Sridevi and NTR: The 40 year age gap and their dozen films together!

Sridevi and NTR in the Telugu film
Vayyari Bhamalu Vagalamari Bharthalu (1982)

When it comes to age gap between co-stars, is there a wider chasm than the one between Sridevi and NTR? 

A 55-year-old NTR romancing 15-year-old Sridevi in Telugu cinema's blockbuster of the 1970s; Vetagadu (1979). 

The success of it meant they acted together again and again, from Badi Panthulu (1972 - when Sridevi was a child star) to Vayyari Bhamalu Vagalamari Bharthalu (1982 -- when Sridevi was the leading lady!). In fact, they worked in a whopping dozen films together:

1. Badi Panthulu
2. Vetagaadu
3. Aatagadu
4. Rowdy Ramudu Konte Krishnudu
5. Sardar Papa Rayudu
6. Gaja Donga
7. Kondaveeti Simham
8. Satyam Shivam
9. Anuraga Devata
10. Bobbili Puli
11. Justice Chowdary
12. Vayyari Bhamalu Vagalamari Bhartalu

When asked about what it was like to act with such senior actors (and eventually senior citizens), Sridevi either laughed off the answer, or said it was an honour to observe and learn from the greats. The thespians and legends from the industry provided Sridevi on-set education as the actress did not attend a film school or had any formal training in the art she eventually mastered. 

To be fair, her answer to the question, "How could you act opposite someone older than your father as a love-interest on the big screen?", varied depending on who the senior stars were! 

Hindsight is 20/20 but we've got to see cinema as a reflection of its times. That was then, this is now... if you hang on, I've got more clichés coming down the pike... 

Legend has it that some of the actors themselves said they were uncomfortable romancing starlets who were younger than their children but, such was cine-life. Funny how the wigs and makeup was more on the men than the women at the time as they tried to curtain if not curtail their vintage self! By today's standards and social mores, the 'romance' on screen is so tame and implied more than explicitly shown. Sridevi till the very end respected her seniors and sought their blessings time and again, when she met them off-set at a film festival or award function. At heart, as many have said, Sridevi was a simple South Indian girl... who became a legend in her own time.