Rekha and Sridevi together on set: Famous Fan Rekha, "Sridevi is a self-made woman. She is my uncrowned Queen"

Rekha, "I saw her [Sridevi] for the first time in Chennai. She was shooting at the AVM studio for a Malayalam film with Kamal Hassan. She had a unique expression on her face. Much later I saw her in Sadma. Her performance in the film was brilliant. I think it's her best to date.

It is remarkable how well she has groomed herself. In the early stages she used to be somewhat clumsy even though her talent was never in doubt. But she was always a quick learner with an amazing grasping power. She picks up things in no time, be it make up technique, dress sense or voice modulation. She's a truly self made woman. She is my uncrowned queen. Sri is one actress who looks good in any outfit, western or Indian."

Sridevi and Rekha

"I remember she was very unsure of herself in the early stages. In spite of that to have achieved what she has is indeed remarkable. I feel she should come back to films. Legions of her fans will be thrilled if she did."
-- Zee Premier, Jan, 2000

Images below of Sridevi with Rekha from the sets of Nazrana. Rekha dropped in on the sets and the paps got loads of images of the grand divas of Indian cinema together. These images were in magazines for years on end, a casting coup no producer or magazine editor got!

The Hindi film tabloid Madhuri, 4 to 17 January 1985 issue cover story of the two leading ladies of Indian cinema.

Click to enlarge!

Rekha & Sridevi ... a camera's delight.. 

Rekha and Sri Devi have been two of the most successful Southern actresses in Hindi Films, in recent years. Strangely, they have yet to appear on screen together. But when the two met recently in the set of Jaan Hatheli Pe, Videostyle cameras were there to witness the event. 

As Southern actresses have stormed the Hindi Film industry in recent years, so much an extent that they have eclipsed many of their leading Bombay contemporaries. 

One recalls how Vyjayanthimala in the '60s and Hema Malini in the '70s, reigned supreme over their rivals. The success of Rekha and lately, Sridevi has a sense of deja vu ring of familiarity about it given the path trodden by their predecessors. Rekha's career has seen her rise from being the glamorous, duddy and comely heroine in her first film, Mohan Segal's Sawan Bhadon to Umrao Jaan - wherein she presented a completely different aspect of her acting, her performance has shown a slow and gradual improvement and by the time Ghar was made, she had become a consummate performer. With the release of Khubsoorat, she reiterated her histrionic talent confounding the critics who had great reservations about her ability to articulate a range of emotions. The actress in her, had finally superseded the film star of earthy, smouldering appeal. Since then, Rekha's career has scaled new and higher peaks of acting splendour, concurrent with her own popularity as a star who once threatened and finally dislodged Hema Malini from her pre-eminent throne. She brought glamour into the most unglamorous of roles while at the same time becoming an indispensable part of the Hindi film industry. Her performances as Chandni in Silsila, as Umrao Jaan in the film of the same name and as Zohra Bai in Prakash Mehra's Muqaddar Ka Sikandar - the latter she restored her credibility in a film dominated by two rugged and towering stars, Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna - have endeared her to a vast audience in India. 

The present success of Sridevi has emphasised the ability of Southern actresses to arrive and capture audiences in an alien environment. Although she was rejected, when she first appeared in Solva Sawan, she seemed destined to reach the top position held and, recently, vacated by Rekha. 

Himmatswala, in which she starred opposite Jeetendra, gave her a new lease of life and her popularity had increased dramatically. In the space of two years, she has had five silver jubilee hits, enabling her to leapfrog over all her rivals. The genuine actress in Sridevi is still awaiting the opportunity to display her ability by playing demanding and mature roles. 

"It has never been my ambition to play glamorous roles which only call for cleavage display. I would love to play a Mother India-Sada-type of film which gives the artiste enormous satisfaction. "It's a pity our industry is such, that when I portrayed an unglamorous and complex character in Sadma, I was rejected, the film flopped and the producers lost a fortune. Now, I have decided to give the masses what they want. "Once I'm established, I will fulfill my own ambitions, it'll be a different story then", she asserts confidently. 

While she was shooting in Bombay recently, Sridevi called on her idol, Rekha, on the sets of Jaan Hatheli Pe. Rekha was the perfect host and received her visitor enthusiastically. At the sight of the young pretender, Rekha's eyes glowed with warmth and the pair sat down to exchange notes on make-up. Rekha is an acknowledged expert on the subject and Sridevi listened eagerly to her advice. The two appeared to share such a perfect rapport, it seems merely a matter of time before they appear on screen together. 

Perhaps some ambitious producer will take a note of the huge potential inherent in this relationship — just waiting to be unearthed....