Rare pics: Sridevi on the sets of Chandni (1989): Rekha and Sridevi on the sets of Mr.India

Rare pics: Sridevi on the sets of Chandni (1989): Rekha and Sridevi on the sets of Mr.India

The Number One actresses of their time, Rekha and Sridevi were friends and Rekha would often pop over to visit Sri - which we've archived several times. 

Cover girls: Sridevi, Rekha, Dimple Kapadia: Ladies of the 80s

Cover girls: Sridevi, Rekha, Dimple Kapadia: Ladies of the 80s

Come on Charlie! Sridevi did it not once, but twice! The famed Charlie Chaplin impression

In fact, she probably did it once more in Telugu cinema, but we haven't found the pic yet. 

Vinod Khanna and Sridevi in Farishtay (1991)

Farishtay (Angels), the 1991 Hindi action-drama directed by Anil Gaddar Sharma, was released on 22 February 1991.

Vinod Khanna (born 6 October 1946) was 44 years old at the time of the film's release (he turned 45 later that year). Sridevi (born 13 August 1963) was 27 years old (she had turned 27 about six months earlier). 

The film featured a massive ensemble cast including Dharmendra, Rajinikanth, Jaya Prada, and others, with music by Bappi Lahiri. It was Anil Sharma's early directorial venture (his first outside production, as some sources note). If you watch the film now, and even back then, by all accounts it was a hot mess, just an awful movie and yet, fueled by film stars, it was a surprising success despite getting almost all negative reviews. 

Farishtay turned out to be a solid box office hit (described as a "blockbuster" or strong performer in certain box-office collection reports), especially considering it was a multi-starrer masala entertainer in a competitive era. Budget estimates hover around ₹2-3.3 crore, with India net collections reported around ₹3.65-4.8 crore in some analyses—making it profitable and one of the notable successes of 1991. Which was great news for the film producer, the firebrand that was Sattee Shourie, ie mother of Mona Kapoor. 

Its success was somewhat unexpected given the long production, choppy editing, mediocre songs, a haywire script, a bizarre screenplay, tacky costumes, crowded star lineup and typical risks of ensemble films, but the action, drama, and star power (including the rare pairing of big names like Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, and Rajinikanth) helped it connect with audiences and perform well commercially. A severe 80s leftover hangover kind of film that has not aged well. But in Bollywood, a hit, is a hit, is a hit. 

Even if the film is shi...

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Music vibes (@90smusicvibess)

Stardust: Why has the industry got together to dethrone Sridevi?

Stardust: Why has the industry got together to dethrone Sridevi? 

Why indeed! 

A Stardust magazine cover story. TBH the war was mostly on between Sridevi and the media more than the film industry. Sridevi didn't get for the tabloid press and didn't court editors or writers, and they highlighted her flops and were dismissive of her hits. But she conquered all with sari-clad ease and elegance. 

 

Rare pic: Sridevi on the sets of a Telegu film

Rare, rare pic of Sridevi on the sets of a Telugu film. 

Anyone recognise her full look? 

This Sridevi and Chiranjeevi Newsbyte is Trending: But is it True?

What social media has done is gotten rid of the gatekeepers of reliable news - hang on - the responsible ones, the fact checkers, the verifiers, the ones who look at a piece of information and think is this news? Is it true? Is it libelous? Or is it plausible fiction?! 

We are constantly leaving comments on posts - be it false or flattering, it has to be fact-checked. 

There doesn't seem to be any compunction to question a piece of information - to even randomly check on Google... 

Now this bit about stars earning 1croare - its plausible, possible and potentially true. Chiranjeevi and Sridevi were Telugu superstars and their film JVAS was a massive hit - and Telugu superstars famously are one of the highest paid people in the film industry... The iconic duo earning as much possible - but we need a reliable source to confirm the news on record, otherwise we take it with a pinch of salt.

Now this left newsbyte that has been trending - it could have used a very simple fact check. 90s supermodel Deepak Malhotra (now known as Dino Martelli), is best remembered for playing Siddharth Kumar Bhatnagar (Pallavi's husband) in the 1991 Yash Chopra film Lamhe opposite Sridevi. But it wasn't just 'one' role as he went on to appear in Tejasvini (1994) — his second and final film role (opposite Vijayshanti). There were other films that were launched but never took off - which was often true in the 80s and 90s  - there are innumerable failure-to-launch movies that make headlines, but are never completed.