Two days ago, Vidya Balan released her film Sherni's first look on her official Instagram account, but for Sridevi fans, it conjures up images of the late icon and no one else - its a title role Sridevi had for decades.
The original Sherni of Bollywood - Leonine Sridevi (August 13 - she was indeed a Leo!) - had the tile role first; Sherni was a Hindi film released 33 years ago on May 13, 1988. Produced and directed by Harmesh Malhotra who famously made the blockbuster Nagina (and five other films) with Sridevi. However, that film - very, very loosely based on Phoolan Devi's life - was a flop that took a critical drumming too. Not a great picture, but bold and beautiful Sridevi shines in several scenes. Hope Vidya's takeover on the title measures up.
The Vidya - Sridevi connect goes far back; a life-long Sridevi fan (scroll through the archives here or on YouTube), the film adds yet another tangent to Vidya's lofty links to Sridevi. Vidya did a remix of the song Hawa Hawaii as a gentle tribute to Sridevi, Vidya donned the Charlie Chaplin getup like Sridevi did in the past for a photoshoot, Vidya's song outfits in Dirty Picture are a nod to Sridevi's costumes from her Jeetendra films, and like Sri, Vidya's got a knack for opting for title roles that give her several opportunities to showcase her talents as a thespian. To top it all, Vidya was the first recipient of the Sridevi memorial award too. In fact, Vidya Balan received her first ever Best Actress award from Sridevi back in 2010 .
Sridevi mentioned that two of her favourite films and performances of Vidya Balan were Dirty Picture and Kahaani - Sridevi did a rare guest appearance in Vidya's film Halla Bol and she was at the launch of Vidya's film Tumhari Sulu.
Vidya's said in several interviews that she "worships the ground Sridevi walks on." Well, on that note, she's certainly following her footsteps.
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