When Masterji was released in 1985, it was during the peak of remakes (the film was a remake of the Tamil hit Mundhanai Mudichu,1984). Film producers in the 80s used the south Indian market as a testing ground, the theory being if it works well in smaller centres, it might be able to repeat the formula again on a larger scale. This worked for a long time - hence the huge money spinning trend of remakes and endless Jeetendra Sridevi/Jaya Prada/Rekha movies shot quickly and within budget. The term Bollywood factory was coined somewhere along the way as stocks of these movies were couriered to cinemas dotted around the nation with regularity and clockwork precision. Most of them were walloped by critics (in fact, we hunted through reams of print trying to find one positive review, but couldn't). but absolutely no one in production cared as the cottage industry made huge returns.
Masterji went on to become the 12th biggest hit of 1985 (according to imdb) but the double-meaning dialogues, the sequined bikini tops of Sridevi, the zoom ogling shots and angled cinematography focusing on the actress' curves, well, it did not go down well with the critics; especially Sridevi's harshest critic, her mother (and original momager!) Rajeshwari.
Excerpt from Sridevi's interview with Filmfare, October 1985;
Filmfare: How much satisfaction did you get from the film [Masterji]? What was her [Sridevi's mother's] reaction when she saw the film?
Sridevi: "I thought my performance was ordinary. But everybody has been telling me I was terrific. I am quite surprised with their reaction. My mother however was not pleased. She asked me, 'Why did you do all those vulgar things?' I told her, 'Really, mummy, I didn't realise that what I was doing was vulgar."
She sounds so innocent and genuine when she says this, like a little babe lost in the woods, that one can't help overlooking the contradiction in her statements.
What about the dream sequence? Didn't she realise what she was doing even in that scene?
Sridevi: "I don't want to sound like I'm trying to justify myself because I am not at all unhappy for having done the film. But sometimes, the camera work can make certain scenes look more vulgar than what you are actually doing. In the dream sequence they used the zoom which accentuated the vulgarity. Anyway, the film is finished, over. In future I'm not going to to wear any revealing outfits."
Filmfare: Suppose a director insists on it?
Sridevi: "If a director insists I'll be very careful to see if the scenes really demand it. Not as in Masterji."
Filmfare: Is she taking any other precaution to ensure she stays Number One for a long time? What are her criteria for accepting or rejecting a film?
Sridevi: "I am taking no precautions as such. But I feel I should be sincere to my work. Also, I am choosing only good roles - I'm being very particular about that. Of course, sometimes without realising it we do make mistakes.
"My criteria for accepting or rejecting a film? I like to listen to the story. But sometimes the story isn't ready. In which case, I see the director's past record. Recently a known director offered me a Telugu film opposite Kamal Haasan. So I agreed. But later when he narrated the story I didn't like it. So I've been thinking of withdrawing from this venture."
Nearly two decades later, Sridevi said:
"Earlier I had a bindaas approach to acting; I was game to do anything crazy on screen. Today, it's different. I stop to think how my daughters may react to what I do. I've become more careful now."
-- Sridevi, November 2004 in Filmfare.
Below: A page out of Filmfare. The caption on the Sridevi picture: Sridevi.. a rage with the masses, has now graduated to the 'class' level.
Sridevi's controversial costumes from the film!
Sridevi, "I am not so keen to wear all those revealing clothes. I have nothing against wearing sexy clothes, but I certainly mind vulgarity. The same clothes can look sexy or obscene depending on a whole lot of other things. Take Masterji for example. I have worn the kind of clothes I wore in Maserji in my other films too, but they looked obscene in this particular film because of the suggestive actions and double entendre. I have refused to wear sexy costumes in these kind of films. Surely, I can use my discretion to know the intentions of the producer and decide if the costume will look sexy or vulgar on screen. Besides, I have proved I can be glamorous. Now I want to prove that I am good actress too. I want to dispkay my histrionics and not just my body. "
-- Sridevi, MOVIE January 1986.
As told to reporter Girija Nair
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