Sridevi's profile on the sets of Chandni (1989). A runaway success that meant it was dubbed in Telugu the following year, to cash in on her wildly popoular pan-Indian persona.
The styling of Sridevi in this film is so exquisite, look for the little details in stills that perhaps got lost on the big screen. The delicate, white lace embroidery in her yellow blouse, the yellow bindi to match her chiffon sari, the gold and diamond studs she wore to perfectly complement her overall look, the hint of gold in her eye makeup and the subtle shade of natural lipstick. Known for her large, expressive eyes, she stopped wearing her bottom lashes to enhance her wide-eyed--distressed damsel in a foreign city look in the second half of the film. The first was filled with colour and vibrance, the second, a heart-broken demure stance.
Chandni was a character study of a young woman in love trying to make it in a world when she was out of love. The second act, where there were hints of melancholy and loss, her understanding of Vinod Khanna's character who had also lost the great love of his life (a Juhi Chawla cameo that deserves more recognition) was implied so beautifully. Chandni in the second of the film was in sharp contrast to the first, her character wore only monochrome looks in comparison to the vibrant first...
It is Sridevi's most sincere and polished performance in her youth and the closest a character to herself - as she confessed to MOVIE magazine in the early 1990s.
Watch the film on OTT platform - better yet, if ever re-released on the big screen, watch the grandeur of the film as it was meant to be seen. Sridevi was the biggest movie star of her time and a great actress to boot. A rarity. Truly a supernova, the last of the greats.
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