It's difficult to put an exact figure of films Sridevi did as occasionally the films were merely dubbed, sometimes shot entirely again (Moondram Pirai / Sadma or Devatha / Tohfa), or simultaneously shot in Hindi/Tamil (like Jaani Dost!) or Tamil/Telugu (Andhagaadu / Sankarlal).
It's an exacting statistician's nightmare to collate Sridevi's rich repertoire. Films that were made but never released, incomplete films, dubbed films, entirely remade films with the same co-stars, different co-stars... Hence the wide discrepancy in reporting; either Sridevi worked in 266 original, completed, released-in-theatre movies or she did 300 including the dubbed, remade, unreleased ones!
There's a reason why this is the most seen, liked popular post; to pilfer openly from my favourite film writer Bhardwaj Rangan, "Kamal Haasan called Sridevi an excellent bag of tricks. She had a bottomless bag, apparently, and she could pull out whatever “trick” whichever director wanted. One cannot speak of Sridevi without speaking about Kamal. Like the tagline in the Wills ads, they were Made for Each Other, one bag of tricks constantly up against the other. If he did that Methody, mumbly thing he began to do from around the time he made Kokila (1977), she threw something actorly right back at him. Theirs wasn’t chemistry. It was electricity.
Oh, the songs they made together. Ilankiliye from Shankarlal (1981). Devi Sridevi from Vaazhve Maayam (1982). Look at Radha Radha nee Enge from Meendum Kokila (1981). He’s goofing around, a Krishna in a silver jacket and a fedora from which a peacock feather sticks out. She matches him step for step. It isn’t easy matching Kamal Haasan step for step. Vadivelan manasu vechan from Thai Illamal Naanillai (1979). Seen today, perhaps some of these songs come with a “you had to have been there” warning label, but I’m talking about a certain kind of unembarrassed commitment to the goings on, where the actor says, “Okay, so this is what I have to do, and maybe it’s something I personally wouldn’t do, but I’m going to do my darndest to make everyone believe that this really is me.” Acting, in other words.
She went on to become the next in a line of south Indian actresses who became the leading heroine in Hindi cinema. Her most memorable role? I’d still pick Moondram Pirai (1982), and my favourite scene is the one where Kamal gives her a sari and drifts off into a reverie, expecting this amnesiac with the mental faculties of a little girl to have magically transformed into a woman. Ilayaraja sets up the mood with a languorous piano duetting with violins. Sridevi steps out of the room, the sari perfectly draped. She does everything Kamal wants her to. She’s sophisticated. She’s romantic. She’s in control. She’s even motherlike, drawing his head to her bosom, giving him milk from a glass. Then he snaps out of it, and sees that she’s tied the sari all wrong. She’s still the little-girl amnesiac. The scene showcases everything Sridevi was, the child-woman, the aloof and unattainable beauty, the seductress, the idealised (and idolised) star."
For now, here's the comprehensive list (thanks to fans for additional info) of Kamal Haasan and Sridevi films, spanning Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi films.
| FILM | YEAR | LANGUAGE | NOTES | |||||||||||||||||||
| Oka Radha Iddaru Krishnulu | 1986 | Telugu | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Aakhri Sangram | 1984 | Hindi | Dubbed version of Thaayillamal Naan Illai (1979) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Khabardar | 1984 | Hindi | Incomplete, never released | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sadma | 1983 | Hindi | A frame by frame remake of Moondram Pirai but with additional Hindi actors replacing Tamil character actors | |||||||||||||||||||
| Andhagaadu | 1982 | Telugu | Shot simultaneously as the Tamil Sankarlal | |||||||||||||||||||
| Moondram Pirai | 1982 | Tamil | The original and easily the finest Tamil film of both Sridevi and Kamal Haasan | |||||||||||||||||||
| Vazhvey Maayam | 1982 | Tamil | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Aakali Rajyam | 1981 | Telugu | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Meendum Kokila | 1981 | Tamil | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sankarlal | 1981 | Tamil | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Guru | 1980 | Tamil | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Varumaiyin Niram Sivapu | 1980 | Tamil | Film was simultaneously shot in Telugu as Aakali Rajyam | |||||||||||||||||||
Above: Sridevi and Kamal Haasan in the Tamil classic Vazhvey Maayam
Above: Sridevi and Kamal Haasan in Tamil film Sigapu Rojakkal
| Kalyana Raman | 1979 | Tamil | ||||
| Neeka Malargal | 1979 | Tamil | ||||
| Sigapukal Mookuthi | 1979 | Tamil | ||||
| Thaillamal Nanillai | 1979 | Tamil | ||||
| Manitharil Ithanai Nirangala | 1978 | Tamil | ||||
| Kuttavum Shikshayum | 1978 | Malayalam | ||||
| Sigapu Rojakkal | 1978 | Tamil | ||||
Above: Sridevi and Kamal Haasan in the Tamil smash hit 16 Vayanthiniley
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We do love a listicle - here are a few;
- Sridevi's 25 films with choreographer Saroj Khan
- Sridevi's 17 films with Jeetendra
- Sridevi's 12 films with Anil Kapoor
Satyavan Savithri 1977( Malayalam )
ReplyDeleteNirakudam 1977 ( Malayalam )
Kuttavum Shikshayum 1978 ( Malayalam )
Aasheervaadam 1977 ( Malayalam )
Aadhya Paadam 1977 ( Malayalam )
Khabardar 1984 ( Hindi )
Thank you.
DeleteThank you so much for this
ReplyDeleteI have watched Chakkaipodu Podu Raja , no presence of sridevi in this movie !! How come!?
ReplyDeleteChecking will update and amend accordingly.
DeleteSuper sridevi and kamalhasan good pairs
ReplyDelete👌
ReplyDelete