The 54-year-old actress had died of a cardiac arrest in Dubai [*First official report suggested Sridevi had a heart-attack]. The moment Palekar heard, memories of his long association with Sridevi came flooding back.
Introduced to each other by Kamal Haasan, Palekar was Sridevi’s co-star in her Hindi debut film, ‘Solva Sawan’ (1979).
“It was an absolutely fascinating experience,” Palekar told TOI, reminiscing about shooting that film. “We forged a good friendship. She was extremely young, and I still remember how shy and guarded she was, as she was not very comfortable speaking English,” he recalled.
‘Solva Sawan’ was the Hindi remake of a 1977 Tamil film starring Sridevi and Haasan. “Kamal called me and told me about ’Pathinaru Vayathinile’, which needed a Hindi remake. He said only I could do the lead role. I watched the original and said Sridevi must act in the Hindi remake too. So I met her at her residence,” he recalled.
To this day. Palekar rues the fact that the Hindi film industry never witnessed Sridevi achieve her full acting potential. “If you watch her in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, you’ll know what a superb actress she was,” Palekar said. “It was hardly seen in Hindi films, compared to her work in Tamil films, especially those by K Balachander and Balu Mahendra. (She was) absolutely to be admired and loved,” Palekar said.
While shooting ‘Solva Sawan’, Palekar said, Sridevi and he became close friends. So much so, every evening after the shoot, Palekar and Sridevi would chat away. She would share anecdotes from her South Indian films, working alongside actors like Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. “At the time, both Kamal and Rajnikanth had yet to achieve superstardom. She acted in some beautiful films alongside them, directed by Balachander and Mahendra. I had seen those films and so, we would chat a lot about those films, about her performances; it was a wonderful experience,” Palekar said.
Among the fan mail Palekar got, following the release of ‘Solva Sawan’, was a letter by Surinder Kapoor, the father of Anil and Boney Kapoor. The letter sang Sridevi’s praises. “He wrote a very beautiful letter praising the film, my performance, among others. In the last para, he wrote, ‘Sridevi is such a lovely, fresh, vivacious young girl. I was quite surprised to find such a talented actor and I am sure she will go along way,’” Palekar said.
Sridevi was thrilled to hear about the letter.
Then, as time progressed, they drifted apart. “It wasn’t a cut, but a dissolve, a slow dissolve, as we say in show business,” he said.
They did bump into each other at the odd function. At one such gig, Palekar recalled, he was sitting in a corner when Sridevi spotted him and made a beeline for him. “She was a big star by then, with roles in ‘Mr India’ and other successful films. But she chatted with me with the same old affection,” Palekar said, “She was still shy, of course, but she had matured and grown up so beautifully.”
He added: “In fact, she sat with me throughout that function. We kept chatting and reminiscing our time shooting that first film.”
More images and info on Sridevi's first Hindi film - Solva Saawan (1979) - here.
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