Sridevi's first Hindi film as a leading lady, Solvaa Saawan (1979)

The first Hindi film of Sridevi as a leading lady was Solvaa Saawan, a remake of her own Tamil film 16 Vayathinile. However, in its Hindi incarnation, unlike the Tamil original, the movie flopped badly at the box-office. Sridevi was just 16 when the film released and as the film nose-dived, she thought her career in Bollywood was a fail-start. She packed her bags and returned to Madras*, vowing never to return. (*Madras became Chennai in 1998!). 

Solvaa Saawan was directed by Bharathi Rajaa, with cinematography by P.S.Nivas, with leading lady Sridevi, actors Amol Palekar, Madhukar and Dina Pathak. The film score was composed by Jai Dev.

In her debut role as a heroine, Sridevi (herself 16 when the film was shot) plays the 16-year-old Mehna, who refuses the advances of a mentally challenged character played be Amol Palekar. Mehna falls in love with a city vet but refuses to commit to him, and finds herself being rejected in turn.

With this new perspective, Mehna begins to accept Amol Palekar's character and encourages him to defend himself against those who constantly mock him. But when an evil villager, played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda, attempts to rape Mehna, Palekar's character kills him by throwing a brick at his head. Palekar's character is arrested for murder, and the film concludes with Sridevi waiting in vain at a train station for his return.

The film (a remake of the South Indian hit 16 Vayathinile filmed two years earlier with Kamal Hassan and Rajnikanth) did not perform well despite pre-reports of a potential superhit  - like its Tamil predecessor.

Need to repeat this again (and again) but Sridevi was just 16 while the movie was shot and released and her co-star Amol Palekar was... 19 years older!! Palekar had just turned 35! This wasn't an exception but the norm, older actors with younger leading ladies is so common (even now!), it borders on the cliché. 

But, here's a point to note, Sridevi did say she had no qualms about working with her much older co-star. Back in 1979, the fine actor was having a career defining y ear - Palekar won one of his several Best Actor awards (eg below picture of Amol Palekar with his Best Actor win for Gol Maal in 1980 with Jaya Bachchan, who won Best Actress for Nauker). Sridevi often said she learned so much observing thespians and she's never interfered in the casting choices of her producers and directors. Having worked with actors 20, 30, 40 years older than her, this was nothing new for the newcomer. 

Sridevi on her first Hindi film, Solvaa Saawan.

Sridevi, "Solvaa Saawan was and still is a bad memory. I had earlier done the Tamil and Telugu versions of the same film, so by the time I got to the Hindi version, I was bored sick! Moreover, I didn’t know Hindi and I was most uncomfortable working in the alien atmosphere of Bombay. I was missing Madras terribly and I just wanted the film to be done and over with. One vivid memory of the film is my messing up the first take on the first day of shooting, which I’m very superstitious about. I knew then, that the film would be a flop. Secretly, I was quite happy because I thought that I wouldn’t have to work in the horrible place Bombay (laughs) anymore. I thought I’d go back, work for a couple of years more, get married, and go away. But God willed it otherwise. Only one thing worked in my favour. The first of my Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films were all terrible flops, after which I rose to the top in all the bilingual films. So Solva Saawan’s failure was in fact a good omen for better things to come.

Q: If Amol Palekar approached you for a film today, would you do it for purely sentimental reasons, considering that he was your first romantic lead in Hindi films?
A: Well frankly, I accept a film only on one criteria – the script and the quality of my role. If it was Amol Palekar, I’d definitely consider seeing his script and hearing him out. But further than that, it’s only my role that matters. But I am quite sure that if he approached me, he’d definitely have a very good script, because he’s a very fine actor. I remember his performances in Chitchor and Rajanigandha. I’ve also heard that he is a very talented director. And a good director can make the world of a difference to even a weak script.

Left: On the sets of Solvaa Sawan (1979), director P. Bharathiraja, Sridevi and Amol Palekar. The music was composed by Jaidev while cinematography was handled by P. S. Nivas. The remake of Bharathiraja's debut film 16 Vayathinile (1977), the original Tamil film had Kamal Hassan, Sridevi, and Rajinikanth. The film was also remade in Telugu Padaharella Vayasu (1978), again starring Sridevi in the titular role.

UPDATE: At the launch party of Solva Saawan, a very young Sridevi with her co-stars.

Left: A rare pic of Sridevi, age 16, with her first Hindi film co-star, Amol Paleka, 35. Solva Saawan was a remake and a major flop at the box-office.

Sridevi once again paired with a co-star more than double her age. A trend that has thankfully died down by now...