont eh sets of Gumrah. 

Anupam Kher and Sridevi in Heer Ranjha: The costume drama and tragedy

As the evil uncle in Heer Ranjha, Anupam Kher and Sridevi were.... ok. There are many fans of this film and the often retold story, sadly, I'm just not one of them. 

Have seen the songs innumerable times as Sridevi looks and dances like a dream. 

Harmesh Malhotra and Anupam Kher, as actor and director... were not a good match. Kher famously has said he considers his performance in Malhotra's Nigahein, subpar. We hate to disagree with the noted actor who remains a champion of Sridevi till date - after all they did work in over a dozen films together. 

 

Star & Style: Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla and Sridevi: March 1993

By 1993, after a spate of box-office flops and average films, the media was dying to crown another screen queen.. .the names shuffled between Juhi Chawla and Madhuri Dixit. Sridevi stated she didn't consider the numbers game seriously and neither did Madhuri Dixit. Juhi Chawla with her chirpy comedies and musicals wasn't a real threat - until 1993 when she was fielding a hit after hit. 

Of her 9 releases that year, Juhi Chawla delivered the goods with 4 massive successes [Darr, Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, Aaina, Lootere] and an award-winning turn in Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke. Even MOVIE magazine, firmly on team Madhuri, declared her the Number One in their annual opinion poll edition, Star & Style, Stardust and Filmfare ran similar features. At the end its showbusiness - and Juhi's movies were just doing great business. 

Star & Style ran for years on Sridevi's coattails - covering her every move and movie - so this editorial - where Sridevi did not give any quotes or interview - was a soft nudge to the erstwhile Queen that a new wave was taking over Hindi cinema.  

Excerpt 

“It’s very difficult to know Sridevi,” states choreographer Chinni Prakash who has worked with the actress in three or four films. “It takes a lot of time to pierce through the tough, aloof veneer that she has about her on the sets.”

It’s not only Chinni who feels this way about Sridevi. Almost every person who’s got anywhere near her, says the same. Sridevi’s hairdresser, Rashida, who’s been with the actress since three years, sings no different tune about her madam. “She doesn’t mix around much with anybody,” explains Rashida. “She talks only as much as required. Even if it’s a problem with the fitting of her dress, she tells us to inform the dress-man to handle the problem. She says softly but very firmly, that he should know that such problems should not crop up. There is never a trace of irritability on her face, when she says it. Yet her words are not meant to be taken lightly.” Sridevi’s total control over her emotions when in public is a result of being in the film industry for far too long - since the age of six. “Sridevi has seen so much of cinema life, and witnessed so much of unpleasantness that she’s conditioned herself to block herself totally from anything other than her performance and career. Perhaps, she’s afraid that people will take her for granted,” reasons Chinni.

Hardly surprising then, that the actress feels no attachment for anyone in the industry. According to ace glamour photographer, Gautam Rajadhyaksha, who has had the privilege to turn on his lens eye on the star, Sridevi is so totally apart and distant from the film folk that she once revealed to him quite candidly, “I have learnt nothing from the industry.” Her success, her achievement in the South and particularly in Hindi cinema has been totally of her own making. “Sri is an incredibly hard-working girl,” praises Gautam. It’s a known fact that when she came to Bombay, chasing ambitious dreams of becoming the reigning star, she was totally at a disadvantage. Hindi was an alien language and she was better known for her thunder thighs than for her acting talent. But her single-minded dedication and pursuit of her goal, established her as the most successful actress. “Sridevi worked hard on her language and within no time she started dubbing for her own films,” exclaims make-up maestro Mickey Contractor who has a fairly good rapport with the actress.

In fact, professionalism has always been Sridevi’s hallmark. Come rain, hail or storm, the actress is there on the sets at the given time. “Sridevi had once hurt herself badly on the sets of K.C. Bokadia’s ‘Main Tera Dushman’,” recollects her ex-secretary Hari Singh. “An eight inch glass had pierced her thigh. She was hospitalised, her wound was stitched and she was prescribed complete rest for two months. However, when ‘Farishtay’s Sattie Shourie begged and pleaded her not to cancel the Kashmir outdoor because the weather would change later, Sridevi went for the schedule. And, sure enough, her condition worsened. When she returned to Madras, burning with fever, she found that the thigh injury had got septic and was oozing with puss. But, that’s how she is. Totally dedicated.”

So much so that for the sake of a challenging role, Sridevi is ever willing to go to any lengths to get into the skin of it. Sometimes literally. According to Mickey Contractor, Sridevi’s Chinese look for a song sequence in ‘Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja’ was not an easy task. “Sridevi’s eyes had to be stretched for days from the sides with scotch tape, to get that chinky look,” revealed Mickey in admiration. “But not once did she complain about the arduous task of going through this exercise for days. In fact I felt terribly bad for her when I saw that the skin near her eyes was getting bruised. Though Sridevi would be edgy and restless those days, not once did she wince in pain or give me the idea that she was suffering.”

Mickey, however, recalls one incident when the actress uncharacteristically turned up late one morning on the sets of ‘RKRCKR’. “As usual, I went up to her make-up room to find it locked. After a long wait Sri arrived, got into the make-up room and immediately began to get ready for the song-dance continuation. Seeing me visibly bugged, she came to me and said, ‘I know I am late. Do you want to know why?’ She then rolled up her dress to show me her terribly swollen up knees. The previous day she’d done a strenuous song-dance which required her to use her knees. ‘I had to take a painkilling injection to get out of bed this morning, otherwise I would not have been able to make it today,’ she said simply. That’s when I realised that the actress is truly dedicated to her job. But not once did she make a show of it or try to get sympathy on the sets that day.”

Though extremely conscious of what she says and does when she’s in company, the actress does succumb to human frailties now and then. “Sridevi is always calm and controlled, but at times she loses her cool too,” observes Mickey. “Like, when she’s doing her make-up and if her assistant does not hand her the correct material, she snaps and says irritably, ‘You should know by now what I want, not wait for me to ask for it.’ But, then, I guess, nobody is born perfect. We all have shades of grey in our personality.”

And Sridevi has them too. The very fact that the actress survived through her struggling days to reach the peak of success, was proof enough that she was no dim-witted bimbo. After her flop debut in ‘Solwa Saawan’ and ‘Sadma’, an undaunted Sridevi was smart enough to relaunch herself with the then box-office boss, Jeetendra, in ‘Himmatwala’. Its roaring success with the masses encouraged her to consolidate her position with many more South quickies with Jeetendra. However, the minute other top heroes who had become aware of her talent and box-office draw, showed willing keenness to work with her, Sridevi was professional and ambitious enough to ease up on further offers with Jeetendra. In fact, even during Jeetu’s lean spell in recent times, Sridevi consistently refused to pair up with him which had hurt the actor no end.

“The fact is that Jeetendra and Sridevi couldn’t go on doing films only with each other forever,” reasons Shobha, Jeetendra’s wife. “Their pair had become stale at the box-office and it was no longer an economically viable proposition to continue working with each other. But that doesn’t mean that it has affected their personal relationship. We are yet friendly with her. In fact, Sridevi participated in the show we had in USA. And there I got to know her really well.

“She’s one actress who never demanded to be treated like a star. Especially on our internal flights in the States, there were only a handful of first class seats. But she always offered them to Jeetu and me first. Even when she got a seat for herself she would either give it to her mother or sister, saying she didn’t mind sitting in the economy class. I really admired her consideration for others.”

Shobha explains that during the Jeetendra and Sridevi South phase after the hit ‘Himmatwala’, she didn’t really get to know the actress too well in those days. “In fact, my daughter, Ektaa, who was only eight years old and a great fan of hers, got along better with her! She used to literally cling to Sridevi, always be with her in her make-up room when we visited Jeetu every weekend.” Sridevi too, was very fond of Ektaa and brother Tushar, and whenever she was in Bombay, she always made it a point to drop in at their house, specially on occasions like their birthdays.

Something the actress rarely or almost never did with anybody else. In recent times, Sridevi projected such closeness only with Boney Kapoor when she shifted lock, stock and barrel into his house, after her father’s death. At an emotional ebb and totally vulnerable, Sridevi was grateful to find a supportive friend in Boney. However, when speculation of an affair between the two reared its ugly head, Sridevi got herself together and promptly moved out into a hotel. She didn’t want either her professional career or personal dignity to be tainted by such rumours. She had worked too hard to keep both her lives intact. And nothing was going to mar either of them. After all, hadn’t Sridevi been made to suffer the onslaught of ugly publicity after her disastrous break-up with Mithun Chakraborthy in the past? In fact, it was after this bitter-sweet phase that Sridevi withdrew herself totally from the industrywallahs. Until then, the actress had, at least, been making efforts to befriend her colleagues. Like Rekha, for instance. In fact, Rekha and Sridevi frequently double-dated with their respective lovers, Amitabh and Mithun. But it ended when they fell out with their men. The personal friendship between the two women went kaput too.

It’s then, that Sridevi’s obsession for privacy began to surface. And she withdrew totally into her shell after her father’s death. It was a rare occasion when Sridevi let her defences down. At such times, it was her wacky sense of humour that showed itself inevitably. “Oh, Sridevi has a terrific sense of humour,” agrees Mickey. “But she almost never displays it on the sets. Once I was quietly smiling to myself over a funny event on the sets when Sridevi caught my eye, turned to where I was looking, and then had a quiet laugh herself too. I realised that she too had caught on on to the situation. Believe me, she’s nobody’s fool, as she’d love people to believe. She’s very smart, observant and quick on the uptake.”

According to choreographer Saroj Khan, who was totally fascinated with the actress when she first saw her in ‘Himmatwala’, and then worked with her to give her many a memorable song-and-dance numbers, Sridevi is great fun when she’s unguarded, which is only in the security of her family at home in Madras. “Two years ago Sri had invited me with six of my dancer boys to her house at Madras to celebrate New Year’s Eve,” reminisces the dancer fondly. “While I stayed at her bungalow, the boys were put up at a hotel. While playing dandiya that night, some of the boys got lightly bruised by Sri. So, we played a prank on Sri the next day. All six of them came over to her house with bandaged

limbs. Naturally, Sri and her parents were shocked to know how it had happened. But Sri understood from a faint smile on my lips that the boys were just pulling a fast one. Later, when Sri grandly led us to the dining table for lunch, and when we opened the covered dishes, we found paper, stones and straws in all of them! Seeing our stunned faces, Sri and her father burst out laughing and she said, ‘If you guys can pretend to be hurt, why can’t I serve you such food?’ And we all burst out laughing. So, Sri is very friendly and funny. But she’s never like that when she’s in the midst of work on the sets.”

Sridevi is a picture of toughness on the sets. “But actually she’s vulnerable and very sensitive,” reveals Mickey. “Like, once, while doing her face, I casually commented on another actress’ striking features. Apparently, she misunderstood it. She told someone else that I found her features rather imperfect. She thought that I had implied it, though that was not at all what I had meant. That’s when I realised that Sri’s very sensitive and vulnerable. What people say about her leaves a lasting impact on her.”

In fact, the South Indian actress devours very written word on herself. “Madam reads every magazine,” reveals her hairdresser, Rashida. “And she reads every article on her very thoroughly. But we have never seen her react to anything — good, bad or otherwise.” However, if she happens to like her pictures that are published she reacts very positively. “Sri is very spontaneous in that respect,” says Gautam. “She does not think twice before calling me up and telling me in her characteristic Madrasi accent, ‘Oh, I l-o-u-ed the picture.’ Why, once when we happened to meet by chance in Bombay, she told me very honestly that she had forgotten to call me about one of her pictures she liked very much! That’s what I appreciate about her. She’s very spontaneous and genuine in her admiration, unlike some others who perhaps do it as a matter of protocol because it will reflect well on them if they called me up specially to thank me. No, Sri’s not like that. She means what she says.”

A fact seconded by Saroj Khan. Saroj is amongst the few industry persons who has been on the receiving side of Sri’s generosities. “Sri has been very nice to me in all the years of our association. She gifted me a gold necklace, earrings and a ring of New Year’s Eve two years ago. If Sridevi cares for someone, it’s genuine. And then she’s very generous and warm. I will never forget the time we had gone to America for a show and the organisers did not pay me my dues. So, when Sri and I went out shopping (that’s one of her favourite pastimes), she noticed that I was not buying anything. When I told her why, she promptly asked her mother to give me three hundred dollars. She’s the kind who’s extremely helpful in times of need.”

Today, Saroj Khan genuinely regrets the fact that the warmth they once shared is lacking in their relationship. “However, we do greet each other cordially, whenever we meet,” says Saroj sadly. She feels their relationship soured because of the rumours that circulated about her apparent bias against Sridevi for her strongest contender, Madhuri Dixit. However, Saroj hopes to clear the misunderstanding soon. “I would definitely like to make up with Sridevi,” she says emotionally.

But the fact remains that though Sridevi may go blue in her face denying her discomfort at Madhuri’s zooming up to the number one slot, the South Indian actress is perturbed by her rival’s success. In fact, she is so conscious of the competition in the industry that she makes it a point to see every Hindi film to keep herself updated on that front. “Sridevi watches a film each night. At times the actress tries to catch as many films as she can in her luxurious van to and from the studio, back to the hotel,” reveals Rashida, the star’s hairdresser.

However, at the end of it all, the actress knows in her heart of hearts that success is the flip side of failure and like everything else, it adheres to Newton’s law of motion that what goes up, must come down. And that’s when life will look squarely at her, demanding it’s pound of flesh. But Sridevi’s too smart for that. By then she will have settled securely in the cocoon of marriage, to a guy chosen only by her mother and no longer to a guy of her own choice. After all, the one thing that everyone knows is that Sridevi learns from her mistakes!

— KANAN DIVECHA

Sridevi on the sets of Roop Ki Rani...

Flashback to Sridevi on the sets of the title song (there were a few in fact...) of Roop Ki Rani... She's absolutely amazing in this fun comedic dance number.

Sridevi's comedic styling for the title song of Roop Ki Rani... Even in this red and gold haze, she looks oh-so-cute!!

Publicity shots for Mr.India: Anil Kapoor and Sridevi in 1987

Publicity shots for Mr.India: Anil Kapoor and Sridevi in 1987 strike a pose for Stardust! The picture on the sets of Mr.India - you could see those pics throughout the 1980s in all the film magazines! That yellow and white apron dress! 

 

Sridevi on the sets of Meri Biwi Ka Jawab Nahin with director Pankaj Parasher back in 1993!

Sridevi on the sets of Meri Biwi Ka Jawab Nahin with director Pankaj Parashar back in 1993. Had this film been shot, edited, and produced properly, it had all the ingredients of a potential comic classic. Instead, released a staggering 11 years after its original production schedule - as clearly marked on the clapboard - the final cut that stumbled into theaters in 2004 was a stitched-together, nonsensical patch-job. 

If the producer had shown any foresight, he would have coordinated a proper schedule with Akshay Kumar and Sridevi and the original director, to complete the remaining portions once she returned to the screen post-marriage and motherhood, looking as radiant as ever. 

Instead, what reached audiences was a jarring, amateurish editing effort that proved painful to endure—especially for fans of Sridevi and Akshay, who had waited over a decade to see the duo in a worthy feature. A frustratingly squandered opportunity for all involved.