TBT: Rumours about Sridevi's Return to Film: Aakhri Mughal with the Last Empress?

Rumours about Sridevi's comeback to films were circulating as June 1998--less than two years after her last film release. Legend had it that Sridevi would return in a Yash Chopra film or in Yaadein with Subash Ghai or be part of Abhishek Bachchan's launch film... all these false rumours circulated for ages. Sridevi mostly kept mum - in more ways than one. She barely spoke to the press and she was a stay-at-home-superstar mother to her two children. 

Filmfare, June 1998

The best comeback of ALL time in Bollywood; Sridevi! Mumtaz, Reena Roy, Kajol, Madhuri Dixit, Karishma Kapoor and Manisha Koirala

Once you have been in the limelight, it refuses to leave you for life. That's the reason why many Bollywood actresses have time and again made an effort to stage a comeback and stand under the arc-lights again. While a few managed to recreate the old hysteria, the rest have had to face bitter rejection from the crowds that once cheered for them. Here are some of the most famous comeback sagas of Hindi Cinema:

1. MUMTAZ (Aandhiyan) - She was once the sex-kitten of Bollywood who draped orange sarees and danced to 'Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyar ke' and 'Bindiya Chamkegi.' With Rajesh Khanna, Mumtaz was box-office gold so it came as a shock when she chucked her stardom to marry millionaire Mayur Madhwani in 1974. But a greater shock was her comeback in 1990 with 'Aandhiyan.' Though she played her age, she said yes to running around the trees with an aged Shatrughan Sinha in a flashback sequence. Add to that a terrible script and bad direction by David Dhawan earned her so much flak that she left for good.

 2. REENA ROY (Aadmi Khilona Hai) - The actress who at her peak was regarded as the only competitor to Rekha, Reena Roy also tied the knot at the pinnacle of her career with Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan in 1983. A tragic divorce and lost custody case for her daughter saw her make her way back to the studios in 1992 with a film aptly titled 'Aadmi Khilona Hai'. Fate remained unkind and the film went on to be a dismal failure.

3. KAJOL (Fanaa) - Kajol was the dusky beauty who played SRK's Simran and Anjali with great aplomb. Right during the making of 'K3G', Kajol plunged into matrimony with Ajay Devgan in 1999 and took a break for a good 5 years. With 'Fanaa' in 2006, she returned and found her fans welcoming her back with open arms. Though the success of the film was majorly attributed to the hero Aamir Khan, Kajol knew she was back with a bang. She even bagged the Filmfare Best Actress award for her beautiful portrayal of a blind Kashmiri girl and continues to sizzle on the 70mm.

4. MADHURI DIXIT (Aaja Nachle) - Darling of millions, the nation danced to her tunes for more than a decade when she burst on the scene with 'Ek Do Teen.' Several hits and chart-busters followed till 1999 when she broke a million hearts. Madhuri tied the knot with Sriram Nene and settled in US with 'Devdas' being her last release in 2002. But she could not stay away for long and she returned after 5 years with an accent and with 'Aaja Nachle'. Alas! her comeback found no takers and her act met with empty halls and went on to be a disaster. Her usual song and dance routine failed to interest anyone and the film was utterly rejected. Mads is now trying a second comeback of sorts with Gulab Gang.

5. KARISMA KAPOOR (Dangerous Ishq) - When Lolo metamorphed into Rani Hindustani, she became every Indian male's ultimate fantasy. The blue-eyed Kapoor ruled the marquee right through the 90s and finally married industrialist Sanjay Kapur in 2003. Karisma returned to the silver screen a good nine years later in 2012 with Vikram Bhatt's 'Dangerous Ishq'. Like the title, it proved to be a dangerous gamble and the mind-numbing tale of star-crossed lovers spanning four births could not even last four weeks at cinemas. The use of 3D only magnified the plot-holes for all to see.



6. MANISHA KOIRALA (Bhoot Returns) - 'Ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga' sang Anil Kapoor and the whole of India followed suit. With 'Bombay' and 'Khamoshi', Manisha became the undisputed actress to reckon with. Then began the downward spiral and she was failed to cash on her initial success. In 2012, Manisha made a comeback of sorts with RGV's 'Bhoot Returns' but only managed to scare the public away from the theaters. News of her tragic illness has shocked everyone and we wish her a speedy recovery.

7. SRIDEVI (English Vinglish) - The mother of all comebacks! Known as the First Female Superstar of Hindi Cinema, this Chandni of Bollywood remains our longest running No.1 actress. A diva for whom roles were exclusively written, Sridevi wielded such power at her peak that she overshadowed her heroes and was called the Female Amitabh. When she returned after 15 years with English Vinglish, she proved that some legends are timeless. The only actress to make such a triumphant comeback in the cinematic history of any film industry, she stunned not only us but an entirely new generation around the globe. And by carrying the film towards box-office success all by herself, Sridevi shows that even after 15 years, she will always remain the 'hero' of her films.


From Pinkvilla
Anyone know who wrote the original article? Where?

More on English Vinglish: Sridevi's comeback return vehicle: July 2011

Various reports have been floating about director Gauri Shinde’s debut film English Vinglish. It is said that protagonist Sridevi will be shown as a lady speaking English and the film is a hilarious take on how she learns the language. 

Others say that it is a remake of the old Hindi TV series Zabaan Sambhalke. But filmmaker R. Balki, who has been a huge support to wife Shinde and who is present on the set whenever he is free from his work, said that there is no truth in the reports. 

“What has been circulating is utter rubbish, and the story of the film is not even remotely close to what has been stated. The only truth is that Amitabh Bachchan is playing a cameo in the film and he shot with us for a day,” said Balki. 

The ad filmmaker-turned-director was glad that Gauri was very confident despite the film being her first venture. “She was not intimidated by Sridevi, and Amitabh made her very comfortable from the moment he stepped on the sets. Otherwise all the actors in the film are new,” said Balki. 

The shooting of the film will get over in October. 

By Geety Sahgal 

From Indian Express 

Tags : Zabaan Sambhalke 

Posted: Fri Jul 29 2011, 16:19 hrs

English Vinglish: More rumours and gossip swirl about Sridevi's comeback film

ROSHNI K OLIVERA, TNN | 

Jul 17, 2011, 12.00am IST 

Everyone's eager to know what Sridevi's comeback film is all about. Naturally, the actress who has done some remarkable work in films like Mr India, Chaalbaaz and Chandni, is bound to want to return to the big screen with a bang. 

BT has just learnt that Sri's film, directed by R Balki's wife Gauri Shinde, is loosely based on the popular Zabaan Sambhalke TV show. Titled English Vinglish, it revolves around a middle-class Indian housewife with weak English, who becomes the butt of everyone's jokes. She has to go to America and thus begins her secret attempt to master the language. Eventually she succeeds, even giving a speech in perfect English much to everyone's amazement. 

The film also focuses on other dysfunctional characters studying with her in the 'Learn English in 2 weeks' course. It's a fun-filled flick and Sri's comic timing is the icing on the cake, says a source. "There's this one scene where an American Consulate guy asks her 'You don't know English, how will you manage in our country?' and she replies, 'You don't know Hindi, but seem to be managing just fine in ours'!" the source adds. 

From The Times of India.com 

Entire archive of news and tid-bits on the upcoming film English Vinglish right here.

Sridevi’s comeback in jeopardy?

Looks like Sridevi’s comeback film is in jeopardy. Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji was supposed to produce the film but we heard the movie has seriously gone over budget. So now they’ve put the movie on the back burner. The buzz was that they’d approached Amitabh Bachchan to play the lead opposite Sridevi. But there’s another stream of talk which maintains that the role of the lead male isn’t meaty enough so Bachchan refused it. Any way with the movie almost shelved, none of this really matters. Does it?

May 10, 2011
From Filmfare.com

Sridevi to make a comeback in Gauri Shinde’s film!

She has finally chosen the film to make her comeback on the big screen. Sridevi will be doing Gauri Shinde’s (R. Balki’s wife) film that Shinde has written and will be directing.

The actress, who was last seen in Pankaj Parashar\'s Meri Biwi Ka Jawab Nahin in which she played Akshay Kumar’s spunky wife, was at one time planning to make her comeback with the sequel to Mr India but now it seems that she has settled for the debutante director’s film.

Sridevi had even dabbled with television in and as Malini Iyer on Sahara Television. Produced by her husband Boney Kapoor and directed by Satish Kaushik, the comedy series had 184 episodes. It is almost after six years that the actress will be donning the greasepaint. The film will take off after about three months.

Sridevi was last seen in a blink-and-miss role in the 2008 film, Halla Bol.

Though the actress, who gave hits like Mr India, Chandni and Nagina, was unavailable for comment about her comeback, her husband and producer, Boney Kapoor confirmed the news. “Sridevi is very excited about the script and the film is being directed by Gauri Shinde, Balki’s wife,” he said.

Indian Express.