25th anniversary of Sridevi, Anil Kapoor and Urmila's 90s blockbuster: Judaai

A surprise blockbuster that no one saw coming, Judaai opened 25 years ago today - with a shaky curtain. 

A questionable plotline, Sridevi's marriage to the film's producer shrouded in mystery and bad-press (trust me, we were there - it was controversial as hell and made international headlines, let alone tabloid) and a oh-hum stale pairing for the 12th - and final - time of Anil Kapoor and Sridevi, slightly shrill music (though two of the songs stayed on top of the charts from an equally controversial Nadeem Shravan), the ingredients for the pot-boiler could have worked wonders or seen the triumvirate of stars' shine dim further. Would the magic of the gifted Sridevi, Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar work? No one knew.  

There are no guarantees in Bollywood, "the only thing we know is, we know nothing."   

After a lukewarm opening, with word-of-mouth, the film sailed through the box-office as the seventh biggest hit of the year. 

Things all just fell into place; Urmila - fresh off the success of Rangeela - the chartbuster Mujhe Pyar Hua Allah miya stayed on the Number 1 slot for aaaaaaaaaaaages, a stellar supporting cast led by Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Upsana Singh and Sridevi's tour-de-force performance yanked the movie off the tepid reviews and made it a blockbuster - the film went on to make nearly five times the budget and the producer and distributors sighed in relief. 

A film that belonged to the leading ladies - both actresses received great press for their performances on-screen and double nominations; Sridevi for Best Actress and Urmila for Best Supporting Actress. Anil Kapoor said then and recently, had it not been a home production, he would not have taken up the part in a thankless role where he had no scope to shine. 

Truth be told, as marvelous as Sridevi is, the middle-class wife selling her husband for cash to a rich NRI plotline just didn't work for many. Esp the the poison-pens waiting to write Sridevi's epitaph back in '97. 

Bollywood essentially is suspended reality, and we just buy into the lip-syncing, the dancing-in-the-streets choreography, the absurd theatrics and the florescent technicolour wonders that camouflage harsh reality of life in aamchi Mumbai, so why not find the applause in the implausible plotline? Switch the gender and a rich guy buying a wife for the evening, set in Vegas, was made into a Hollywood blockbuster Indecent Proposal - so why not a similar albeit Bollywood-ised version of the same tale - but with spiffy dance numbers in the streets of Vegas?! 

To further belabour the point, if you read The Week or India Today back page stories, crazier tales have emerged from within the 28 states. Perhaps that's why the premise didn't seem completely absurd in the second and third tier cities which helped Boney rake in the big bucks... 

The comedy and some of the songs have aged well, other parts haven't. If you see the film telecast or on OTT platforms, you'll end up going along for the ride... Even years later, the film does well in TRP ratings. 

Left: Boney Kapoor, Sridevi, Anil Kapoor and Urmila on the sets of Judaai.

Obviously we have a massive archive of images and features on the film here. 

Left: This prescient pull quote from Filmfare back in 1997. Anil Kapoor, "As things stand today, Judaai will be my last film with Sridevi."

Sridevi image trending

For mobile users of a particular brand, this image was the auto wallpaper across the nation. 

Commemorating the iconic Indian actress, Sridevi. 

Exquisite Sridevi

 Original portrait by the late great Gautam Rajadhyaksha 

TBT: Sunday brunch with Sridevi

TBT: Sunday brunch with Sridevi. The iconic Indian actress with her friends.

Sridevi, Jackie Shroff directed by showman Subash Ghai in Karma

 

Sridevi, Jackie Shroff directed by showman Subash Ghai in Karma 

These rare pics from the set of the film - and the film still in the final cut...

Rare pic: Sridevi modeling in the 1980s

 

Sridevi in a Vimal sari ad. 

Below Sridevi's ad for Indian Emporium saris from Hong Kong! 

Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi on set: Aakhree Raasta (1986)

 Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi on set: Aakhree Raasta (1986)

Sridevi

 Gorgeous Sridevi 

Sridevi in Sri Ranga Neethulu (1983)

Sridevi and her red car.

Sridevi in Sri Ranga Neethulu (1983) 

Sridevi in Kalaakaar

 Gorgeous Sridevi on film. 

Feb 25... the day we heard the heart-breaking news about Sridevi

 

When I first saw the news break on social media, it was Feb 25th morning, 2018. 

For almost seven hours, did not believe the newsbyte. Celebrity death hoaxes are a dime-a-dozen. 

And then... the Prime Minister of India posted his condolence message on his verified, official Twitter account and a glass shattered. 

I've been posting about Sridevi daily for 22 years now... and we hope to continue as long as I'm alive. 

Remembering Sridevi... every single day. 

RIP Sridevi

RIP my queen. 

Tributes to Sridevi by her children on this day: Feb 24

Janhvi Kapoor on her Instagram, Khushi Kapoor on her insta-stories, posted these rarely seen images of Sridevi from their private family album. 

As cute as the kids are/were, no one is cuter than Sridevi! 

 

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A post shared by Janhvi Kapoor (@janhvikapoor)

Magazines that led with Sridevi tributes

The sudden and shocking death of Sridevi on Feb 24 meant a lot of editors and writers were scrambling to change headlines and create new covers to meet print deadline to honour and remember iconic Indian actress Sridevi. These are just some of the many covers... 

When we got a call and emails from New York Times no less, to fact check some of her details, we were stunned into motion. 

As an editor and writer, it was imperative to lead with the facts and what little we knew back then - and not go ape shit like most of Indian TV that went with anything for a ghastly sound byte... 

 

Sridevi's double act in Guru (1989): 33 years of Guru

Sridevi's double act in Guru (1989). A blockbuster of the 80s, Sridevi bookended 1989 with back to back hits. 

Released 33 years agao today, on the 24th of February 1989, 

Remembering Sridevi everyday but especially this day, inked in infamy: RIP Sridevi, RIP my Queen

Remembering Sridevi everyday but especially this day, inked in infamy: RIP Sridevi, RIP my Queen 

Sridevi in Zero. 

Once upon a time there lived a queen: Sridevi

 This trending pic online on Sridevi's death anniversary... 

Feb 24

Sridevi: 1963 - 2018

Four years ago today... 

The day our collective hearts broke. 

RIP Sridevi. 

Wherever you are... 

RIP KPAC Lalitha 💔

Just heard about the news that veteran actress from Kerala KPAC Lalitha passed away - she was 74. 

What a terrible loss to Malayalam cinema. 

Scrolling back to the time when she worked with Sridevi in Deva Raagam, in an interview with Kochi Times, she said, "[Sridevi]... was that professional. I don’t think there was or will be a more professional artiste. She was committed to her job as well as the promise that her mother had given.

After the movie was over, she had called Bharathan and admitted that she knew it was because of her that the movie had to have start-stop schedules. She recalled the times when she wanted to quit because of all the worry about her mother. The doctors had botched the surgery and she was constantly worrying about her mother while shooting for the movie.

After Deva Raagam in 1996, I saw her again in 2002 in Mumbai for V Shantaram Awards, where I was adjudged the Best Actress for Shantam. On seeing me, she hugged me and cried. She apologised for not keeping in touch. She had also talked to my daughter. That was the last time we saw each other.

Even before Deva Raagam, we had acted together in several films including the ones directed by IV Sasi. She was a very jovial character. She used to tell me how to perform better in a scene at such a young age. Sridevi was a complete actor who knew the nuances of acting, and that was evident from every film she had done. A lot of us aspired to be like her. She was someone who grew in stature as an artiste with every film but also had a kind heart. Else, she wouldn’t have done Deva Raagam."

Read the full feature here at TOI. 

The last days of Sridevi...

Reflecting on all of Sridevi's 'looks' in 2018 (almost) chronologically...

Every Sridevi sighting in the year 2018, at events, leaving the gym, in her car, at the airport, at movie premieres, at fashion shows; she was the quintessential superstar, living her larger than life, life... And then... 
 

Still breaks our heart when we see these images.... 

It was going to be an epic year... 2018 was meant for exciting projects, new ventures. Rumours were floating that she had met Gauri Shinde to discuss their next project after English Vinglish [not a sequel as reported by retards]. There was conversation in the mix of a potential collab with Netflix India, the multi-star cast film with Dharma Productions, a film with Kamal Haasan, a 25th film with her favourite Telugu film producer and director K. Raghavendra Rao. A reunion with Chiranjeevi. A film with daughter Janhvi Kapoor. Another film produced by Boney Kapoor... So many ideas were percolating all with Sridevi in the epicentre. 

Even after appearing in 250+ films, there was so much more to the saga of Sridevi - before the chapter closed so unexpectedly. 

Such a tragedy. Such a huge loss... 

It's been four years, but we think of you daily Sridevi.