Now, who wouldn't agree that
there's something about Sridevi? Scheduled to reappear in a leading role
in a film titled Mom - come mid-July - this won't be her bid at a
comeback. Officially proclaimed to be 53 years old, the diva has already
done that with the serial Malini Iyer, which didn't do her justice,
winding up within a year after its premiere in 2004. Then, there was the
film English Vinglish (2012), which was commercially successful. Her
agile performance - as a housewife who must polish up her angrezi skills
- was thumbed up by the toughest critics.
That she didn't snag any high-profile
awards for English Vinglish is just one of those things. If she was
disappointed, she maintained a dignified silence. Good for her. Whenever
there have been acrimonious controversies, the once-Chennai-anchored
actress has infallibly chosen to go off the radar. Expectedly, when
reports claimed that the storyline of the upcoming Mom, about a mother
on a vendetta mission, shared similarities with the lately-released
Maatr, toplining Raveena Tandon, again, there were no comments.
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| Sridevi with Mithun in Jaag Utha Insaan |
Sridevi's habitual silence has served her
well. The way it did when a leading film magazine, way back in 1984,
carried a scoop about her 'secret' marriage with Mithun Chakraborty
during the filming of
Jaag Utha Insaan (1984). Mithun denied the
marriage, but to this day it isn't clear whether they did tie the knot.
When Sridevi did eventually marry producer
Boney Kapoor, the media went into an overdrive. How could she? The
producer was already married, and a father of two. In the tradition of
Hema Malini and the married Dharmendra, the Sridevi-Boney Kapoor
marriage set off a furore, which died a natural death with time.
The private life of Sridevi has always
been under the scanner. Director Ram Gopal Varma declared his abiding
fascination for her, going to the degree of stating it loud and clear in
the dialogue of one his films Mast (1999). How embarrassing was that?
The not-so-obscure subject of Varma's desire handled the public
confession with a sense of humour. Boney Kapoor wasn't as amused though.
Which brings me to the core point of the
column today: Sridevi is nobody's fool. She has handled calumnies galore
by just being retentive and keeping her cool. Over the decades, I've
known and interviewed the actress - ever since she made a lasting impact
with the role of a mentally-challenged girl in Sadma (1983) - she has
responded to questions with monosyllables and telegraphic sentences. On
being quizzed why her debut as a heroine in a Hindi film Solva Saawan
(1979) opposite Amol Palekar had tanked, she had no reply but the
mandatory "How do I know?" shrug.
When Himmatwala (1983), with Jeetendra,
became a huge hit, and she was tagged with the title of Thunder Thighs,
she neither objected nor approved. "It's okay with me," seemed to be her
attitude. Frankly, despite the fact that Sridevi persists in being
inarticulate, she's still a delight to interview. Her half-smiles, the
arch of an eyebrow and the alarmed look in her eyes - on being tossed a
probing question - convey what's exactly going on in her mind. And she
takes care to be politically correct. When the grapevine had buzzed with
the news that she had been offered a role by the production company of
Steven Spielberg, no less, she had looked awfully sorry, and added, "I
had to refuse an offer from Spielberg-ji." Perhaps that was the first
and last time anyone has added a 'ji' to Spielberg. Quite a charming
denial, really!
Sridevi's acting career, kicking off as a child
artiste circa 1967, is certainly a daunting one. Yet, her legion of
admirers aren't ever likely to know about the anxieties and pressures
she must have faced and overcome. Even if she were to surrender herself
to an authorised biography, it would be redundant. The real Sridevi just
isn't the sort to stand up and tell all. Vis-à-vis her dancing skills
as well as her emotive power before the camera, she has never attempted
to delve into herself, apportioning the credit to her directors and to
that element called 'spontaneity'. Fair enough. Because artistes who
keep secrets about their metier are the most enigmatic ones.
About the only time I was surprised by an
answer in the course of an interview was when she disclosed that she's a
regular watcher of Hollywood's horror movies. "I saw this film about
tomatoes that become violent creatures," she stated. "I was so scared I
didn't dare sleep all night. That was my only solution to avoid a
nightmare."
So that's Sridevi for you. Never mind her
placid exterior, she's as vulnerable to horror as any of us. This
combination of reserve and frailty does show up in her performances
consistently.
Who knows whether the upcoming Mom will
turn out to be a dream of a movie or a nightmare? Just for Sridevi,
tight-lipped off-screen but super-expressive on-screen, I'll be there
for its first-day-first-show to evidence if yesteryear's Chandni and
Chaalbaaz still spells magic.
It would appear that Sridevi's performances are effortless. In fact, she even encourages that impression by refusing to discuss (analyse is too cerebral a word) her artistry, her craftsmanship, her genius. "I just did it," is all she'll tell us about her amazing performances. And she's been the saving grace of so many potboilers in which she's been paired with everyone from wooden blocks to chimps. 
