East or West: Sridevi was the Best! The icon in 2012

 East or West: Sridevi was the Best! The icon in 2012 

Sridevi: East or West: Sridevi was the best: Flashback Friday to the 1980s!

 Sridevi: East or West: Sridevi was the best: Flashback Friday to the 1980s!

East or West: Sridevi was the best!

Sridevi 2.0 was rocking contemporary fashion in India with pure elegance and with panache that she was born with. Be it Western or Indian attire, the Indian icon played the double role of actress and fashionista with such ease. 

East or West: Sridevi was the best

East or West: Sridevi was the best! A black gown for the red carpet or a satin Sabya sari... Sridevi was elegant no matter what she wore... 

East or West: Sridevi was the best: Indian Icon and fashion legend hits the red carpet

 East or West: Sridevi was the best: Indian Icon and fashion legend hits the red carpet. 

East or West: Sridevi was the best!

Sridevi rocked a sari or denims, European designers or Indian icons with equal ease. She was just the perfect model to sport any look with effortless elegance. Goes without saying tho', Sridevi in a sari was unbeatable! 

East or West: Sridevi was the best!

East or West: Sridevi was the best! 

Remembering Bollywood Celebrity Photographer: Gautam Rajadhyaksha: Sridevi's Versatile Looks Shot by Him

Remembering Bollywood celebrity photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha today,  16th September, on his birth anniversary. He would have turned 73, had his large, kind-heart, not given way that fateful day in 2011, three days shy of his 61st birthday.  

Thanks to his cousin, writer, editor, novelist, Shobhaa De, I had the opportunity to chat with the great Gautam Rajadhyaksha for a feature on his Bollywood portraits for Prestige magazine (syndicated around Asia). Off the record, we spoke at length about my favourite Sridevi and his favourite Madhuri Dixit. What made them similar, what made them unique, how he would cast the two together in a film (a wish many, many film makers had in the early 90s). 

His singular ability to make anyone and everyone comfortable, the fact he balanced such gigantic celebrity egos with such elegant ease, that for his long tenure as a film photographer and occasional journalist (he did not only Sridevi's first cover story for Filmfare, he conducted and wrote the entire interview with his impeccable linguistic skills), not one soul has anything negative to say about him. In an industry filled with historical grouse and tu-tu-main-main, he swanned above all in his pristine kurtas and printed shawls. He had a fab sense of humour, but he never betrayed anyone or harmed any soul. 

From what little I know of him, and through the power of years of observation, he was indubitably a connoisseur of fine arts, a man of great taste and aesthetics. Be it in his writing, photography, refined proclivity for opera or paintings, the man liked high art in every single way. 

When the starlets disrobed for the camera or had a suggestive pose, it was with reference and reverence to renaissance paintings and Greek sculptures as a springboard for an idea. He liked soft lighting and sensuality, when the 90s were breaching good taste and stark reality. There wasn't a hint of vulgarity in the renaissance man. Ask about him and watch Kajol and Madhuri Dixit-Nene tear up, ask about him to his family and hear them reflect with fondness and nostalgia, ask about him to a complete stranger like me and see how we sigh with regret. That one chance to meet in person was taken away by cruel fate. "Honi ko kaun taal sakta hai, poochne waale, bahut milenge..." 

The images will live on forever Gautam da; you made mortals into movie stars, the ordinary into the extraordinary. You gave them class, when all they had was sex-appeal, you gave them gravitas, when they were floundering.  

My sophomoric dream in youth was to become a film magazine editor in Mumbai and have Gautam da do all my cover shoots. Alas, alas, alas.  

Rest in peace Gautam Rajadhyaksha. Although, knowing you, you've requested the angels to sing Pucinni...

MORE

• Over 100 portraits of Sridevi in the archive here, all photographed by Gautam (with makeup, more often than not by Mickey Contractor). 
• Portraits of other celebrities by Gautam Rajadhyaksha here.
• Interview with Gautam here.

East or West: Sridevi was the Best!

 East or West: Sridevi was the Best! 

East or West: Sridevi was the Best

A notable fashion photographer commented back in the late 80s, early 90s, Sridevi could pull off eastern and western looks with equal aplomb - unlike many of her contemporaries... 

True.

 

East or West: Sridevi was the best

East or West: Sridevi was the best 
 

East or West: Sridevi was the best

 East or West: Sridevi was the best. 

The iconic chiffon sari - when Sridevi was a model for Hong Kong based brand Indian Emporium saris - back in 1984. 

Sridevi's shoot for Aura magazine in the 90s. 

Sridevi: East or West: She was THE best

 

Sridevi: East or West: She was THE best 

Sridevi in the Telugu blockbuster Vajrayudham (1985)

Sridevi in the Telugu blockbuster Vajrayudham (1985) 

East or West, she really was the best - Sridevi looked great in any look. 

East or West: Sridevi was the Best

East or West: Sridevi was the Best 

 

East or West: Sridevi in Chaalbaaz, Sridevi in Lamhe

 

East or West? 

Sridevi in Chaalbaaz or Sridevi in Lamhe! 

Comment below on which you prefer! 

Sridevi in two of her (many) iconic roles; Chaalbaaz and Lamhe. 

For each film (where she had double roles! So really four performances!) she won the Best Actress Award from Filmfare. Long before the award show turned into a sponsored TRP rating obsessed goliath with questionable film-journalism ethics.

Sridevi: East or West

In the early 80s, young Sridevi did her glamorous, western turn for films in Hindi/Bollywood/Mumbai... But for her more dramatic and serious films, she toned it down in a traditional Indian, simple and stunning avatar for her Tamil/Telugu/Malayalam films...

It's called balance!

East or West: Sridevi was the Best!

East or West...

Sridevi working all kinds of looks in her resplendent career. 

East or West: Sridevi

Sridevi rocked each look, eastern or western, with such ease and elegance.

East or West: Sridevi was the best

Sridevi: A elegant western gown looking slim and svelte, or a traditional Indian bride in zari-bordered saree, she was exquisite and elegant in both.