Sridevi's favourite photographer: Rakesh Shreshta

Bollywood's iconic photographer Rakesh Shreshta on the day he met Sridevi - back in 1984 - till his shoot with the legendary actress: "I had heard a lot about this sizzler from the south before I actually saw her. We first met during the outdoor shoot of Himmatwala, I admit I wasn’t too impressed by her, she was okay. It took a couple more shoots, a couple of more sessions before I realized that she was another south Indian star who was here to stay.

She had the talent, the determination and, in time, she developed those drop-dead looks too. Yes, I knew Sridevi was going to make it very big in the Mumbai industry. And I was right. She became superstar. She was the last empress… the last complete actress. We will never have another Sridevi ever. 

What makes Sridevi special? 

Well, she wasn’t just a pretty face flashing a smile for the camera. She was very focused, she knew exactly what the camera wanted and she certainly wasn’t a star stuck in a groove. Every shoot with Sridevi used to be different, experimental. We have tried so many looks. Hey, I could even give you a Sridevi special. There are pictures where she is Sridevi, the superstar. And pictures like this one, where she is just a character. A wide-eyed Alice in Wonderland. I guess, that was how she used to feel, relying a lot on her mother. Maybe her mother decided for her more often than not, but she never interfered with the shoot. Sridevi may not have been very communicative, but from what I have seen of her, she was a woman with a mind of her own. 

Will she make a come-back? Well, everyone seems to think she should. And if she does, her only competition will be Sridevi herself. If she does return, we could do many more shoots together. Maybe I will get to shoot her upside down, topsy-turvy. That is something we haven’t tried before!" 

-- Rakesh Shreshta talks about the years of working with Sridevi.