Waiting on set: Sridevi in Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja

Waiting on set: Sridevi in Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja 

Sridevi and her short wig: Look test for a film in the 1980s

The short wig, large accessoring, her dazzling eyes... 

Gorgeous Sridevi re-styles for a look in a film. 

Guess the film - comment below. 

Sridevi in and as Sherni (1988): Another title role for Harmesh Malhotra's favourite muse and movie star

Sridevi in and as Sherni (1988): Another title role for Harmesh Malhotra's favourite muse and movie star. 

There are several moments where she shines, but overall the film is... a mess. 

Sridevi's Bollywood Journey: Blockbuster by Blockbuster

How it ended, how it began... 

Sridevi strikes a confident pose. 

This pull quote from an earlier interview needs further introspection; what the media did to a naturally curvy actress, who spent her entire life then after on one crazy diet after another, working away when she should have rested, focusing on her career much to the detriment of her own health. Ah, woulda shoulda coulda... 

 

Sridevi in leather! Oh the 1980s in Bollywood!

 Sridevi in leather! Oh the 1980s in Bollywood! 

Sridevi and Jeetendra in Himmatwala (1983): A memorable look, but not a trend setting one.

Sridevi and Jeetendra in Himmatwala (1983) 

There's a bit of misleading blogging regarding this costume in Sridevi's first Hindi blockbuster. It was a memorable look for sure, but it wasn't a trend setter nor did it inspire young women in their 20s in 1983 to wear this off-shoulder-to-toe in leather look! Shot in the south, can you imagine wearing this unbreathable fabric in the heat of Indian summer?! Absurd. But Sridevi suffered for her art! No one else did... 

An iconic look and memorable outfit isn't the same as a trend-setting look. Unlike say, Sridevi's Chandni all-white salwaars and saris, which were trend-setting and sparked a fashion movement for sure!  

 

Sridevi in leather: 80s poster

click to enlarge

Sridevi in yet another title role in the 1980s in Bollywood. In and as Sherni. 

Sridevi in and as Sherni: Another title role for a Bollywood Queen

Sridevi in and as Sherni: Another title role for a Bollywood Queen 

Rare pics: Film producer/director Harmesh Malhotra with his frequent muse, Sridevi

Producer/director Harmesh Malhotra, actor Shatrughan Sinha and Sridevi 

Rare pics: Film producer/director Harmesh Malhotra with his frequent muse, Sridevi. On the sets of the film Sherni. 

In his long filmography, the actress he worked with the most was Sridevi - and we've archived their collabs here on the blog. 

The Harmesh Malhotra - Sridevi listicle;

1. Nagina (1986)
2. Sherni (1988)
3. Nigahein (1989)
4. Banjaran (1991)
5. Heer Ranjha (1992) 

Rare Pic: Sridevi in Naaka Bandi

 

Rare Pic: Sridevi in Naaka Bandi 
 

Love, LOVE to find a pic I've never seen before. Eg this rare pic of Sridevi on the sets of the film Naaka Bandi! 

Left: Rare pic of choreographer Saroj Khan with Sridevi on the sets of Naaka Bandi. 

The OG Sherni: Sridevi (a Leo btw!) in yet another title role

The OG Sherni: Sridevi (a Leo btw!) in yet another title role. 

TBH it wasn't a good movie in any measure. But in every film, Sridevi gives it her all. 

It was a lesser, Bollywood-ised version of Phoolan Devi inspired tale - Shekhar Kapur went on to make the perfect film Bandit Queen decades later. 

Earlier we had posted that Sridevi had never done a biopic - well, this was the closest she came to one. Albeit a meh film... 

 

Publicity in print for Sherni: Sridevi's OG 1988 film with Pran and Shatrughan Sinha

It's a newspaper advert not an article or report, so take the headline like a tequila shot; with a pinch of salt. 

Sridevi in yet another title-role back in 1988; Sherni. 

Producer/director Harmesh Malhotra's take on the Phoolan Devi story - believe it or not! 

As far as we can recollect, the movie was in fact a flop at the box-office and producer Pawan Kumar just barely recovered costs. The most expensive feature being... well, Sridevi's hefty remuneration. 

Long before the discussion of pay disparity, Sridevi was quietly leading the pack with title roles, scripts written for her and a paycheck worthy of her pan-Indian fame and superstar status. If we held up the accounts of movie-making in the mid 80s, Sridevi was often paid as much as, if not more than her male co-stars in the mid to late 80s. She just didn't advertise the fact ! 

The OG Queen of Bollywood.  Sridevi. 

Sridevi in and as Sherni (1988)

Sridevi in and as Sherni (1988). 

Released after Nagina (thought it was shot before the film), the film arrived loaded with great expectations but absolutely tanked at the box-office and the critics ripped it to shreds too. There are a handful of fans of the film - there are moments where Sridevi shines in scene and song but... overall, oyve. Will test even her more ardent fans. 

An archive of images of Sridevi with her co-star in the film Shatrughan Singha (the only film they did together) here. 

Sridevi: leather hat and jacket series

When in doubt, its usually a Rakesh Shreshta photograph of Sridevi. 

Sri did THE MOST shoots with her fav Rakesh Shreshta. These are outtakes from a MOVIE magazine cover shoot in the mid 1990s.  

click to enlarge

See entire series in earlier post here.

Cap on Cap off. Capping!

Sridevi poses for a magazine shoot.

Second Take: Sridevi

Sridevi looking gorgeous for a shoot for a magazine.

Sridevi rockin' out in Chaalbaaz: Her 80s Style Inspiration from American Pop Stars

Sridevi rockin' out in Chaalbaaz 

There was a lovely fan theory that in the song Raste main woh khada tha, Sridevi was doing a sartorial tribute to Janet Jackson, Madonna and Liza Minelli!

Surprised?

We are completely on board with this notion.

Here's a side by side with Sridevi and the inspired looks from her western counterparts. Obviously its not an exact imitation (or as Diet Sabya would state "Gandi Copy") but the tribute factors are key elements that are hard to miss. You can't un-see it folks, so here's a deconstruction of the looks Sridevi sported in the comical song, with the lineage behind it.

(L) Janet Jackson released her iconic Rhythm Nation in September 1989. 

(R) Sridevi's film Chaalbaaz came out a few months later, December 1989. 

It's a matter of record that Sridevi was a huge fan of Michael Jackson and has brought it up in several interviews over the years. But she obviously couldn't imitate the male pop icon when she was working full-time (and overtime!) in Bollywood. Instead, she adopted his famous sister's leather clad, all black, permed wig look look for a stanza in Raste Main Woh Khada Tha. Right down to the intro step.  

Madonna's single Like a Virgin was released in 1984 - and she was a youth icon in India throughout the 1980s. Notice her poster in Salman Khan's room in Maine Pyar Kiya (released Dec 1989). Sridevi's look is far too alike to not be a rather obvious take on Madonna's iconic stage show ensemble; the white jacket, durag, puffy skirt, leggings - all the way down to the white kitten heels! Madge of course rather famously took the jacket off to reveal a lace corset-bra type contraption, and if you notice in the second stanza, as Sri strips off her jacket, she shakes her finger and goes off-screen to change to her third and final look. Sridevi was considered bold for her time - but even she wasn't pushing the envelope to the extent her Madgesty did.

This took us the longest time to decipher. But it wasn't until a clip on YouTube of Liza Minelli with her short bob doing a jig in Cabaret popped up that you can see the un-obvious tip of the hat to Broadway and Ms Minelli.

No copyright infringement is intended by anyone (us included btw!) but the nod to the sign of the times is memorable.

Update:

One of the looks Sridevi had in the song Tera Beemar Mera Dil, the satin dress, the red lipstick, the diamonds, the off-shoulder silhouette, the crinkled lines... Its an inspired take as well on Madonna's look from Who's That Girl (1987).