Naaka Bandi: Mahurat to Last shift

The cast and crew of Naaka Bandi. 

The first mahurat shot where you can see Sridevi, Chunky Panday, Sonam and a... surprise appearance from Boney Kapoor! 

Below, ? Dharmendra, Sridevi, Chunky Panday and ?

Launch of Gurudevi: Anil Kapoor, Sridevi and Rishi Kapoor

A throwback to May 1988 when Gurudev, directed by actor Vinod Mehra, was launched with great fanfare with an all-star cast led by Sridevi, Anil Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor. Though the men had the title roles (Guru and Dev!), the Devi had the double role; Sridevi in yet another double role. 

As a leading lady, no other actress in Indian cinema history had more double or title roles. } This is a lofty claim but we will be fact-checking this statement published recently in a paper... 

More images from this event in the archive here.

Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi and Kamal Haasan in Khabardaar (1984): Shelved Film from the 80s

All the acting powerhouses and superstars of that era together in one movie? What a film this could have been! Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Sridevi and Jaya Prada in the shelved but lavishly launched film, Khabardaar. Alas, the movie was never completed after a roaring launch in 1984. But we have an archive of images and stills of the movie here. 

Grok tried to amend and restore this rarely seen newspaper scan from way back when... Alas, it didn't do a brilliant job on AB Snr! More success with Sri and Kamal Haasan... 

Anupam Kher, Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi and film producer/director Ramesh Sippy of Ram ki Sita, Shyam ki Gita

 

Anupam Kher, Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi and film producer/director Ramesh Sippy of Ram ki Sita, Shyam ki Gita. Alas this double/double role--Sridevi and Amitabh Bachchan x 2--case of mistaken identity and mishaps never went beyond the launch. 

What a film it could have been! Directed by Ramesh 'Sholay' Sippy no less... 

Coulda woulda shoulda... 

Archive with more info, images and even a clip in the archive here.

Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi flanked by, hold your breath, Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit

Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi flanked by, hold your breath, Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit! 

Not AI slop or a fake pic, but one from the archives, throwback to 1990 when Chiranjeevi chose to step into Bollywood. He didn't find great success or acceptance in the industry like he did down south but his legend was already established, and he didn't need the footfall of others into his cinema halls. 

More photos from this grandly attended event, with a phalanx of stars, is in the archive here. 
 

Boney Kapoor's post with Sridevi: Jab They Met

 

First picture with my wife ,September 1984 at Natraj studios Edited · 209w

Boney Kapoor posted a throwback picture with Sridevi - and the repercussions followed almost immediately, as the Indian Troll Army, a force like no other, went after him, hammer and tongs. 

Meanwhile, context for Sridevi fans; the image is from the mahurat/launch of a Hindi film Govinda back in 1984 - a film that was eventually shelved and instead, the Kapoors ended up making the phenomenal Mr.India.
 

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Sridevi

 At the mahurat/launch of Chaand Ka Tukdaa. 

Gorgeous Sridevi, dreadful film. 

Sridevi at the mahurat of Kaun Sachcha Kaun Jhootha

Sridevi at the mahurat [launch] of Kaun Sachcha Kaun Jhootha 

With co-star Rishi Kapoor below.

BTW left image has been altered; Sridevi wore a yellow chiffon sari, not this shade of white! 

 

The earliest picture of Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit sharing a stage together: Summer of 1990!

Well, they worked together briefly in the shelved film Zameen, where Sridevi was the lead actress with Vinod Khanna in the Ramesh Sippy directed movie, while newcomer Madhuri Dixit had a supporting role. Sadly, that film never saw the light of day. In the summer of 1990, Chiranjeevi decided to step into Bollywood, after being the top star of Telugu films, following the footsteps of his favourite co-star, Sridevi. Pratibandh was launched with great fanfare and invites to several Hindi film stars. Funnily enough, Chiranjeevi's co-star in the film--Juhi Chawla--was out of town working in another film, so Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit sharted the stage with him. 

We have many more pics in the archive here. 

TBT: August 1986: The Reunion of Sridevi and Mithun Chakraborty: Cine Blitz Scoop!

Excerpt; 

Seth Studios witnessed the launching of Guru, on Saturday, August 16 [1986]. Produced by R.C.Prakash, the film is directed by Umesh Mehra. what really intrigued people was the star pair of Mithun-Sridevi, who had sworn not to act together. Hearsay has it that the producer and director who are friendly with the pair, got them together. The mahurat was followed by a party at SeaRock. The highlight of this occasion, were two torch-bearers who led the leading lady, to a cake. Not a very starry turnout of Shakti Kapoor, Roopesh Kumar and Sridevi’s sister Srilatha, attended. Nevertheless, it was crowded with distributors and producers from Bombay and the South. They’ve probably all waiting for the reconciliation of Mithun-Sridevi, so as to grab he opportunity. 

August 1996, the mahurat/launch of the film Guru, with the most talked about superstars, Sridevi and Mithun Chakraborty, reuniting at a party was 'the' event of the year. These images went viral - and the garlands sealed their fate as the images were seen as a tacit signal that the two had secretly married, despite zero evidence or verifiable quotes from either of them! They themselves never spoke of their alleged relationship, but it didn't stop the press from publishing the news that the two most famous Indian actors of the 1980s. The used to the images of them in garlands as proof that they had secretly married--with no paper trail or actual photographs of this alleged wedding as evidence. Just pure speculation and innuendo. Every year, the same news cycle gets repeated with no one to deny or confirm it. 

Sridevi, Anil Kapoor and Anupam Kher at the launch of Lamhe

Sridevi, Anil Kapoor and Anupam Kher at the launch of Lamhe 
 

Sridevi at the launch of Teerandaz

A film that had a lavish mahurat... but never got made, Sridevi's white and gold ensemble for Teerandaz. Not even a scene was shot. Just a few seconds of a song. 

Sridevi at the launch of Teerandaz

Sridevi at the launch of Teerandaz. A film with Sunny Deol that never took off. 

More about the film in the archive here. 

The Mr.India Diaries: Premiere to Silver Jubilee

Sridevi, Shekhar Kapur, Laxmikanth with his wife (we presume), Javed Akhtar, Gulshan Kumar, Baba Azmi, Satish Kaushik

Above: The grand premiere of Mr.India in 1987! 

Below: The Silver Jubilee of Mr.India and the mahurat/launch of Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja.

 

Satish Kaushik, Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, Shekhar Kapur, Baba Azmi and Boney Kapoor 

Mahurat of Inquilaab: Amitabh Bachchan's first film with Sridevi back in 1984

Rare pic: Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi at the mahurat/launch of their first film together, 1984's smash hit Inquilaab. 

 

Arm in arm: Sridevi

Sridevi, arm in arm. Such a huge portion of film-making is 'hurry up and wait...'! A collection of rare photos of Sridevi waiting on set! From the launch of Lamhe, to Heer Ranjha, Pathar ke Insan and others... 

Anupam Kher with Sridevi and Amitabh Bachchan

Anupam Kher with Sridevi and Amitabh Bachchan. From the sets of Nigahein (1989) and the launch of a Ramesh Sippy film that never saw the light of day... 

Anupam Kher and Sridevi worked in nearly a dozen films together of course, including;

Chandni (1989)

Chaalbaaz (1989)

Lamhe (1991)

Karma (1986)

Nigahein (1989)

Mr Bechara (1996)

Sridevi at the launch of Chaand kaa Tukdaa

Sridevi at Chaand kaa Tukdaa mahurat

 

Rare pics: Sridevi, Rishi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Dilip Kumar, Yash Chopra at the launch of Chandni

Above: Rajeshwari Ayappan (Sridevi's mother!) with Sridevi

Above: Dilip Kumar, T. Subbarami Reddy, Vinod Khanna, Sridevi, Yash Chopra, Rishi Kapoor and Anupam Kher at the launch/mahurat of Chandni circa January 1988. The film released later in Sept 1989. 

Finding any image of Sridevi during Chandni phase is a joyful experience for any Sridevi fan, so literally squealed when we found these sent to us thanks to Yanna (Russian fans have better images of Sridevi than we do!). 

What was it like to be at the launch? We have first-hand experience narrated to us courtesy of Anupama Chandra - read up here.

Sridevi, Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan at the launch of Chaand Kaa Tukdaa in 1991

 

Launched on 9/8/1991, the biggest stars of Bollywood were at the launch/mahurat of Saawan Kumar Tak's Chaand Kaa Tukdaa. Sridevi and Salman Khan in front of the camera, Amitabh Bachchan did the first clap as Sridevi dazzled in white and Salman Khan... danced around!