Sridevi, Rakesh Roshan and J. V. Somayajulu in Jaag Utha Insan (1984)

Sridevi, Rakesh Roshan and J. V. Somayajulu in Jaag Utha Insan (1984). Sridevi's most underrated performance - and a fine film. 

Released on 6 July 1984, the Hindi version of legendary filmmaker K Viswanath's own Telugu film Saptapadi (1981) wasn't a huge hit. The tragic love story between a Dalit boy and a Brahmin Girl, played by Mithun Chakraborty and Sridevi respectively in the lead roles, supported by Rakesh Roshan, J V Somayajulu Deven Verma, Sujit Kumar. While the original film was a hit and garnered much acclaim, the Hindi movie didn't touch the pan-Indian audience. 

Sridevi, all of 21, looked, acted and danced like the dream she was. While this film flopped, by 1984, she had already dethroned her senior and raced ahead of her contemporaries and declared the Number One female star of pan-Indian cinema. Sridevi reigned supreme with an unprecedented run of hit films starting with Himmatwala in 1983, followed with successive hits Mawaali, Justice Chaudhury, Jaani Dost (all in '83) followed by the top slots in 1984; Tohfa, Maqsad and Inquilaab.