Fans got to ask questions to Sridevi via Movie magazine and she answered! Sridevi being her funny, adorable self!
MOVIE magazine, September 1991..
Heartline to Sridevi
The Queen Bee wasn't exactly swatting flies when I met her on the sets of Yash Chopra's Lamhe.
Breathlessly sweating it out for a dance (a take off on the Flashdance climax number - set, music, dance et al) she also had top-notch producers dancing attendance to her, in between takes, armed with bulging bags of notes to lure her into their films.
Yet Sridevi squeezed in time whenever she could for MOVIE readers. For your sake - dear readers- I trailed her form the make-up room to the sets, even plonking myself next to her on stage in the field of the camera! When the lights came on and Yashji shouted, 'Star sound,' I had to actually run with my pad. I almost got shot you know.
Readers write in to question, the one and only, Sridevi.
Q: Have you ever had to spend an entire movie walking in a specially constructed ditch, just because you happened to be taller than the hero?
Rajeshwari Singh, New Delhi
Sridevi: (Giggling). No, I haven't had to walk in a ditch but I have had to take off my chappals and heels throughout one film because my hero was short. I won't name him because he'll feel bad then. I also remember, whenever we had a scene together, I had to bend my knees so that I didn't appear taller.
[Edit: Rishi Kapoor in Chandni?]
Q: When you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror, which sister from Chaalbaaz do you see? Understanding that both characters were extreme archetypes, do you identify personally more with one or the other, or with both?
David Bragdon, USA
Sridevi: As you've said they're archetypes. I'm definitely not 100 percent of either. I'll never pick a fist fight with anybody nor am I the type to let anybody walk all over me without a murmur of protest. Actually, it all depends on the situation. I may have to be one or the other.
Q: I think you are just right for teeny bopper roles. Now that you're already doing two films with Salman, is a film with Aamir on the cards next?
Gaurav Dwivedi, Lucknow
Sridevi: The only time I have co-starred with Aamir has been for the MOVIE cover. But on screen you may see us together somehow. There is nothing in the pipeline right now, but there are no objections from my side.
Q: Nagma is unabashed about being your clone. She says she doesn't mind being in your shadow. Are you promoting her?
Karishma, Delhi.
Sridevi: I'm not promoting her. I worked in her father's production, Aulaad, and she grew close to me then. But I wasn't even aware of the fact that she had joined films after that. I got to know only when she came and told me about it some months back. But you mustn't keep comparing her with me. It's not good for her.
Q: You are an enormously accomplished dancer. And you are acknowledged as a leading actress. The combination of these two distinct disciplines is what distinguishes you as India's first lady of entertainment. Which vocation occupies pre-eminent place in your heart? For you, is cinema merely a stage for dance, or is dance merely an element of cinema?
David Bragdon, USA
Sridevi: There are no two ways about it - I love acting from the bottom of my heart. I started working in films when I was only five. And for me, cinema will always be more important than just dancing. I started dancing because I was in films and over the years have grown to love it too.
Q: What would you do if you find a fan of yours threatens to fast to death unless you marry him?
Pradeep Jain, Calcutta
Sridevi: Nothing like that has ever happened before. Don't give them ideas now.
Q: You have the greatest career going in Bollywood. Can't you now takae the risk of doing a negative role?
Rajesh, Cochin.
Sridevi: Why do you want to spoil my career? (Upon being reminded of Meena Kumari's complex role in Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam) Oh, I'd love to do it. Thanks for the idea.
Q: In film magazines you come across as a dumb, quiet and reserved person. but when I see you on screen I feel you really have a whale of a time playing an extrovert. I also get a feeling you handle your roles intelligently - with perception. Which is the real you?
Sunil Desai, Bombay
Sridevi: Now you can't expect me to say 'I'm intelligent' or 'I'm not dumb'. That's for other people to decide. As for being quiet and reserved, I've never had problems relating with people. People even call me a child-like, but I have never had difficulties facing the adult world. but one thing is true. I'm close to very few people.
Q: How come there are such few films starring you being released and that too so infrequently?
Parag Shah, Bombay
Sridevi: It's not that I planned it this way - it just happened. So many of my films have got delayed and that caused this drought. But even in the future, I don't want to do too many films. Just a few films each year - but all should be good.
Q: Suppose you had been in the film industry in the 1950s or the '60s. Do you think, pitted against heroines, the caliber of Meena Kumari, Vyjayanthiamala etc, you would have been able to achieve this number one position?
Abdul Waheed, Kenya
Sridevi: The competition is as stiff today. It's not as if the other girls are all bad. So if you are capable of reaching the top today, you can do so anytime.
Rajeshwari wins 10 audio cassetes and David wins 4 audio cassettes of Super Cassettes.
Published in MOVIE magazine, September, 1991
Great stuff!
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