Sridevi in 1985!

Outtakes from an early cover shoot for Filmfare... Published in May 1985!

Not all the photoshoots were great.., the makeup, the outfit.... well, it was the 80s!

Feroz Khan with Sridevi in Jaanbaaz: Swagger, Cinema, and Style: Honouring the Legacy of Feroz Khan

September 25, Bollywood turns back the clock to honour the birth anniversary of its quintessential swaggering showman, Feroz Khan. 

Born in Bangalore, Khan single-handedly revolutionised Bollywood by introducing an unapologetic Western slickness, cowboy aesthetics, and unmatched high-octane glamour to the silver screen. Long before debonair anti-heroes became mainstream, he carried himself with an effortless swagger, signature Stetson hats, fine boots, and cigar-toting charisma that earned him the title of the Clint Eastwood of the East. 

As a filmmaker and actor, Khan possessed an uncanny vision for casting the finest talent, effortlessly working with all the top leading ladies of the era. From Hema Malini in Dharmatma to Dimple Kapadia, Sridevi and Rekha in Janbaaz, he presented women with a stunning combination of raw sensuality and fierce dignity. 

His creative relationship with Sridevi stood out as a stroke of visionary directing. Though Sridevi made only a brief special appearance in Janbaaz (1986), Khan capitalized on her unmatched stardom, sensuality and framed her exquisitely in the memorable song Har Kisi Ko Nahi Milta. Under his lens, Sridevi looked ethereal, draped in flowing sarees along wind-swept coastlines, creating a cinematic moment that remains etched in pop-culture history. When asked who was the sexiest heroine he worked with - he ruffled many feathers when he stated on record that Sridevi was the most beautiful - this after having worked with Mumtaz to Madhuri Dixit. 

Khan operated with an enviable success ratio that few producers could match. Rather than overloading his filmography, he focused on lavish scale and quality, directing iconic blockbusters like Apradh, Dharmatma, Qurbani, and Janbaaz - the vast majority of which dominated the box office. He transformed Indian action cinema into a globe-trotting spectacle filled with fast cars, slick action, and unforgettable chartbusters. 

Even in his later years, his memorable turn as RDX in Welcome proved that age could never dim his legendary swash-buckling style - Feroz Khan, one in a billion.  

Sridevi in white on the sets of Gurudev

Sridevi in white on the sets of the Hindi film Gurudev 

Silver Jubilee of Chandni: Throwback to March 1990: Raaj Kumar, Vinod Khanna, Jeetendra, Rishi Kapoor, Lata Mangeshkar, Dilip Kumar, Sridevi

Silver Jubilee of Chandni: Throwback to March 1990: Raaj Kumar, Vinod Khanna, Jeetendra, Rishi Kapoor, Lata Mangeshkar, Dilip Kumar, Sridevi

Queen of the 80s: From early 1983 to the summer of 1993: The undisputed Queen of Bollywood: Sridevi

 

Sridevi's chiffon saris from Chandni (1989)

The prevailing memory of Sridevi in Chandni would be her innumerable outfits and ensembles in white... But for a brief moment, Sridevi appears in this chiffon sari looking effortlessly elegant and immeasurably beautiful during a song sequence. 

Yash Chopra's musical made a seismic shift in the way Bollywood movies were being made at the time. Worth watching, and re-watching again. And again. 

The gorgeous rom com and musical, Chandni (1989). 

Sridevi, 21, on the cover of a Bengali tabloid

 

Title: Anandalok (Name of the magazine) 

29 December 1984 | 4 Rupees 50 Paisa (Date & Price) 

Sridevi

Special feature on beauty care 

 "I'm not quitting films": Amitabh 

Above image is ai modified, edited picture of below original paper scan. Sridevi still looks like Sridevi - not some of the terrible edits that are floating around online. 

The photoshoot was done earlier than October 1984 - you can see images in the archive from this shoot here.