SRIDEVI''S INTERVIEW WITH CINE BLITZ MAGAZINE
An interview with the shy superstar - and she's not on the cover?! You know this was early days. In fact, at the time of the interview, Sridevi had only done a handful of Hindi films, she was 20, and was known as the "sexy" actress from the South!
A look back at young Sridevi making her hesitant steps in Bollywood - before she raced to the very top!
SRIDEVI GRILLED
Following her around for nearly five weeks across Guntur, Amravati, Hyderabad and Rajahmundry, CINE BLITZ caught Sridevi in candid moments one rarely sees of this reserved introvert, known for giving monosyllabic interviews.
She is a current rage, but with fame and popularity start the tricks of the trade. And Sridevi seems to be playing them with the ease of a professional...
Q. You've been in films for the past 11 years and should be around 26-27. And yet you claim that you are younger than our 'kid' actor, Kunaal Goswami.
Sridevi: I cannot keep my age a secret even if I wished to. Everyone in films has seen me grow up. I was just five when I started acting. But it's true that I've been playing a leading lady for the last 11 years. My first adult role was in the Telugu film, Anuraagalu, a remake of the Hindi film, Anuraag. I had to wear padded clothes because I was just 11 at the time. So that makes me 22. Besides, I don't lie about my age...
....Akkineni Nageswara Rao (Telugu's second biggest star after N.T.R.) ... even says that, 'Sridevi is like a grand-daughter to me'. Yet, we have given superhits together like Prema Bhishekam. If I can team successfully with actors much senior to me, surely I can also be a success with actors who are more my age.
Q. But in Hindi films too, you have been consistently pairing with senior actors like Amitabh, Jeetendra, Rajesh Khanna.
Sridevi: If I've done more films with these actors it's because they are very popular with the South based units. I personally feel Kamal Haasan and I are good together and we've given quite a few hits in Tamil. But unfortunately Sadma didn't do well. Currently, I'm doing Joshilaay with Sunny Deol and I'm sure we'll be a success. Boney Kapoor is starting his film in August with Anil and me. And I've already done Jaag Utha Insaan with Mithun and Raakesh Roshan. I feel I'll be better off with younger actors.
"It's a fact that we're signing lesser films than before!"
Q: Directors (in the South) are angry because you are now ignoring the very people who created you. Besides, you refused to wear a bikini for their films, yet you wear one in every Hindi movie?
Sridevi: Yes, I know that some Telugu directors are unhappy with me because I couldn't act in their films. But why should they be envious of my success in Hindi films? I have so much work right now that I can't even give dates for my next Hindi film. How can I act in Telugu? There are only a few people, like ANR, for whom I would willingly adjust my dates.
The other allegation is also fair. Although I was always considered a glamorous actress, I refused to wear a bikini in Telugu films. I wasn’t sure how my fans would react to it. But in Hindi films, it’s different. I wore a swimsuit in my second film Himmatwala, so I see nothing wrong with wearing it in subsequent films as well. Every actress reveals skin here. However, top actresses in Telugu films do not wear revealing clothes.
Question: Dasari Narayana Rao made the bikini allegation. It seems he doesn't like you very much.
Sridevi: Yes, he prefers Jayasudha. Dasari and I worked on successful films like Bobbili Puli (1982) and Premabhishekam (1981), but the fact is that Jayasudha is his favorite. Most directors have their favorites. K. Viswanath, with whom I worked on Jaag Utha Insan (1984), prefers newcomers, but among stars, he favors Jaya Prada. Similarly, K. Raghavendra Rao prefers me. Except for the film Nishana (1980), I have acted in every Hindi film he has directed so far. Even now, I am under contract with him until the end of 1985.
Q: Did you drop your price and allocate filming dates for Jaag Utha Insan just to invade Jaya Prada's territory? Comment on this.
Sridevi: Yes, I did prioritise Rakesh Roshan for the opportunity to work with K. Viswanath, the director of Sankarabharanam. But I wasn't trying to steal the film from Jaya Prada. I was told that she couldn't provide them with the necessary dates. If Jaya had adjusted her schedule for Jaag Utha Insan, working with K. Viswanath might not have happened for me.
Q: Is it just a coincidence that you have been getting more films with Jeetendra's rival, Rajesh Khanna?
Sridevi: Today, directors like Raghavendra Rao, to whom I am loyal, are directing a larger number of films with Rajesh Khanna. Over the last two years, South Indian filmmakers have started working with actors other than Jeetendra as well.
Q: Do you really have grounds to demand such an astronomical fee, knowing that many prefer Jaya Prada over you?
Sridevi: I am not aware of who Amitabh and everyone else prefers. I do quote a high price, and it is justified. Producers are still signing contracts with me; otherwise, I would have stopped acting. Charging a high fee is good because then the producer will ensure that you don't waste time on his film, if only to justify that investment.
Q: Could your high price hurt you? So many overnight sensations have appeared, literally - Bhanupriya, Padmini Kolhapure.
Sridevi: That is not the case for me. The fee level I have reached is not the result of just one or two hits. I was the top actress in Telugu for nine years, which proves that I am not someone who achieves success only to fade away immediately.
Q: Jaya Prada and Jayasudha have won recognition and awards as actresses. What do you think of their success?
Sridevi: Everyone who seeks recognition and awards receives recognition and awards. I sought love and popularity, and I received love and popularity. I am also capable of giving good performances, like in Sadma. And I also periodically win awards for my work, such as for Meendum Kokila. But my father likes films like Himmatwala, and that is why I act in them.
Q: Doesn't this extremely fascinating world of cinema depress you? You don't do anything else, after all.
Sridevi: Apparently, the question is whether I am happy? Yes, I am very happy. There are so many people whose lives are unlike mine... but are they happy? Yes, every work day of mine looks like the previous one. On Sundays, I have a day off in Madras, and my only joy is sleeping in late. But towards the evening I wake up, and if I have two consecutive days off, I start getting on everyone's nerves at home.
-- Sridevi in CINE BLITZ, July 1984
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