Sridevi with her Army: Mohnish Behl, Sudesh Berry, Ronit Roy, Harish and Ravi Kishan.

Sridevi with her Army: Mohnish Behl, Sudesh Berry, Ronit Roy, Harish and Ravi Kishan. 

Released on 28 June 1996, the first appearance of Shahrukh Khan after the runaway success of DDLJ, the movie had a phenomenal opening. The modest budget film, co-produced by Mukul Anand, more than tripled its returns, but the slow-burn film was originally written off. 

Sridevi looked and acted well, but the film is... undoubtedly predictable as the familiar tropes of a revenge drama, be it Karma or Sholay, are all lined up. 

Sridevi leading the cast of Army: Gents on the side, the leading lady in front and centre!

Yep, she was a bigger star than all the men behind her - and even they knew it. 

Gorgeous Sridevi leading her 'Army' in the 1996 hit Hindi film. 

L to R: Sudesh Berry, Mohnish Bahl, Harish Kumar, Sridevi, Ravi Kishan and Ronit Roy. 

Sridevi did a photoshoot with her cast and crew for a Cine Blitz exclusive - here in the archive. 

Sridevi with the cast of her film Army: Photoshoot with Sudesh Berry, Mohnish Behl, Ronit Roy, Ravi Kissen and Harish Kumar

Sridevi with the cast of Army; actors Sudesh Berry, Mohnish Behl, Ronit Roy, Ravi Kissen and Harish Kumar.

Her 'army' in the film. 

Each actor was in awe of the leading lady - they did this photoshoot as pre publicity stills that were published in all the film magazines. The actors had a chance to ask Sridevi a question and do an interview for Cine Blitz magazine. You can read the article and see more shots in the earlier post here. 

More images from this shoot here in the archive.  

Outtakes from the same shoot here. 

UPDATE: 

Mohnish Bahl 

endoSrtpos819fgaamc442 43l99cu0u0cr70ym12t F10l578ehgr6i21b2  · 

Sridevi ji ....

Grace & dignity...

Shocked.

Prayers for your soul & strength to your loved ones...

Stay in peace.

Sridevi's Army: Superstar Sridevi with Mohnish Behl, Sudesh Berry, Ronit Roy, Harish and Ravi Kishan

Sridevi's publicity shots for Army with the cast; Mohnish Behl, Sudesh Berry, Ronit Roy, Harish and Ravi Kishan 

Sridevi with the men of Army (1996): Mohnish Behl, Sudesh Berry, Ronit Roy, Ravi Kisen and Harish: Cine Blitz interview

The Men Behind This Woman!

This interview with Sreedevi on marriage and a husband, show her as a woman who would fiercely guard her love. In Nitin Manmohan's Army, that's exactly how she is portrayed. Without giving away the story, let's say there is an army of five men who help Sreedevi to guard her love and help her avenge those who destroy it.

We got these men to do a photo session with Sreedevi - Mohnish Behl, Sudesh Berry, Ronit Roy, Ravi Kisen and Harish. Quite a handful! Each one was trying to woo the lady and get closer. But the queen bee couldn't care less. In fact, two hours before she arrived, the guys were doing workouts and oiling their bodies. Closer, she wouldn't let them be, but they got a chance to ask a question each.

Harish: I've worked as your son, brother and now as a friend in Army. Can I work as a hero opposite you?
Sree: Yes, why not! If subject demands it.

Ronit Roy: What is it in a man that makes you tick?
Sree: His simplicity. And yes, I like men who are less talkative.

Sudesh Berry: Give me the best guiding line of my life.
Sree: Stay the way you are now. Don't let things change you. Be yourself.

Ravi Kishen: What is the mystery behind Sreedevi?
Sree: That's what I prefer to remain - a mystery. Otherwise you wouldn't be asking this question and there will be nothing left to your imagination.

Mohnish Behl: Being a superstar, you don't even behave like a star. Whereas most of these new girls behave so starry! Does being friendly and sporting come easy to you?
Sree: Mohnish, I must appreciate that being the son of such a great superstar yourself [Nutan], you could pay me such a nice compliment. Well, I am myself. There is no pretense.

Click on the images to see larger pic!

Sridevi with Shahrukh Khan, Mohnish Behl, Sudesh Berry, Ronit Roy, Ravi Kisen and Harish Kumar in Army

Sridevi with her co-stars of Army shot by Jagdish Mali.

Sridevi with her Army star-cast including Mohnish Behl, Sudesh Berry, Ronit Roy, Ravi Kissen and Harish Kumar. 

Rare images of Shahrukh Khan on set - he had an extended guest-appearance in the film. Excerpt from an interview he did during the film's production:

Interview with Shahrukh Khan on the sets of Army by Cine Blitz, July 1996.

Shahrukh Khan, "...a very important reason was Sreedevi. I had nine films on hand and none of them starred Sreedevi. So this as my chance to work with a legend one had heard so much about. I wanted to find out what makes her tick. She's been around for almost 35 years and still looks great. Here's an actor like me who is exhausted after five years."


Didn't he feel he'd look like a boy as compared to her? *

"Oh come on! You can't put Sreedevi in the older woman bracket. I'm 31 and there's not much of an age difference between us."


Did he find out what keeps her ticking?

"One had heard about her switch on switch off performance. All I can say is, that one hundred per cent, I learnt a lot from Sreedevi. We have a song and about two or three scenes but it was a great experience."

NOTES:

Wow. The inherently sexist and ageist question pelted at Shah Rukh Khan, at the expense of Sridevi is just beyond... Shahrukh Khan is just two years younger than Sridevi, but the way the question is phrased, makes it sound as if Sridevi was ancient. It really reflects on how the Indian film industry -  Mumbai media in particular  - operates and sees women of a certain age as expendable. At the time, Sridevi was just 33!!

Let's turn the tables here. Shahrukh Khan at age 51 acted with Mahira Khan, age 32 - when Raees was her first Hindi film in Bollywood! No one seemed to have asked Mahira what she felt like while acting with someone 19 years her senior. As the Khans and Kumars hit 50+, their co-stars keep getting younger. 

While actresses like Sridevi, Madhuri and Juhi, the holy trifecta of Bollywood divas who ruled the roost in the 1990s, find it difficult to find age-appropriate costars in their films.