Sridevi in the early 1990s: Sri's dance outfit

 Sridevi on the sets of Lamhe.

Sridevi as a bride in Khuda Gawah

Gorgeous bridal Sridevi from Khuda Gawah

Rare photo of Sridevi on the sets of Gumrah

 Gorgeous Sridevi ont eh sets of Gumrah. 

Anupam Kher and Sridevi in Heer Ranjha: The costume drama and tragedy

As the evil uncle in Heer Ranjha, Anupam Kher and Sridevi were.... ok. There are many fans of this film and the often retold story, sadly, I'm just not one of them. 

Have seen the songs innumerable times as Sridevi looks and dances like a dream. 

Harmesh Malhotra and Anupam Kher, as actor and director... were not a good match. Kher famously has said he considers his performance in Malhotra's Nigahein, subpar. We hate to disagree with the noted actor who remains a champion of Sridevi till date - after all they did work in over a dozen films together. 

 

Sridevi on the sets of Roop Ki Rani...

Flashback to Sridevi on the sets of the title song (there were a few in fact...) of Roop Ki Rani... She's absolutely amazing in this fun comedic dance number.

Sridevi's comedic styling for the title song of Roop Ki Rani... Even in this red and gold haze, she looks oh-so-cute!!

Sridevi praying in Khuda Gawah

 

Sridevi: Strike a pose

A pose Sridevi did often... Be it in the 1980s or 90s.... 

One on the sets of Tohfa, the other for Gautam da... 

Sridevi in Pathar Ke Insan (1990): The blue chiffon sari

Sridevi on the sets of Pathar Ke Insan (1990), working yet another blue-chiffon sari. Sri looked so great in the movie. Pity the film wasn't so great... 

The movie was brought up in conversation the other day as Tanisa Mukherjee spoke highly of Sridevi's performance in the movie - a film made by her father Shomu Mukherjee! 

BTW the silver jewellery, the blue chiffon sari... its very similar look and styling to Sridevi's iconic Kate nahin katthe song... 

Click to enlarge 

Sridevi

The late great photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha on working with Sridevi: "Total personality is awesome!"

Remembering Gautam da on his birth anniversary today. Though his favourites were Madhuri Dixit, Kajol and Aishwarya Rai... possibly in that order... he took many of Sridevi's early portraits for film magazines.  

Excerpt below: 

Legendary photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha on working with Sridevi, " [Sridevi... is a quietly retiring person. I met her years ago at her home in Chennai when she was still doing Tamil films and just beginning her work in Hindi films. She was very open to a lot of ideas for shoots. You just had to explain something to her and she would agree. Once before the camera she would give you what you wanted. Her eyes, facial expressions and personality were magic. 

While shooting in Mauritius for Gumrah, Mahesh Bhatt gave us a day off and we shot some awesome outdoor pictures like her sitting with a tall drink by the pool and doing things she had never done before. She captivated the camera. I have great pictures of her. It's her total personality that's awesome. She's a nice person." 

 "WHILE SHOOTING IN MAURITIUS FOR GUMRAH, MAHESH BHATT GAVE US A DAY OFF. WE SHOT SOME AWESOME OUTDOOR PICTURES LIKE SRIDEVI SITTING WITH A TALL DRINK BY THE POOL!"

Zameen pre pubiclity shots: A film with Sridevi! Madhuri Dixit and Sujata Mehta

 

Zameen (1987), directed by Ramesh Sippy, was an ambitious multi-starrer that never reached completion or release. Its cast was epic - even by Sippy’s standards of large ensembles and big canvases (as seen in Sholay, Shaan, and others): Vinod Khanna and Sridevi as one pair, Sanjay Dutt with Madhuri Dixit, Rajinikanth and Sujata Mehta, plus supporting players including Anupam Kher, Paresh Rawal, Naseeruddin Shah, and the great Nutan.

Production launched with great fanfare in 1987. A portion of the film - songs, comedy sequences, and other scenes- was filmed, and stills and publicity materials have circulated online for years, including rare posters and set photographs of Sridevi in various looks (village belle, dance sequences) alongside co-stars. The project was shelved midway, primarily due to financial shortfalls: producers reportedly ran out of funds, with some contemporary speculation pointing to disagreements between financers and the director or escalating costs on the large-scale production. Sippy’s films were known for grand sets and star power, which made the budget unsustainable at the time. Especially as the power and prestige of the stars rose exponentially. 

Filmographies list Zameen as incomplete/unreleased among Sippy’s directorial credits. He also had other unrealized projects (such as Ram ki Sita, Shyam ki Gita, launched but not progressed beyond the mahurat, and mentions of ideas that did not materialize), though Zameen stands as the most prominent fully embarked multi-starrer that was abandoned. Later works like Shimla Mirchi faced long delays before eventual release.

The film’s cultural weight stems from it being the first - and ultimately only - time Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit would have shared the screen as leading ladies. In the 1980s, Sridevi was the bigger established star; Madhuri was still rising and had earlier taken supporting or secondary roles, including opposite Meenakshi Seshadri in films such as Swati (1986), where Seshadri led and Dixit played her stepsister (with similar dynamics noted in other early pairings). A completed Zameen would have offered a rare joint appearance before Madhuri’s breakthrough with Tezaab (1988) propelled her to superstardom. Surviving stills of the two together on set remain tantalizing fragments of what might have been. Ah coulda woulda shoulda... 

Sujata Mehta, who appeared in the film and had a modest presence in Hindi cinema (notable for roles in films like Pratighaat and others, but limited mainstream traction overall), has in recent years appeared on podcasts discussing industry experiences. She frequently references Sridevi (and others from the Zameen set, such as observations about the stars’ demeanors or personal moments), which has drawn attention given her otherwise lower profile. While some of her work earned notice, much of her filmography did not leave a lasting mainstream imprint, and she has been less visible for decades; the podcast circuit has given her renewed visibility. Now the actress is 67 and, trying to find work again in an exhaustingly sexist and agist industry that rarely hands out second chances and opportunities to faded stars. 

With its massive star cast, grand Sippy-style ambition, and the unique Sridevi-Madhuri pairing, Zameen had the potential to be a major event film. Financial constraints ended that possibility. What remains are leaked images, publicity stills, and set photos that continue to surface, fueling ongoing curiosity about the unreleased footage that may still exist in archives and a vault somewhere. 

It stands as a notable “what if” in 1980s Bollywood history. The cast aside, Ramesh Sippy made great films, be it Andaz, Seetha aur Geetha, Saagar, Shaan, Shakti...They might not have always succeeded at the box-office, but my, they were such amibitious and interesting projects. Shakti didn't do the numbers of Sholay (nothing really has!), but its a personal favourite film, along with the fab Seetha aur Geetha. Sippy historically knew how to showcase the talents of the leading ladies - and not brushing them aside. At his deft directorial hands, what he could have done for Sri and Madhuri... alas. We'll never know. 

• Scroll through our rich archive of stills from the could-have-been-epic film Zameen here.
• Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit together over the years here. 
• Sridevi with Vinod Khanna over the years here. 
• Sridevi's shelved films here.
• Sridevi with Ramesh Sippy over the years here. 

PS: The above images have been ai enhanced and edited. The original newspaper scan is a blur from below. 

Chaand kaa Tukdaa: Publicity stills

The publicity stills for the ill-fated Chaand Kaa Tukdaa... 

Imagine our surprise to learn this awful film broke even - power of Salman Khan and Sridevi, individually and joint! 

Rare stills of Sridevi in Garajna

Rare stills of Sridevi from the unreleased Hindi film Garajna. 

Thanks to a social media trend of 'get the 80s look' , our views have spiked a lot over the past week - staggering figures. But sadly, most of it bots... and ai sweep! 

The fake images of Sridevi floating online - hate them so much I can't tell you! 

Only real pics here - unless specified. You cannot be a real fan and post fake photos. Especially as the dilution of the ai generated image is such, the jpegs no longer look like Sridevi, but some distant cousin of the Indian icon with similar features. The fake outfits, the awful styling - and then the comments of... well, let's just say not the brightest bulbs in the circuit! 

Like the God-awful attempt at making Sridevi's waxwork - one of the worst jobs I've ever seen in the name of a tribute - the fan and ai generated photos of Sridevi are dreadful. Horrific work. Putting a similar crown and gown, doesn't make a lump of wax a Sridevi lookalike, it makes it a lazy rush job to meet deadline.  

We don't need to applaud the work of people just because they are outsiders attempting to honour Indian stars - unless they actually do it well. If its bad, its just bad. And no amount of automated PR can make it otherwise! 

Sridevi in white

 

Rocking the fashion of the early 90s, gorgeous Sridevi. 

The image was used on the cover of Stardust annual back in 1992 - more in the archive here.

Filmfare: Sridevi: The Last Empress?

 

SRIDEVI: The Last Empress? 

She's been up there. Right on top. At the most coveted spot. Number One. Like a rock, on the shifting sands of stardom. Unmindful of the 'competition' thrown up by the media. 

Rakesh Shreshta captures Sridevi - during the making of Lamhe. 

Sridevi's pigtails in Gurudev

Sridevi didn't have the title role, but she had yet another double-role in Gurudev. 

Released on 3 September 1993, Gurudev was a typical 80s action masala film that released in 1993! Hear me out, when the movie was conceived and launched in 1988, it had Sridevi (in a double role as Priya/Sunita/Rosy), Anil Kapoor (as Gaurav "Guru"), and Rishi Kapoor (as Inspector Dev). It was produced and initially directed by Vinod Mehra (who passed away during production), with Raj Sippy completing the film. The stars of the film bandied together to ensure the film was released as it had so many production issues. 

In royal purple: Sridevi on the sets of Khuda Gawah

 In royal purple: Sridevi on the sets of Khuda Gawah 

The Sridevi spread in G magazine: Regal, Imperious: Gorgeous!

 The Sridevi spread in G magazine: Regal, Imperious: Gorgeous! 

Pretty in Pink: Sridevi on the sets of Lamhe in London

Pretty in pink; Sridevi on the sets of Lamhe (1991). Too cute.

Sridevi and her costars: Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra, Rishi Kapoor

 Sridevi and her costars: Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra, Rishi Kapoor! 

 Stills from Khuda Gawah, Garajna and... can you guess the Jeetendra and Sridevi film?! One of many!