Sridevi with her Sri baby: Janhvi Kapoor inherited those cheeks!

Yesterday was Sridevi's first-born, Janhvi Kapoor's birthday. The hard-working "nepo baby" carries the weight of expectation so elegantly on her slender shoulders and quite frankly, has earned her keep.  

We see little resemblance between the legend and the newcomer, but that works in her favour. There is no way anyone compared to Sridevi comes off for the better. Janhvi is a fine fashionista, dancer and actor, in her own lane. There's a likability factor that works and the enormity of legacy, which cannot be ignored either, only crops up in introduction, but she's worked hard and long enough that she can be seen with an identity of her own, uneclipsed by the luminescence of eternal Chandni, the great Sridevi. 

When comparing pics of baby Sridevi to baby "Janoo" you see the resemblance, otherwise, Janhvi Kapoor is a young woman of her own standing. 

Ayappan with baby Sridevi, who would change the narrative
\of the Indian leading lady in Indian cinema

Sridevi with MGR and her parents Ayappan and Rajeshwari: Birth Anniversary of MGR!

Sridevi with MGR and her parents Ayappan and Rajeshwari 

Today, 17 January, is the birth anniversary of MGR. For new gen, westerners, you have nooooo idea how huge an icon MGR was back in the day...

Let's remind people again that Sridevi was born Ayappan Sreedevi, that's her only given name. In films, it morphed into her famed mononym; Sridevi. I've done the deep dive several times, but a reminder in the archive here.

 

Maheshwari posts on Instagram rare pics with Sridevi

Rare pics of Sridevi from the family album. 

Below: Sridevi's family and extended family in Madras. 

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All in the Family: Sridevi with her near and dear in Madras: TBT 1989

Photographed by the late great Gautam Rajadhyaksha for Cine Blitz magazine, Sridevi with her entire family in their Madras mansion.

Sreelatha, Sreedevi, their father Ayappan Naidu, Ayappan Rajeshwari, Maheshwari... 
 

 

Sridevi with her parents: her lawyer father Ayappa Naidu, and mother Rajeshwari

Ayappa Naidu and Ayappan Sreedevi

Sreedevi with her mother Rajeshwari 

Its Sreedevi not Sridevi. As all her autographs show! 

But in film credits, it's always Sridevi..... so Sridevi it is for Bollywood's global audience. 

Sridevi with her parents, father Ayappa Naidu (father) and mother Rajeshwari (né Reddy). 

Rare family portrait: Sridevi with her entire family in Madras

This mother's day, looking at this rare family portrait of Sridevi with her entire family, extended included, at their mansion in Madras (before it was renamed Chennai). 

 

 

Sridevi with her family in Madras: Pre Chennai days

Sreelatha (Sridevi's youngest sister), Rajeshwari (Sridevi's mother) and Sreedevi! 

Sridevi flanked by her parents. 

 

Mother's day coming up tomorrow - a reminder to all - so pulled out this pics from the archive of Sridevi with her beloved family in Madras - before they named it Chennai. 

Happy Diwali Sridevi fans: A time to be with family

There are several recorded statements of Sridevi saying she was happiest when surrounded by family. The film industry and films were a job, her colleagues were just that, colleagues, but joy she found only among her own. 

Advocate Ayappan Naidu with his daughter: Superstar Sridevi

 Advocate Ayappan Naidu with his daughter: Superstar Sridevi!

Sridevi's uncle, Ramasamy Naidu, elder brother of Sridevi's father, Ayyappa Naidu, won the MLA seat from Sivakasi in 1977 representing Janata Party. Earlier he had served as Chairman of Sivakasi Panchayat Union for 25 years. 

Sridevi's father Ayyappa Naidu contested in the 1989 assembly election from Sivakasi on behalf of Congress, but he lost. Sridevi campaigned for her father in 1989 and that was the last time she had visited the village of Sivakasi - where she was born. 

During Sridevi's visit to Sivakasi she had stayed for 10 days and visited every house. She liked her village and was curious to know more about her family ancestry. However, after her father's death in 1990 and her mother's death in 1996 she had completely lost touch with Meenampatti, in Sivakasi.

Sridevi's father is still called the 'Meenampatti Mudhalali', meaning ‘Meenampatti’ landlord in English. 

Sridevi's brother-in-law, Sanjay Ramasamy (married to Sridevi's younger sister Sreelatha), was the former MLA of Virudhunagar constituency. Sridevi's family still possesses properties in the village and also maintains a primary school.

Sridevi's aunt, Saraswathy Ammal, wife of Ramasamy Naidu, is still in the village and takes care of the family properties of the Ayappans till date. 

Father's Day: Sridevi talks about her beloved dad

 Sridevi, "When my father died in real life, there were no dramatics. There was just numbness. But when a father dies in my films, I have to cry and cry till my eyes hurt."
-- Filmfare. 

When Sridevi's beloved father passed suddenly during the making of Lamhe, she mentioned in several interviews that she thought of quitting films and spending time with her family. Fortunately for fans, the professional went back to work with true grit. 

Father's day Special: Rare pics of Sridevi with her father Ayappan: "I hero-worshipped my father"

Excerpt:

Q: Who is your idol?

Sridevi: "One person I truly hero-worshipped was my father. I think I was more fond of my father than my mother. I missed him a lot. Maybe being a lawyer he was busy with his court cases. one day, I pestered him to take me to court. I wanted to see what it would be like. My what an argumentator he was1 Loud and aggressive, hitting out at his opponent, who was actually a good friend of the family. It was nearly an hour and a hlaf later that the case came to an end. And then, what do I see? My father walking towards his opponent, putting an arm around his shoulders, laughing with him like they were the best of friends. I couldn't quite believe what I saw. How could a man be such a loving father at home and behave so differently outside?" 

 

Sridevi the southern belle: Sri's traditional Tamilian look for shoots with her family

 

Sridevi the southern belle: Sri's traditional Tamilian look for shoots with her family 

Sreedevi with her only sister Sreelatha. 

Then with her family, father, mother and sister. 

Honouring Sridevi's father in Cine Blitz

 CB honoured Sridevi's father when he suddenly passed while she was in London, shooting for Lamhe.

Ayappan Sridevi's family: Sridevi's Telugu links

Above: Sridevi with her south Indian cousins.

Below: Sridevi's mother, matriarch Rajeshwari and family - look for baby Sridevi! 

Below: Sridevi's entire family in Chennai. 

 

The RAREST pictures of Sridevi with her family, in laws and on her wedding day!

Boney Kapoor and Sridevi with her parents Rajeswari and Ayappan. Picture from Srilatha's (Sridevi's younger sister) wedding reception. 

Above: Sridevi with her in-laws; Sandeep Marwah (brother-in-law, married to Reena Kapoor), Sridevi's father-in-law and mother-in-law Surinder Kapoor and Nirmal Kapoor and Sri's husband Boney Kapoor 

Sridevi in the centre with her entire family - pre-marriage. The only people we recognise, her younger sister Srilatha next to her, her father Ayappan and looking at the centre, Rajeshwari, Sri's mother. 

 

Above: The rarest picture on the net; Sridevi and Boney Kapoor's wedding picture. There are only two released on social media EVER,  

Ayappan with Sridevi: Father and daughter: Lawyer and his superstar daughter

Father's Day 2020

Today, we post an image of superstar Sridevi with her much beloved father, the erstwhile lawyer Ayappan Naidu. Though it was her mother Rajeshwari (née Reddy) that often accompanied Sridevi on film sets, Sridevi often said she was extremely close to her dad and his loss was so debilitating, she wanted to quit films altogether.

However, after all the rituals and prayers after his sudden passing, Sridevi returned to the sets of Lamhe, gave one of her most iconic performances, and went on to win one of her four Best Actress Filmfare awards for her stellar turn. 

The film's director and producer Yash Chopra stated that to see her work after such a soul-crushing loss, he finally understood what made Sridevi tick, "the greatest actor he ever worked with," as he told Shahrukh Khan. 

To extract herself from her lowest misery to give a transcendent performance - Sridevi had to return to do a comedy scene during the depths of her depression - Chopra, Waheeda Rehman witnessed the transformative powers of the actress. Years after the fact, they still talk about watching her improv, add layers to the scene... and when the shots were done, go back to her room and cry her heart out. The dedication to her craft and Sridevi's unbelievable work ethic was second to none-- hence she was 'the' definite Number One! 

An archive of images of Sridevi with her father Ayappan here.

Sridevi spoke about her father in Stardust, 1988, "One person I truly hero-worshiped was my father. I think I was more fond of my father than my mother. I missed him a lot. Maybe being a lawyer he was busy with his court cases. One day I pestered him to take me along to court. I wanted to see what it would be like. My, what an argumentator he was! Loud and aggressive, hitting out at his opponent, who was actually a good friend of the family. It was nearly an hour and a half later that the case came to an end. And then what do I see? My father walking towards his opponent, putting an arm around his shoulders, laughing with him, like they were the best of friends. I couldn’t quite believe what I saw. How could a man be such a loving father at home and behave so differently outside?

Of course, now I can understand, because I am in a similar situation today. My glamorous image is quite different from the real-life person I am at home. In fact no director has ever projected me even remotely close to my true self in any of my pictures."

Sridevi with her family - before marriage: Superstar with her father, mother and sister

Sridevi with her father and mother (L) during the promotions of Kalaakar back in 1983.

Srilatha (Sridevi's younger sister) and Sridevi circa 1987.

Left: Sridevi with her sister Srilatha at an event in 1988, 

Rare Pics: Sridevi with her father Ayyapan

It drives us mental when they post wrong / incorrect / fabricated information about Sridevi and her past. These are rare pics from the archive of Sridevi with her father Ayyapan. For those lucky enough to have an autograph from Sridevi, she always (pre-marriage) signed off simply as A Sridevi, continuing the south Indian tradition of writing her father's name first (instead of a surname), followed by her name. Hence this blog is called 'A Sridevi' blog, for Ayyapan Sridevi.

Rajeshwari (Sridevi's mother) and Sridevi

Sridevi, MGR and Sridevi's parents!

Wow - what a rare pic. Sridevi with MGR, her father Ayappan and her mother Rajeshwari

Sridevi with her father Ayappan

Sridevi with her father Ayappan.  This image has been circulating online during Father's Day.

There's this surreal myth that Sridevi was born and named "Shree Amma Iyengar" - which is ENTIRELY FICTION and been accepted as truth. Sridevi was born Ayappan Sreedevi. The rest is just internet misinformation that we've been trying to correct for years. Its gotten so bad even leading publishing houses have stated it on record. Sigh...