Sridevi in Lamhe (1991): Mohe chehdo na...

Sridevi as the Rajasthani belle Pallavi in Lamhe (1991). There are some versions of Lamhe without the songs Megha re megha and Mohe Chehdo na... and it is a loss for the audience to miss out on expressive, beautiful, graceful Sridevi... and those gorgeous, timeless melodies. 

A Yash Chopra heroine has been presented well innumerable times - think of Rekha, Raakhee, Mumtaz... but Sridevi's performance elevated this entire film.

As repeatedly mentioned in several articles - further bolstered by Shah Rukh Khan no less - Sridevi was Yashji's favourite actress. Of all time. She's ours too. But that goes without saying... 

Yash Chopra's three favourites were Sridevi, Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan. Famously Yash Chopra offered Sridevi films after Lamhe too, including Darr. But for reasons best known to her - and only her - she rejected every offer after Lamhe... The timing wasn't right, or the role wasn't on par. When Yash Chopra passed, Sridevi said it felt like she lost her father once again. Some bonds go beyond Bollywood. 

Her white and gold look from the gentle Mohe Chehdo na... 

Sridevi with Yash Chopra on the sets of Lamhe

 

Sridevi, 27, with Yash Chopra, 58, on the sets of Lamhe back in 1990. 

Sridevi posted this picture on Twitter years ago... 

Today is Yash Chopra's birth anniversary - my favourite Hindi film produer and director. While many remember the man for his grand romantic films and blockbuster musicals, he had the greatest range, vision and skills in expanding Hindi cinema. 

• Sridevi with Yash Chopra over the years here.
• Sridevi in Lamhe here.
• Sridevi in Chandni here.

One, two, three... Sridevi in pink: Filmfare says she's The Greatest on the cover!

A triptych of Sridevi from the set of Lamhe (1991),

Looking so cute - if you remember this comedic scene, Sri in London. The cover shot of Filmfare is too lovely. August 1990. 

Lamhe stills

 

Sridevi, Anil Kapoor and Anupam Kher... in Lamhe

Pretty in Pink Sridevi - from the sets of Lamhe: Filmfare: The Sri Phenomenon

Pretty in Pink Sridevi - from the sets of Lamhe: Filmfare: The Sri Phenomenon

Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in Lamhe

My favourite scene in Lamhe - when Sridevi aka Pallavi... arrives at a party...

 

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

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

Celebrity designer Neeta Lulla talks about working with Sridevi in Lamhe

I follow Neeta Lulla on social media (and she follows the Sridevi fan page too!), to hear about how she created her masterful looks for iconic leading ladies in Hindi cinema.

Lulla elevated the art of film dressing by leaps and bounds - along with her Bollywood brethern like Manish Malhotra and Sabya... 

But many of us hardcore Sridevi fans notices the elevation early on when Neeta Lulla first started working with Sridevi in the early 90s - from her photoshoots to the full looks. 

Follow her Instagram account below to hear her talk about working with Sridevi in Megha re megha, from magical Lamhe.

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Neeta Lulla (@neeta_lulla)

Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in Lamhe: Their finest hours together on the big screen

Anil Kapoor was 34 when he shot Lamhe - and its easily one of his best performances. That somehow got entirely sidelined as Sridevi gave her tour-de-force award-winning double role everything in her acting armoire. 

Anil Kapoor lost the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for Lamhe to Amitabh Bachchan, who won the award for his iconic role as Tiger in Hum at the 37th Filmfare Awards in 1992.

While Lamhe led the ceremony with 13 nominations and won 5 awards—including Best Film and Best Actress for Sridevi—Amitabh Bachchan took home the Best Actor trophy in a competitive year that also featured fellow nominees Dilip Kumar (Saudagar), Sanjay Dutt (Saajan), and Aamir Khan (Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin).

The following year, Anil Kapoor rebounded by winning the Filmfare Award for Best Actor at the 38th Filmfare Awards (1993) for his performance as Raju in Beta (1992). Beta was a major hit at the awards, sweeping 5 categories including Best Actress for Madhuri Dixit and Best Supporting Actress for Aruna Irani.

Funnily enough, personally, Anil Kapoor should have won for Lamhe, and Amitabh Bachchan should have won for Khuda Gawah - swap the awards around! 

But Filmfare frequently gets it wrong. Never forget, Sholay lost all but one award. 

All Indian award shows in cinema are rife with questionable decisions - you can't take any of the awards seriously. 

Sridevi - and several other stars with experience - famously stated that she'd rather a film do well at the box office than just win awards that end up collecting dust in the shelf. 

Joy: Sridevi in Lamhe: The Happiest She's Ever been on Set. Until....

Sridevi was just 27 when she shot Lamhe - one of her finest hours on film in a career defining double role and performance that garnered her one of her many awards. 

These rare glimpses of Sridevi as Pooja shows the actress just bubbling with joy. Sridevi famously told Yash Chopra during the making of the movie in London, it is the happiest she's ever been in her life... until tragedy stuck when suddenly, her father passed away. 

In documented interviews (most notably a famous conversation with Karan Johar), Yash Chopra spoke extensively about a profound personal tragedy that struck Sridevi precisely while they were shooting Lamhe in London.

When the film's London schedule was nearly 90% complete, Sridevi’s mother called Yash Chopra to inform him that Sridevi's father had suddenly passed away. Chopra recounted the emotional weight of that moment:

"I couldn’t tell her [the news of his death]. I told her he's very serious. You have to take the flight."

Sridevi flew back to India and discovered the truth, remaining there for 16 days to complete the mandatory funeral and mourning rituals.

Her Acclaimed Professionalism

What Yash Chopra marvels at in his quotes - and what is frequently cited as a defining moment in her career- is what happened on her very first day back on set (the 17th day). Due to scheduling constraints and a co-star waiting to leave, the very first scene Sridevi had to shoot upon her return from mourning her father was a highly energetic comedy sequence (the iconic mud pack scene with Waheeda Rehman).

Chopra recalled:

"The next morning when she got up, I told her, 'Sri, there is a problem... This scene is a comedy scene'. She said, 'no problem, acting is acting'... At that time, I thought she is so professional. Such a wonderful artist. At that moment, she forgot everything. She did a wonderful scene. I understood then that is reason, the secret for her success."

My Lamhe CD and Audio Book images: Sridevi, Anil Kapoor and Anupam Kher

Sridevi and Anupam Kher's expression is just everything... 

From the most memorable moments in Lamhe. 

Still an all-time favourite film despite many a critic finding the film problematic today - and back then. 

Newsflash to contemporary critics on social media - yours is not an original or clever thought. The crticis and vox populi also condemend the movie long ago. 

 

Sridevi with model Deepak Malhotra on the sets of Lamhe: The half fake pic trend

Timeless Indian Melodies on social media (I most often see on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) is prolific in writing about Hindi cinema and puts up a quasi-real pic; one half of it is real, the other is conjured up by AI. It's so distracting - something is always a bit off. For example, the above pic. Sridevi wasn't wearing jeans, but a denim skirt. The background was different, model turned non-actor Deepak Malhotra's shoes were different. The real pic is below... 

Sridevi's denim and lace embroidered skirt is fully visible in the movie, in a scene with Waheeda Rehman. 

A fake pic - or a half fake pic - is like a half truth. It colours all copy and context, a little bit of trust fades with it. 

Sridevi in Chandni and Lamhe

 

Yash Chopra's muse - Sridevi in and as Chandni. 

The Lamhe still - click to enlarge - is a rare pic for our page.

Anupam Kher with Sridevi in Lamhe! Best Friends on FilmC

Comedy gold - Anupam Kher and Sridevi were too cute in Lamhe

Anupam Kher, 26, with Sridevi, 28 in our favourite Yash Chopra classic Lamhe!
 

Sridevi on film in the 1990s in Bollywood : Lamhe, Army, Khuda Gawah, Banjaran

 Sridevi on film in the 1990s in Bollywood : Lamhe, Army, Khuda Gawah, Banjaran 

Rare pic: Anil Kapoor with Sridevi in UK during Lamhe

Rare pic: Anil Kapoor with Sridevi in UK during Lamhe 

Sridevi in Lamhe

 Sridevi in Lamhe 

Sridevi on the sets of Lamhe. The time when Farhan Akhtar made the leading lady trip and fall...

Sridevi in Lamhe: Perfection

 

Sridevi and Anil Kapoor: Pallavi and Viren: Pooja and Viren: The joy of Lamhe

 Sridevi and Anil Kapoor: Pallavi and Viren: Pooja and Viren: The joy of Lamhe 

Sridevi in UK: Her look for Lamhe

 

Rakesh Shreshta captures regal Sridevi in the UK for Lamhe.