Sridevi's paintings--yep, the iconic Indian actress used to paint as well! Actress, icon, artist, artiste!
During her acting hiatus, Sridevi painted. A lot! She was always doing sketches and drawings on set, doodling when waiting around for her notoriously late appearances of her famed co-stars. Quite a few of Sridevi's artwork has been published in the 1980s and 1990s as magazine editors took note of the gifted gal; Sridevi's drawings appeared in Cineblitz, Aura magazine and a few other magazines.
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When she was bringing up her children and at home, she had the time and opportunity to paint at leisure. Encouraged famously by fellow aspiring artist - and fan - Salman Khan, Sridevi ended up making a few large-scale canvases.
The first time she showed in public was in Salman Khan's TV show Dus ka Dum. Inspired by the visuals of Sonam in Saawariya, Sridevi painted The Girl in The Blue Dress. Now Saawariya was a beautiful looking... albeit rather empty film, a classic all-style-no-substance movie. Great cinematography, sets, music, the aesthetics were top tier... A rarity for Sanjay Leela Bhansali however that it was all hype and no hope. Based on a short-story with visual references from erstwhile paintings, everything was referenced and revered but to what purpose? Much ado about nothing indeed. A film hated by critics and audiences alike, Bhansali has yet to accept the criticism and retreats to a place of paranoia that the world is against him, the reviews were conspiracies and he wasn't at fault. A famed yeller and screamer on set, its funny how he can belt it out - but can take almost no criticism. See how he deflects when cornered by Anupama Chopar, how he lashed out Aishwarya Rai, Kareena Kapoor, Shahrukh Khan, Farah Khan, Karan Johar... maybe it is you SLB!
Rant over. Back to Sri;
The only good thing the film did after release was that the striking cinematography inspired Sridevi and The girl in the Blue Dress was created.
Later on, Sridevi painted a more peaceful face and figurine, called it Thoughts, she painted Michael Jackson, her favourite artist in his most iconic pose. Sridevi famously created other pieces too alas, sadly, many of her pieces were lost in a fire a few years ago and they didn't survive - but the memories and jpegs do! So here are all the paintings we have found online of Sridevi's work.
Over the years, Sridevi's canvases has been auctioned and sold successfully. Now of course, some of those very pieces are invaluable since the passing of the iconic Indian actress. A true artist to the core.
