Sridevi's no makeup look

Sridevi with no makeup. 

She was perfectly lovely. 

Sridevi in denim

Too cute! 

Sridevi in Rakesh Shreshta's studio 

Gumrah: Sanjay Dutt and Sridevi's 90s hit!

Gumrah: Sanjay Dutt and Sridevi's 90s hit!

Sridevi with Sanjay Dutt in Gumrah

Four years older than Sridevi, Sanjay Dutt turns 67 today. They appeared famously in Gumrah back in 1993, and Dutt also worked briefly for a day with Sridevi in Khuda Gawah! 

There are several online reports that the contemporaries never worked together in the 1980s as an allegedly drugged out Sanjay Dutt scared young Sridevi when she first started off in the Hindi film industry... but its unverified sources from notoriously unreliable film magazines from that decade. We're not that keen on speculative misinformation and thankfully there are now several video, audio and podcasts and such, from the voices of those who were there, retelling what really happened. 

Unless Sanjay Dutt himself confirms this news, we are taking it with a pinch of salt. 

Sanju baba is officially a senior citizen now. Still a working actor -- there's one more Munna bhai in him. Just need the writers and director to hone in. 

 

Sridevi

 Sridevi in the mid 1990s. Pic by Rakesh Shreshta.  The fringe, the denim, the accessories... very 90s! 

Sridevi with her Army co-star Sudesh Berry: Rare pic

Indian actor Sudesh Berry turns 65 today - here he is with Sridevi during a cover shoot for Cine Blitz magazine back in the early 90s. 
In the mid-1990s, Bollywood’s promotional stills published in magazines often captured more than just star power- they froze moments of transition. One such image from the 1996 action film Army shows superstar Sridevi alongside actor Sudesh Berry, who played the character Khan in the hit film. At the time of filming and release, the two actors embodied very different phases of a Hindi film career.
Sridevi, was 32 turning 33 during the production window that stretched through 1995 and into early 1996. By then she had already appeared in the vast majority of her remarkable career, a grand total of around 266 films, a tally built on an astonishingly prolific run that began in childhood in 1967 and peaked with double-digit annual outputs across multiple South Indian languages and Hindi cinema. In 1996 itself, Army was one of just three releases for her, alongside Mr. Bechara and the Malayalam film Deva Raagam. She stood at the tail end of her peak stardom, with only a handful of later credits - including the 1997 hit Judaai - before a long hiatus.
Opposite her was Sudesh Berry, born July 20, 1960, who was 35 turning 36 while making the film. A supporting actor who had debuted in 1988, Berry had accumulated roughly eight to ten prior credits by the time cameras rolled on Army. His 1990s work consisted mostly of action and drama roles, with 1996 bringing several releases including Army. By the end of that year, his filmography had reached about 10–12 titles.
The contrast was telling. Sridevi, one of Indian cinema’s most enduring superstars, was winding down an era of near-constant output. Berry, a reliable character actor, was steadily building a résumé in a crowded industry. 
Army, released on June 28, 1996, captured both at a precise point: one legend nearing the close of her dominant phase, the other a working professional in the thick of his supporting-actress years.
Decades later, the still remains a snapshot not just of a film, but of two careers moving at very different speeds. It is funny how everyone assumed Sridevi was much older than Berry, when she was in fact three years younger. But a thespian and "living legend" (as Shahrukh Khan said of her back in 1996), while young Sudesh Berry was a relative newcomer, even though both were of the same age bracket. 
Today, Berry remains a working actor, and Sridevi, alas her tragic and untimely death, cemented her already legend status as one of the truly greats of not just Indian cinema, but cinema itself.  

Sridevi

Rakesh Shreshta could always make Sridevi laugh on cam. 

Outtake from early 90s photoshoot. 

The denim, casual look was refreshing. Sridevi not in an elaborate costume and makeup for a change. 
 

Sridevi on the sets of Gumrah : So cute! So beautiful! Iconic Sridevi

 

Newspaper scans of early publicity shots of Sridevi in Gumrah. 

Sridevi with model Deepak Malhotra on the sets of Lamhe: The half fake pic trend

Timeless Indian Melodies on social media (I most often see on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) is prolific in writing about Hindi cinema and puts up a quasi-real pic; one half of it is real, the other is conjured up by AI. It's so distracting - something is always a bit off. For example, the above pic. Sridevi wasn't wearing jeans, but a denim skirt. The background was different, model turned non-actor Deepak Malhotra's shoes were different. The real pic is below... 

Sridevi's denim and lace embroidered skirt is fully visible in the movie, in a scene with Waheeda Rehman. 

A fake pic - or a half fake pic - is like a half truth. It colours all copy and context, a little bit of trust fades with it. 

TBT: Sridevi in Hong Kong: Portraits for South China Morning Post

TBT: Sridevi in Hong Kong: Portraits for South China Morning Post 
 

Amitabh Bachchan with Sridevi on stage: Jooma Jooma Nite from 1991

Amitabh Bachchan with Sridevi on stage: Jooma Jooma Nite from 1991

More in the archive here. 

Gorgeous Sridevi on the cover of Mayapuri magazine

 

मायापुरी (Mayapuri) → One of India's oldest and most popular Hindi film weekly magazines.

पारिवारिक फिल्म साप्ताहिक → Parivarik Film Saptahik, Family Film Weekly

Issue details: अंक 943 → Issue No. 943

रंगीन चित्रों से भरपूर → Full of colourful pictures

Rs. 3 

वहाँ पहुँचने पर ज़िम्मेदारी बहुत बढ़ जाती है Translation: "When you reach the top, the responsibility increases a lot."

Sridevi in Lamhe: The joy of shooting in London for this Bollywood classic

 

Denim dreams: Sridevi. Janhvi Kapoor

Denim dreams: Sridevi. Janhvi Kapoor! Too cute. 

 

Sridevi in 1980s denims

 

Rahul Roy, Sridevi and Sanjay Dutt strike a pose for Gumrah

Rahul Roy, Sridevi and Sanjay Dutt strike a pose for Gumrah  

Released on 3 August 1993, the movie was a smash hit that won rave reviews for Sridevi. Sanjay Dutt brought in the crowds but 'twas Sri who got all the acclaim. 

Sridevi was 29 when she shot the film and the movie released 10 days before she turned 30 - a death knell for any actress in Bollywood. But Sridevi proved otherwise. She opted for marriage, motherhood and a pause on movies five years later.

Sridevi's denim on denim on denim look! The Saucy Centrefold

Throwback to October 1988, Sridevi's centrefold for Cine Blitz magazine, for the cover shoot and feature.

 

Bespectacled Sridevi on the cover of Mayapuri, the Hindi tabloid

Bespectacled Sridevi on the cover of Mayapuri, the Hindi tabloid 

Photos by Rakesh Shreshta. 

 

Rare pic: Rahul Roy with Sridevi

 

 Rare pic: Rahul Roy with Sridevi 

 Pre publicity shoot for Gumrah back in 1992

Sridevi on the sets of Gurudev

Sridevi on the sets of Gurudev!

Archive of over 40 posts, dozens of pics in the archive here.