Amrish Puri with Sridevi in Nagina

Amrish Puri with Sridevi in Nagina (1986).

During the making of the film, Sridevi was just 23 years old, Puri was 54. When Sridevi embarked her Bollywood journey, she mentioned that she was always intimidated by screen legends and remained shy but observant of how the actors worked in the Hindi film industry - an alien discipline to the one she was used to in the South. The shy actress had this major confrontational scene in the grand finale of Nagina with the veteran of stage and film. Her inner competitive streak of being the best no matter what she did - "like a good student"- came out. The wallflower turned into siren on screen and amazed all her co-stars.

Sift through any interview of any character and supporting actors and they all mention what a capable artist Sridevi was when they worked with her in her incredibly prolific career. Even though she did dozens of fluffy, song-and-dance routines and roles that required little of her - she did whatever she had to do with the best of her ability; and my God did she deliver! Nagina on paper doesn't work, a woman who turns into a snake at will to fight evil is ludicrous at best but the stellar performances elevate the movie into magical realism. Could lesser actors have made the film as convincing? There have been several attempts at reworking the genre - just about all have failed.