Empirically, the No:1 Actresses of ALL time are; Rekha, Hema Malini and Sridevi. All South Indian Divas, legendary beauties, great dancers and stupendous actresses. What a rare and great moment captured backstage at Filmfare awards where all three long-time friends, sometime contemporaries were caught catching up.
Then Filmfare editor Khalid Mohamed (Screenwriter and journalist too): "Sridevi is an all rounder, she is unarguably the best No.1 actress we've ever known. Hema Malini and Rekha just didn't have the same snap and crackle, the electricity. Mumtaz was pretty, perky, yes but Sridevi's zoomed leagues ahead. Sridevi can dance, act, she has charisma, oomph, energy. No actress can combine all these elements. Not surprisingly she doesn't have a competitor of equal merit. Put them on the screen with her and they'll look like her hand maidens."
The Angry Empress: You can't call her a queen any longer. She has outgrown that phase to reach the pinnacle of success which no other heroine has scaled so far. No title is more appropriate for her today than 'Empress'. An empress who reportedly commands a staggering price of Rs. 18 lakhs! An empress who draws audience to the cinema like bees to a hive. Throwing caution and diplomacy to the winds, the angry empress. Sridevi lashes out for the first time in her most frank, fearless and forthright interview.
- MOVIE magazine
* We are trying to find the full interview to feature here.
Balakrishna Shroff (Distributor): "Sridevi's box office potential is greater than Hema or Rekha's ever was. Hema and Rekha thrived at a time when there was no video. Next to Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi is the only one who can guarantee definite returns over a period of time. Earlier heroines were popular but they never were a craze like Sridevi is. Her fan following matches that of a hero and she can overshadow any hero as she did in Mr India. Her contribution to the success of Chandni is 90 per cent."
-- Filmfare, August, 1990
Sridevi
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely right
ReplyDeleteBiased article. Sridevi was never a bigger actress than hema malini. If speak honestly, hemas fan following is even intact today when she is almost out of screen since long. Her admirers are from all age group and the dream girl is the most beautiful diva of bollywood
ReplyDeleteall 1990's and post can't think beyond Sridevi, Madhuri, Kajol, Ashwarya etc. Not that they are not good actresses but to say that they are better actress than Hema Malini is utter non-sense. Not only she is the most beautiful screen goddess India has ever seen but a tremendously popuar, successful and talented actress. her body of work will need a fine historian to describe. I don't think any south born actress can win MP election is U.P. unless she has a mass popularity, and no one become popular unless she is that talented. hence stop undermining the Dream girl. She is th most graceful, dignified and respected artist across India and if I am not wrong acorss all generations too. Rekha or anyone else is only after Hema malini
ReplyDeleteFirst female superstar , we can not say because there were devika rani, noorjahan suraiya, Madhubala and vijayanti mala and Definately Hema Malini is more successful,
ReplyDeleteWe see hema was not a less popular than sridevi , in beauty ,dance both were incomparable. But in acting , when we see hema' s early movies like seeta ar Geeta, kinara, khushbu, Dillagi ,Meera, or later in ek chadar maili se hema was great but in later hema ' s acting is not good in many movies but Sri Devi's actingis always good. Hema did most women oriented movies seeta ar Geeta , Raja jani, mahbooba, jyoti,jaaneman, dreamgirl,sarafat,Meera, Razia sultan, ek chadar maili di, lal pathar, dunhara sansar Sri Devi ji also did but not like hema ji
So hema malani ji might be considered first female superstar of Bollywood, and after hema ji it was Sri Devi ji