From the moment Sridevi stepped into Himmatwala, a Hindi remake of a Jaya Prada film, it was on. The most heated rivalry between two Telugu actresses.
When Sridevi lowered his staggering remuneration to work in Jaag Utha Insan with Jaya Prada's mentor K Vishwanath (the legendary filmmaker), the damage was beyond repair, Jaya Prada was working in Sharaabi - which turned out to be a blockbuster while Jaag Utha Insan flopped at the box-office. It was a constant sport of upmanship that eventually Sridevi won. Queen of the box-office, top billing, awards, double roles, title roles, highest of salaries for a leading lady, the ability to pick and choose her directors and co-stars, the hand that rocked the box-office, rocked the cine-world.
Jaya Prada worked in more films with Amitabh Bachchan and initially had one hit song after another, while acting in major titles. However, one doesn't remember a leading lady in a Big B film - they were merely decorative (with exceptions of course!)... a lesson Sri learned quickly. In the wild wild west of Bollywood in the 1980s, somehow Sridevi picked better projects that bolstered her stunning career.
Despite all the machinations behind the scenes by Jaya Prada's strategic brother, fate favoured Sridevi in the 1980s. The undisputed Number One star.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)