Sridevi with her sister Sreelatha at home in Chennai

Either 5th or 6th August is Sridevi's sister Sreelatha's birthday. 

Sridevi was very close to her only sibling in the early years. There was a fall-out soon after their mother died. Typical of any family feud, it was chaos over inheritance and property. As The Hindu reported,

"... It was the climax, alright. But not exactly the courtroom drama types. At the Madras High Court, the evergreen Sridevi, sporting a brown churidhar, went unnoticed, when she made a cameo appearance as the judge passed a decree on the sharing of the family property.

After their mother, late Rajeswari Ayyappan, died in '96, the star's family won a Rs. 7.10 crore compensation suit against a US hospital for wrong treatment. Sridevi's sister, Srilatha Sanjay Ramaswamy had then taken the family to court to settle the dispute over sharing of the compensation and other property.

On Monday, the tangle was sorted out as the family members entered into a compromise. Srilatha now gets Rs. 2 crores, and another claimant, Suryakala takes Rs. 50 lakh. No prizes to guess who took the rest of the money home. Mrs. Kapoor not just won a few crores, but also a share of prime properties in Chennai and its suburbs and in Mumbai...."

--The Hindu, Wednesday, April 26, 2000. 

The brouhaha over property and money - something so typical in family feuds that it doesn't require any more press, so we'll refrain from further comment. On the plus side, soon after there was a reconciliation between the sparring sisters. Legend has it Boney Kapoor had a hand in ensuring that the sister retained ties - even though Sreelatha famously spoke out again him to the press in 1997-1998, during Sridevi and Boney Kapoor's controversial marriage. 

Thankfully the sisters had made up, all was forgiven (on both sides) and were close again in the latter half of Sridevi's all-too short life. 

We have the largest archive of Sridevi with her only sister Sreelatha, her youngest sibling here.

 06 Aug, 2014