Amitabh Bachchan presents Sridevi her Best Actress Filmfare trophy for Chaalbaaz: Honouring the Big B's Birthday today!

Amitabh Bachchan presents Sridevi her Best Actress Filmfare trophy for Chaalbaaz! 

Big B, Amitabh Bachchan turns 83 today and remains the only actor of his age and stature still working as hard and as often as he does. He believes 'rest is rust' and that omen keeps the actor within alive and well, constantly raising the bar with one stellar performance after another. Box-office may or may not always be with him, but hardly anyone points a finger at his acting.  

 Amitabh, eternal light, simply the greatest Indian actor alive today. Bless him. 

TBT: Yash Chopra presents Sridevi an Award: Remembering Yashji on his Birth Anniversary

TBT: Yash Chopra presents Sridevi an Award: Remembering Yashji on his Birth Anniversary

Of the many tragedies, if only Sridevi had done one more film with Yash Chopra after Chandni and Lamhe. Alas... 

Born on September 27, 1932 in Lahore, now Pakistan, Yash Chopra's easily one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Though he found mega success in love stories, he was easily the most versatile and gifted film maker of his time - and truly an aesthete. He understood cinema, from music, visuals, cinematography, outfits, dances, dialogues and even action, he felt the pulse of the audience and delivered time and again. Even his worst films are better than most contemporary directors' endeavors. Of course, we don't remember him for the tepid Parampara or the hollow Jab Tak Hai Jaan, but the best of his films like Deewar, Silsila, Chandni, Lamhe, Mashaal, Kabhi Kabhi, Trishul, Dhool ka Phool etc etc. Too many to list. 

I do not think its coincidence that the year he stopped making movies, he stopped breathing. Films were truly his life and pure passion. 

Above; Yash Chopra presented his "favourite" Sridevi an award back in 2008--more in the archives here.

Sridevi: Fashion Icon: Fashionist: Award-Winner

Throwback to when Sridevi won a Style and Glamour award from Filmfare. TBT to Dec 2017

So many more pics in the archive here.

Award winners, Superstars and Politicians

Award winners, Superstars and Politicians 

Kareena Kapoor, Sridevi, Manmohan Singh - and I think that might be Pamela Chopra... and others. 

Sridevi on screen, Sridevi off screen, you couldn't take your eyes off her

Sridevi on screen, Sridevi off screen, you couldn't take your eyes off her! 

Sridevi's look from Lamhe - and a very, very similar (possibly the same!) look as she took her Best Actress award for Chaalbaaz. 

Sridevi as a child artist in Malayalam film Poombatta (1971)

 

Sridevi as a child artist in Malayalam film Poombatta (1971)

Released on 12 March 1971, young Sridevi propelled the film Poombatta (Butterfly) with her precocious performance at the age of six! Based on the short story by Karoor Neelakanta Pillai, the film stars Sridevi as an orphaned child dealing with the abuse of a wicked stepmother. It has all the tropes of a fairytale tragedy, including the transformative acting tour-de-force by a child-artist like no other. 

Young Sridevi, in a little frock went up on stage the following year to pick one of her many awards; Sridevi won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist for her performance in this Malayalam film. 

Sridevi went on to make nearly two dozen Malayalam films in her resplendent career, and as she mentioned back in 2013, her link to Kerala stems back to a childhood and teenage years on the sets of great Malayali filmmakers who taught her the nuances of performing on film.  

Sridevi, 7, winning her first award Poombata

TBT: Sridevi and Boney Kapoor head to Padma Shree: Awarded by the President of India to the screen Icon

TBT: Sridevi and Boney Kapoor head to Padma Shree: Awarded by the President of India to the screen Icon 

Best Actress: Sridevi

The annual sham of Indian film awards went on last week... 

Miss the days of looking and hunting for Sridevi in the audience. 
 

Sridevi and her awards: A montage of images from the net

These are but some of the awards Sridevi won in her lifetime. 

See the entire comprehensive list here in the archives.
 

Sridevi: Gown and Glory

Red carpet favourite; Sridevi 

Six Awards for Sridevi's Swansong: Mom

For her swansong, Mom, Sridevi collected a record number of awards, some during her lifetime, others posthumously. The film, the music, the crew won others too, but Sridevi alone  in total won six major awards: 

65th National Film Award: Best Actress

Zee Cine Awards: Best Actress/Critics Best Actress

IIFA Awards: Best Actress 

GQ Awards: Excellence in Acting 

Bollywood Film Journalists Award: Best Actress 

Masala Magazine Award: Outstanding Performance of the Year 

Bollywood film Mom in China

Right: In early 2018, Mom was released in China and was a surprise hit, surpassing box-office expectation. After the success of English Vinglish in the region, an audience familiar with Sridevi's body of work turned up en masse to watch the thespian in action again. And they were suitably impressed. 

TBT: Sridevi holding her Excellence in Acting award conferred to her by GQ India

TBT: Sridevi holding her Excellence in Acting award conferred to her by GQ India

TBT: Sridevi in Sri Lanka: On stage in a Manish Malhotra Gown

Dressed like a Disney Queen, Sridevi wearing a gown specially designed by Manish Malhotra (from his more western style collection) strode up the dais to pick up her award in Sri Lanka back in Sept 2016. Awarded 'The Special Sri Lankan Gratitude Award' for her vast contribution to cinema, Sridevi looked like the queen she was.

The gown... and most of Manish's more western designs and silhouettes are... rare missteps. If it doesn't look great on tall, doll-like Sridevi, imagine how much worse others would look in it... 

TBT: Best Actress, Gr8 Actress: Sridevi wins GR8 Indian Women Awards in Hyderabad: March 2014

SRIDEVI BONEY KAPOOR
@SrideviBKapoor

Attended the GR8 Indian Women Awards in Hyderabad yesterday. 9:13 PM ·

Mar 24, 2014

One of Sridevi's many awards. Sridevi‬ wins the Gr8 Women Award for Excellence in Cinema at Hyderabad, March 2014.

Sridevi at Ciroc Filmfare Glamour And Style Awards: Sonam Kapoor presents Sridevi an Award: Kareena Kapoor and Manish Malhotra with Sridevi

Actress Sonam Kapoor presents Sridevi The Ultimate Diva award at the  Ciroc Filmfare Glamour And Style Awards

Designer Manish Malhotra tweets: Manish MalhotraVerified account ‏@ManishMalhotra1

@Filmfare Glamour and Style Awards last night with my all time favourites Kareena and @SrideviBKapoor

Sridevi presents Kareena Kapoor the award for Most Glamorous Star (Female)