Original Sridevi pictures "enhanced" or... over edited?!

 

Sridevi wearing Xerxes Bhathena. This white and gold ensemble was such a rich fashion moment, part of the tapestry of Sridevi's fashionista archive. 

This image has been... a little over edited by an app - you can see the original images of Sridevi from 1994 - here in the archive. This image was a centrefold for g magazine, shot by the late great Gautam da. With MUA by Mickey Contractor. 

Dazzling Sridevi in white and gold: wearing Xerxes Bhathena

Dazzling Sridevi in white and gold: wearing Xerxes Bhathena. Before Sabya and Manish, before Neeta, there was Xerxes Bhathena, who famously designed for Parveen Babi and Zeenat Aman. He did some of the more glittering outfits for Sridevi in the 1980s too. This was the last look he created for her.

Gautam da captured Sridevi at her regal best, and MUA Mickey Contractor enhanced her iconic beauty. 

More of this look in the archive here.

More from the designer here. 

Go for Gold: Sridevi wearing Xerxes Bhathena in the 90s

Go for Gold: Sridevi wearing Xerxes Bhathena in the 90s

One of the OG designers in Bollywood who worked with Sridevi from the early days - many images in the archive here.

Bollywood stars wearing Xerxes Bhathena: Sridevi, Pooja Bhatt and Zeba Bakhtiar

Bollywood stars wearing Xerxes Bhathena: Sridevi, Pooja Bhatt and Zeba Bakhtiar! 

From one of our fav social media accounts; Retro Bollywood; https://www.instagram.com/retrobollywood/ 

Before Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Manish Malhotra and Neeta Lulla, Sridevi wore Xerxes Bhathena

Before Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Manish Malhotra and Neeta Lulla, Sridevi had Xerxes Bhathena design some of her most memorable costumes in Hindi films; most notably in Mr. India and Sultanat. 

This elegant white and gold ensemble was done by him for one of Sridevi's best photoshoots in the early 90s. 

Xerxes was a great interview, a journalist's delight as he was not PC and called a spade a spade. Unlike media savvy designers of today who would never take names, Xerxes let 'em have it! 

Here's an excerpt from MOVIE magazine 1993 annual;

"...My stars are very conscious about what's the latest in fashion. Especially Sridevi. Madhuri is a little negligent. She has the knowledge but she doesn't devote enough time to her clothes. She's not a Sheeba who doesn't know the abc of fashion , who believes only in exposing. Imagine Sheeba still wears nylon. I'd rather die than design for a Sheeba or a Mamta [Kulkarni]. 

"Coming back to Madhuri, I feel black and white suits her the best. Like Sridevi, looks most fetching in white.

"I will not work with somebody like Rekha who doesn't rely on me, totally and tells me which fabric to buy or which type of accessory she wants. As for directors, one doesn't get a Ramesh Sippy everyday. You have to work with buffoons these days like Dasari Narayan Rao where you have to start  with their education. 

Dimple is in Raakhee's bracket today and has all the time to hang out with designers and take trouble over her clothes. Like Jaya Bachchan, she's got all the time in the world and designers hanging around her all the time, wrapped around her finger. She looks like a Kathakali dancer when she comes on stage to take an award for whosoever. 

"Whatever Sridevi wears, she wears with style. Even if you put her in an absurd outfit from Gurjari, she'll not look like Smita Patil or Shabana. She's glamour, man. She'll never look impoverished. 

"My greats are Sridevi, Madhuri and the queen of queens, Hema Malini. Among the designers, I admire Bhanu Athaiya. Both, Neeta [Lulla] and Anna [Singh] do show a lot of promise. But they have a long way to go."

• Archive of images of Sridevi wearing Xerxes Bhathena outfits here.
• Archive of images of Sridevi in Sultanat here.
• Archive of images of Sridevi in Mr.India here.

Below: Sridevi's iconic gown, crown and feathered accessories as Ms Hawa Hawaii in Mr.India

Above: Sridevi's embellished and bejewelled look for a dance in Sultanat (1986)

Sridevi g: in g magazine!!

The editor of the magazine was a self-professed fan of the work of gorgeous Sridevi - and featured her often on the cover, centrefold and editorial pages of the magazine in the hey days of the late 80s and early 90s. 

We used to love collecting the oversized film magazine... 

 

Where Style is a four-letter word: Fashion in Bollywood with Xerxes Bathena

Excerpt on Bollywood fashion in the 1980s;

"The manner in which he dresses heroines - or rather undresses them - for Hindi films, scarcely reflects the stature and reputation enjoyed by Xerxes Bathena among designers. But he doesn't complain.

"It makes no difference to me what I design for a Sridevi or a Dimple Kapadia, as long as I have other avenues to prove my talent. In fact,  I love designing for films... it's fun being in this industry... and a lot of money too. Here, style is a four-letter world. The more you violate it the bigger becomes your pay packet. Perhaps, this is the only industry where one is paid generously for distorting things - including the anatomy of beautiful girls."

Stocky, effervescent Xerxes is one of the two male dress designers who design clothes for women in Hindi films and the more successful one. Xerxes had never dreamt of being a designer for actresses but a chance meeting with Shabana Azmi led him to Parveen Babi., whose exclusive designer he eventually became..."

MISSING TEXT

"...But I unlearned quickly, to be a master juggler of fashions."

Xerxes had begun at Burlingtons as a salesman, selling shirts, and rose to being a fashion coordinator. Then one day, in a fit of rage, he decided to chuck his job and join a small-time magazine as fashion editor. "It was a lousy magazine, and I was disgusted with it even before I got cracking. That's when I ran into Shabana, and through her met Parveen. Parveen impressed me instantly and I agreed to be her dress designer.

"To be fair, I must call myself a 'costumer' and not a 'designer'..."


Below: Sridevi's sequined blue bikini top for her dances in Suhaagan (1986).

It's hard to imagine in 2020 - as these words are written - that Sridevi's blouses and dare-bare outfits were a subject of discussion on social mores. The then media reps and self-imposed guardians of morality, slapped her with the label sex-symbol (almost a pejorative in the early days) and non-actress. Despite several evidence to the contrary in Tamil and Telugu films. But then, myopic Mumbai media then wasn't exactly known for doing its research and development in Bollywood tabloids, hardly an arbiter of good taste and excellence in journalism.

There are reams of early 80s media that went after Sridevi all hammer and tongs, which made her a recluse when it came to interviews. She may have been perturbed, but it never reflected in her work or her incredible work ethic. The girl (and she was indeed but a girl) just worked, and worked, double, triple shifts, Monday to Saturday - how else does one work in 260+ film from age 4 to 34? Sridevi didn't just take a break during her pregnancy and hiatus, we are surprised she didn't collapse in exhaustion!


...

Sridevi

Sridevi by Gautam Rajadhyaksha

Sridevi in white and gold: Designer Xerxes Bhathena dresses Sri

All shot by the fab Gautam Rajadhyaksha, hair, makeup and styling by Mickey Contractor. Outfit by Xerxes Bhathena. Shot at Holiday Inn, Mumbai.

Click and enlarge for MASSIVE pic of Sri. great wallpaper.

See entire series of shots in earlier post.

Sridevi in white and gold: Designer Xerxes Bhathena: Photographer: Gautam Rajadhyaksha

Sridevi looking so regal in her white and gold embroidered top. All these gorgeous pics shot by the legend that is Gautam Rajadhyaksha.

Always a vision in white, the outfit is by famed designer Xerxes Bhathena. (Not the usual Manish Malhotra - Neeta Lulla options that Sridevi used to go for in the 90s).

Its one of our fav shoots. Ever.

Credits:

• Photography: Gautam Rajadhyaksha
• Hair and makeup: Mickey Contractor
• Outfit: Xerxes Bhathena
• 'g' magazine centrefold shoot.
• 1994