Sridevi is on Mubi: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly.

Mubi is one of the most respected platforms for cine-philes, particularly word cinema fans, so was thrilled to find Sridevi is her own category at Mubi.com

Impressive.

What isn't of course is the curation of films on this said platform as, of the 38 films that are up, some of her better films are included, Lamhe, Chandni, Nagina, Nigahein, Gumrah, English Vinglish and her swansong Mom, but also random movies like the Tamil flop Puli (which perhaps a few children liked...), the dreadful incomplete ludicrously edited and dubbed Meri Biwi Ka Jawab Nahin, unsalvageable Chaand kaa Tukdaa, and the infamous flop Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja.... among others.

Did they just pick what was available and free, if not low-cost to acquire?! Tres bizarre. 

Sridevi (and family) with MGR, Jayalalithaa: Of Power and Politics

Sridevi, Rajeshwari [Sridevi's mother] with Jayalalithaa 

Sridevi, MGR, Ayappan and Rajeshwari [Sridevi's parents]

 

Let's do a quick name check and fact check here; 

Sridevi was born Ayappan Sreedevi - not anything else. 

Sridevi's mother was born Rajeshwari Reddy, post-marriage, she was Ayappan Rajeshwari. 

Sridevi's father was Ayappan Naidu. 

The dive into the name and heritage in the archive here.

Sridevi

Sridevi on the sets of Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja. And yes, this pic has been AI modified and edited by... someone. The original image is in the archive.

Sridevi: The AI Modified Edit

 Like wildfire, fake pics of Indian celebrities are taking over social media. 

Hopefully, platforms will be able to distinguish, highlight and inform viewers when original images have been tampered with. 

Fans seem to think a flattering edit means its ok to corrupt original photographs of stars. It is not. It is still tampering. There are images of Sridevi so over edited, it barely looks like the actress. Reminds me of the God-awful Madame Tussaud's figurine of Sridevi. So poorly executed, it would be risible if it wasn't so tragic. 

Sridevi in Lamhe

 Sridevi in Lamhe 

Fake fake fake: AI modified images of Bollywood stars go wild online: Aishwarya Rai, Sridevi, Janhvi Kapoor etc forged online

 

The problem with AI altered or enhanced imagery is of course that despite its intentions, some of these images look nothing like the real actress. The nose is altered, the eyes enhanced, the skin smoothened beyond natural human reality, the lip shape perfected, one tweak after another and soon, the original is lost altogether. Soon fakes of fakes will prolifer and by the end, the avatar of Sridevi will look nothing like the real Sridevi. 

That's the trouble with good intentions; its paved all the way to hell.

Throwback Thursday: Sridevi with Maheshwari

Throwback Thursday: Sridevi with Maheshwari 

Sridevi in a simple salwaar kameez... so strikingly beautiful. With that classic south Indian beauty, she never needed the six kilos of 1980s makeup in that infamous decade...