Sridevi with Kamal Haasan: Tamil Cinema's Magical duo

 Sridevi with Kamal Haasan: Tamil Cinema's Magical duo

Rare photo of Sridevi and Kamal Haasan

Tamil cine-icons, the great Sridevi. Kamal Haasan. Early 1980s or late 1970s I guess... the hair! The moustache!!

 

 

Kamal Haasan and Sridevi in the Malayalam classic Sathyavan Savithri (1977)

Kamal Haasan and Sridevi in the Malayalam classic Sathyavan Savithri (1977). A costume drama from Kerala, somehow, when Sridevi became a huge star in the 1980s, the film was re-released as "Night Queen", a tawdry title to lure in the front benchers. Part of the early bad press Sridevi had when they accused her of being part of "adult films" - a rumour that persisted for a decade and when nothing came of it, finally died down. 

Sathyavan Savithri was released in October 1977 in Kerala and you can watch it online in YouTube here.

 

Jaya Prada, Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi and Kamal Haasan in Khabardaar (1984)

Jaya Prada, Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi and Kamal Haasan in Khabardaar (1984). What a film this would have been!! The greatest Indian talents... alas, the film was shelved. 

More in the archives here.

Sridevi in Balu Mahendra's Moondram Pirai

 

Sridevi in Balu Mahendra's Moondram Pirai 

Even the title cards made us nostalgic when we saw the film again after decades. 

This throwback editorial: Sadma: A commercial film without hanky-panky

This throwback editorial: Sadma: A commercial film without hanky-panky... 

The images of Kamal Haasan with Silk Smitha, Sridevi and others. 

Sridevi and Kamal Haasan in the Tamil film Neela Malargal (1979)

 

Sridevi and Kamal Haasan in the Tamil film Neela Malargal (1979)

The final film of a treasured Tamil pair, Sridevi and Kamal Haasan

 

The final film of a treasured Tamil pair, Sridevi and Kamal Haasan; Okka Radha Iddaru Krishnulu (1986)

A storied career with lots of ups and downs, hits and flops, acclaim and critique, two of the most gifted South Indian superstars' last film together was... this rather meh comedy in Telugu. 

There was soooooooooo much talk about a reunion of the two on the big screen, but it never came to fruition. Alas, it was a loss for the Indian audience as, despite having done nearly 27 films together, the magic hadn't faded. 

Bereft. 

Kamal Haasan and Sridevi in ​​the Tamil film Pathinaru Vayathinile (1977)

Kamal Haasan and Sridevi in ​​the Tamil film Pathinaru Vayathinile (1977). A turning point in Sridevi's career. 

 

Rare pic: Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi and Kamal Haasan

Rare (meh quality, newspaper scan) pic: Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi and Kamal Haasan at the launch of Khabardaar. A film that was partially made but sadly never completed. 

More on the film in the archives here - including more rare stills. 

Would love to know what happened? Why the film was shelved? Whose ego got in the way... 

Sridevi and Kamal Haasan

Every Tamil film critic and writer I know bemoans the fact that Sridevi and Kamal Haasan never united again on screen - and they should have. 

From the rawness of their initial films together in the 1970s, to the absolute polish and perfection in their later ages, it would have been something else to see these powerhouses together... 

Alas... 

Fans flood Filmfare with letters praising Sridevi

When fan letters had a bit more sense than film journalists in the 80s;

Postscripts: 

Top notcher

You are fully justified in putting Sridevi on your cover (Nov 16-30). She richly deserves the treatment you gave her. Starting her career in Malayalam films, she has, by sheer determination, will-power and dedication, risen to be India's Number One female star. Success has added a new glow to her beautiful eyes, honed her acting and dancing talent and smoothened the rough edges in her personality. Though Nagina and Mr.India have taken her to the pinnacle of stardom, she should be choosy about the films she accepts, lest she should crash from the height she has attained. 

B.N. Bose, Jamsehdpur

Good decision

It was heartening to know that at least one heroine has shown the guts to refuse a film opposite Amitabh because her role was insignificant. With Amitabh's ascent to the top, from Zanjeer in 1973 to Aakhree Raasta, the heroine has been progressively downgraded and reduced to the level of a dumb-headed sex symbol. Shokingly, the new breed of heroines fell over one another to grab one-scene roles just to be paired with Amitabh. The only exceptions were Shabana Azmi and the late Smita Patil. 

One hopes that with Sridevi the era of respectable heroines returns.

Nutan, Meena Kunari, Nargis, Madhubala and Vyjanthimala never played cheap, insignificant roles even if they were cast opposite top heroes of their time like Ashok Kumar, Raj Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand. In fact, these heroines were capable of carrying a film on their own steam. 

Sridevi is definitely moving in the right direction. If she sticks to her guns and succeeds in changing the style and pattern of current Hindi films. I am sure her name will go down in the history of Hindi cinema in letters of gold. 

R.R. Bangadiwala. Ahmedabad.

Raw deal

I really do not understand what prompted the North Indian press to underestimate the talents of Sridevi. It is unfortunate that she has not offered any role worth mentioning, till recently. Even her much appreciated roles in Nagina and Mr. India only brought out a shadow of her talent. The glamorous roles she played only tested her stamina and ability to perform PT exercises. Though, to her credit, she acquitted them with grace and poise. 

On the other hand, her roles in Tamil films like Moondru Mudichu, Sigappu Rojakkal, Pagalil Oru Nailavu, Meendum Kokila, Varunmiyin Nirma Sigappu, Moondram Pirai and Johnny were excellent, and her performances brilliant. 

In most of the films mentioned above, her co-star was Kamal Haasan and they made an excellent pair. Hindi film-makers can be (dis) credited with separating their pair and giving a raw deal. 

Celebrating 40 years of Sridevi's greatest performance...

...Moondram Pirai. 

Set aside her glamorous roles, her comeback, her musicals, her romances, her Yash Chopra films, her award-winning double roles, her costume extravaganzas. When all is said and done, Sridevi's finest performance on screen will forever be the soul-stirring tragedy, Moondram Pirai. 

Don't get me started on the fact that neither did she win the Filmfare award nor did she get the National Award for his iconic performance. BTW she was a teenager when she shot the film! Kamal Haasan won accolades. The director did too. That damn puppy probably got an award for it... but not 'the great' Sridevi. 

Too exhausted to go over it all over again but we've written about Moondram Pirai / Sadma dozens of times in the past so scroll through the archive here.

The film received an 'Adult' certificate in the early 1980s; you sort of have to be a fully grown, matured person to comprehend the density of pathos and tragedy that will engulf you at the end... 

Happy Birthday Kamal Haasan: Indian cine-legend turns 67

 

Happy Birthday Kamal Haasan: Indian cine-legend turns 67! 

Sridevi's most frequent co-star turns a year older. What a loss to cinema that they never did a film together during Sridevi's second innings. A reunion of the two icons was a dream of many a writer, director and producer - why even Kamal himself said he wants to work on a full fledged film with Sridevi after the release of English Vinglish - and Sridevi was open to it too. But alas... 

They appeared in 27 films (only 26 released) together spanning Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi cinema. 

Rajinikanth with Sridevi, Kamal Haasan with Sridevi: The holy trifecta of Tollywood

Rajinikanth with Sridevi, Kamal Haasan with Sridevi: The holy trifecta of Tollywood 

Sridevi and Kamal Haasan in the Telugu comedy Okka Radha Iddaru Krishnulu (1986)

Sridevi and Kamal Haasan in the Telugu comedy Okka Radha Iddaru Krishnulu (1986)

Sridevi in yellow from Okka Radha Iddaru Krishnulu (1986)

38 years of Sadma: Kamal Haasan and Sridevi 's most memorable film together

Released on July 8, 1983, today is the 38th anniversary of Sridevi's most beloved film as an actress, Sadma. 

The gentle tragedy is... devastating. So many actors - not stars but "actor - actors!' talk about the performances of the two leads and the film overall till date. It's a movie like no other... 

Kamal Haasan and Sridevi pose for a calendar, magazine shoot

Kamal Haasan and Sridevi pose for a calendar, magazine shoot

Kamal Haasana and Sridevi in the Tamil film Thaayillamal Naan Illai (1979)

 

Kamal Haasana and Sridevi in the Tamil film Thaayillamal Naan Illai (1979)

Released on 14 April 1979, this blockbuster was the last film where the holy trifecta of Tamil superstars acted together; Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and Sridevi. 

A blockbuster, the movie was later (poorly) dubbed into Hindi (Aakhri Sangram, 1984) and in Telugu as Paatagadu (1979).

 

Rare Pic: Kamal Haasan and Sridevi

Rare Pic: Kamal Haasan with Sridevi at a recording studio. 

The caption is missing - an Instagram fan site has assumed this is from the sound recording of Sadma but am unsure as that has not been verified. 

It's also the automated trigger response by most Hindi film viewing audiences - Sadma is often their only point of reference. We here refrain from jumping to such similar conclusions - the two worked in nearly 27 films together so the images can be from any film in their rich repertoire.