Raveena Tandon, "Sridevi was a warm and lovely person - as an actor, larger than life."

 

Born on 26 October, we are honouring and celebrating actress Raveena Tandon's birthday today. She worked with Sridevi in just one memorable film, the 90s hit, Laadla. 

"As a child, I remember standing in front of the mirror and imitating Sridevijis 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.

Sridevi with film director Ravi Tandon (father of Raveena Tandon)

I got an opportunity to work with Sridevi in Laadla (1994). 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 other's vanity vans.

Raveena Tandon and Sridevi in Laadla

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. In her personal life, she was a devoted mother to Janhvi and Khushi. We often invited each other for dinner.

She was a wonderful host. Once Boney (Kapoor) and she had come home for dinner along with Manish (Malhotra). A huge bee flew in from the garden and sat right on top of Srideviís head. I ran around her with a Chinese racket, trying to shoo it away. It was such a funny sight. All of us were rolling with laughter. I'm honoured that I could associate with her. 

It ís difficult to get over the tragic news and say goodbye."