The seventh biggest hit of 1994, Laadla was a blockbuster that few expected. Esp after Sridevi was written off by a lottttttttt of media and magazine editors. It was a tour-de-force performance by the "singular sensation" that was/is Sridevi.
Only the actresses - Sridevi and Raveena - were recognised by critics as both garnered nominations - Anil Kapoor's role and mcp-act... does not age well. And that dreadful ending....
But for Sridevi fans, its a film to note. Sridevi is brimstone and fire in the movie - a complete scene stealer. Even her co-stars were left in awe.
"I got an opportunity to work with Sridevi in Laadla (1994)," says Raveena Tandon*. "It was from there on that our friendship began. She was shy, soft-spoken and gentle. She hardly spoke. So people were surprised watching us get along like a house on fire. We spent time chatting in each others' vanity vans."
"She was a warm and lovely person. Her child-like innocence was unbelievable. I realised people had misunderstood her. As an actor, she was larger than life. She owned every scene that she walked into. She was an ace dancer, sensuous and magnificent.
As a child, I remember standing in front of the mirror and imitating Sridevijís dance steps from Mr. India, Lamhe and ChaalBaaz. I saw her in person for the first time while she was dancing on a rain song on the set of Nazrana (1987), a film directed by my father (Ravi Tandon). She looked so stunning, I was mesmerised by her."
Laadla is such standard 90s Bollywood fare... without Sridevi's spitfire presence. The songs are pretty average - not a single one made it to the Number One slot - back in the days of Binaca Geetmala where we all waited with baited breath to see what was 'the' song of the week/month/year...
The trophy pic above is such a sign of the times. Back in the day, when success of a film was measured by not only box-office returns but duration in cinemas... The 100 day Trophy.
Now its 100 crore clubs, viewership data (malleable figures with zero accountancy and accuracy). At least pre-90s, you knew when a movie was a hit or a bona fide blockbuster by the masses queuing up outside theatres....
Now its anyone's game...
Team Laadla should be celebrating - 28 years!
Our massive archive - over 50 posts - of Laadla related images and features here.
* Quote from Raveena Tandon's interview with Times of India back in March 2018.
Nice Read
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