Even as a child artist, Sridevi was well paid. When she was a newcomer in Bollywood, when steady offers were coming her way, she only consented to films when she was getting top billing and significant paychecks - from the get-go. She didn't need Bollywood, the industry coveted her. She was a top star in the south and her salary was not secondary to any other leading lady in Bombay/Bollywood (and most men).
In an interview, after the success of Chandni, Yash Chopra briefly mentioned how unshakable Sridevi (well, Sri's mother, the original momager!) was when it came to earnings and rates. When Garajna producers asked Sridevi to slash her rates for the film, she point-blank refused and the completed film never saw the light-of-day. The entire cast, Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor included, joined Sridevi in refusing to budge on monetary concerns.
And yet, there have been examples here and there of Sridevi either working for free or slashing her remuneration for friends and legends.
Like K Vishwanath.
Telugu icon, master filmmaker K. Viswanath has directed some of the finest Indian films ever made. Deeply rooted in art, culture, storytelling, the plight of common man, social mores and social issues, he has helmed too many classics to list. For my generation, Sankarabharanam (1980) was the defining movie of his incredible career. Not only was the film a blockbuster, it swept the state and national awards.
The director's firm favourite and most-often collaborated artist was Jaya Prada in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. Together they did brilliant work in Sanjog, Sargam, Saagar Sangam, Kaamchor and several other films.
When the Telugu film Saptapadi (1981) was being remade in Hindi, predictably, the offer first went to Jaya Prada and then Dimple Kapadia. Both couldn't do the film either because their diaries were full... (or so they said) or the remuneration was too low.
Sridevi wasn't even in consideration in the early days as she was already one of the highest-paid actresses, with a series of Hindi film hits behind her. Early on, magazine features described her as one of the highest-paid leading ladies of Indian cinema that kept the art-house directors at bay, if not miles away.
However, when Sridevi got wind that the leading lady part of Insaan Jaag Utha (the original title - the words changed order later Jaag Utha Insaan!) was still up for grabs, she made a grand concession to simply work with the maestro K Viswanath.
Film producer Rakesh Roshan - who also acted in the film - was surprised how willing and cooperative the professional actress - and the defining Number One Star - was for this modest movie. So impressed by her work ethic, acting and dancing skills, Roshan offered Sridevi several films thereafter and the two worked together on and off throughout the 1980s and 90s.
Pity the Hindi version of the Saptapadi nose-dived at the box-office. The forbidden tale of a love story between a Harijan boy and a Brahmin Girl, played by Mithun Chakraborty and Sridevi respectively, didn't find favour among the teeming masses. The audience was in no mood for something so sombre and so tragic.
Funnily enough, it was the same year Sridevi was ruling the box-office, she had three films in the top ten, Naya Kadam, Maqsad and the biggest hit of 1984 Tohfa.
Truth be told, all those three movies are not as good or great cinema like Jaag Utha Insaan, but they were fun and frothy - the audience clearly was in no mood to see a pedantic film on the ills of the caste system. But they were all up for the jhatkas between the matkas. The classical and semi-classical dances in this film are easily some of her finest - and yet, fewer people have seen it.
We've seen the film several times just to look back in awe of the polished, flawless performance of a young, 21-year-old Sridevi. Draped in myriad south-Indian sarees, she looks stunning throughout the film and its such a finely honed performance.
Below: Sridevi and Jaya Prada: musical chairs.
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