Indian actress Sridevi's magic knew no passports, no borders, no boundaries drawn by wars or maps. She was a luminescent phenomenon representing an entire era in Indian cinema, and her light reached far beyond the glittering screens of Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam cinema—into refugee camps, distant living room televisions, silver screens, pirated VCDs, DVDs and the hearts of people who might never have set foot in India.
One such heart belonged to Yalda Hakim, the acclaimed Afghan-born Australian journalist who today is a leading voice and Lead World News presenter on Sky News, known for her sharp, fearless interviews with global leaders and her unflinching coverage of conflict zones.
Picture this: Yalda was born on June 26, 1983, in Kabul, Afghanistan—a time when Sridevi, at just 20 years old, was already the undisputed number one actress in Bollywood and a pan-Indian superstar. By the early 1980s, Sridevi had conquered hearts with her electrifying dance moves, her effortless shift between comic timing and intense drama, and films that became cultural phenomena. She wasn't just an actress; she was a phenomenon. In the early 90s, when Hakim was still a child, Sridevi was touring Afghanistan with the all-mighty Amitabh Bachchan, shooting in the difficult terrain, a grand, epic, meant-for-the-large screen Hindi film, Khuda Gawah.
As Yalda's family fled the Soviet-Afghan War when she was barely six months old—enduring a harrowing journey on horseback to Pakistan before finding refuge in Australia in 1986—Bollywood's glow somehow followed them. Growing up in Sydney after settling there, Yalda attended Macarthur Girls High School and later earned a Bachelor of Arts in Media from Macquarie University. But long before journalism became her calling, cinema—especially Hindi cinema—was a quiet companion in displacement. Afghan families, like many South Asian diaspora communities, carried fragments of home through music and movies. Pirated VHS tapes, grainy Doordarshan broadcasts picked up somehow, or later DVDs—Sridevi's films traveled across borders in ways official diplomacy never could.
And among them was
Khuda Gawah (1992), the epic drama where Sridevi played a fierce Pashtun woman, Benazir (L), in a story set against the rugged landscapes of Afghanistan. Shot partly in beautiful Afghan locales (with some creative liberties), the film resonated deeply in the region. For many Afghans and those in the diaspora, it was more than entertainment—it was a rare portrayal of their culture on a grand scale, with Sridevi's commanding presence making the character feel authentic and larger-than-life. Yalda, born right around the time Sridevi was at her peak, would have grown up in a world where such films were shared stories of pride and escape.
When Sridevi passed away suddenly in 2018, Yalda didn't stay silent like a distant observer. She poured out her grief publicly: "Goodbye hawa hawai - queen of Bollywood Sridevi. A loss not just to India but a whole generation like mine who grew up watching her films. She had charm, charisma and wit." On X (then Twitter), she mourned Bollywood's first true female superstar, and on Facebook, she echoed the same sentiment with a poignant post referencing that iconic "Hawa Hawaii" number from Mr. India.
These weren't casual words from a celebrity journalist—they were the raw emotions of a lifelong fan.
Sridevi's on-screen strength as a warrior woman mirrored the resilience many in the Afghan community knew too well. This is what makes Sridevi's fame truly global, even in ways she might never have fully realized. She didn't need Hollywood crossovers or international awards circuits to touch lives continents away. Her films crossed refugee routes, language barriers, and political divides. Yalda Hakim—now a powerful voice —represents that invisible thread.
Even unknown to Sridevi herself, her legacy lives beyond borders (we get maximum views from our neighbours!) and she shaped global conversations in unknown ways. That's stardom that transcends—timeless, borderless, and profoundly human.
Saddened by the death of #Sridevi. Bollywood’s first female superstar. She had charm, charisma and wit. A loss not just for Bollywood & India but also my generation who grew up watching her films.
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