Sridevi in the film Gair Kanooni

Sridevi in the film Gair Kanooni

One of the many comedy scenes in the film. Though it had Govinda as co-star and lots of lighthearted moments, the movie was... just ok. 80s was a strange decade for Bollywood. 

Legend has it David Dhawan had met Sridevi briefly and discussed working together, alas nothing went beyond their informal chat. 

Sridevi didn't work with him, Priyadarshan or Mani Rathnam, or Vidhu Vinod Chopra or Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Its their loss.. .well, its a loss for Indian cinema/ 

Sridevi in Kaun Sachcha Kaun Jhootha

Released on 11 Apr 1997, the trhiller/murder-mystery Kaun Sachcha Kaun Jhootha was the last film of Sridevi with Rishi Kapoor. 

Our massive archive of images, features and reviews on the film here.

 

Sridevi in the Tamil film Vanjam aka the Telugu film Kaksha

Sridevi, 16, in the Tamil film Vanjam... which is a direct dub of the Telugu film Kaksha!

Originally shot in Telugu, Kaksha released in 28 March 1980, and was later dubbed in Tamil.  

Now this doesn't make it two films! 

As mentioned before compiling a list of her films accurately is a Herculean task of fact checking and constant corrections. 

 

Sridevi and her plats

Sridevi and her famous plats.

When the Telugu film industry first discovered Divya Bharthi, they styled her a lot like Sri intentionally, referencing her popular looks. Divya had her own style and way of being and acted in her own way, not like an imitation of an iconic star. 
 

Sridevi in Telugu cinema

 

Young Sridevi, 18, in the Telugu smash hit Devatha. 

Sridevi

 

Young Sridevi in her second Hindi film, Julie!

Sridevi, 12, on the sets of Julie back in 1975, her second appearance in Hindi films. 

For those who think this is her first Bollywood appearance -- that's Google and AI not updating info. She was very clearly seen as a child artist in the Hindi film Rani Mera Naam in 1972! 
 

The Sridevi Mithun Chakraborty saga; Sridevi's first Bollywood Scandal: Did they or didn't they... marry?

Mithun Chakraborty with Sridevi on the sets of Guru back in 1988. 

Sridevi, all of 25, and the much-married Mithun was 38 during the making of the film. Speculation on their alleged affair, even more covert marriage created tabloid fodder throughout the 1980s. Sridevi never spoke to anyone about anything - but that sure as hell didn't stop the rancid tabloids from going to town, tarnishing her name. Sridevi rose above all, throwing herself at work, declining interviews, her quotes reworked to make saucy headlines, her shock at what was said and what was published.  

As her moon was rising, his was falling - and how. The National Award winning actor turned from box-office gold to shot-in-Ooty B, C grade films. There was a year when he had over 20 films released as the cottage industry of insta-films he was a part of, helped innumerable film industry people, but tarnished the image of the actor. He has made a comeback of sorts now on reality TV and occasionally shows his brilliance in films like... well, Mani Ratnam's Guru comes to mind. 

Today, Mithun da turns a ripe ol' 75. 

Queen of Comedy: Sridevi: A Complete Actress Sridevi.

Fearless. Sridevi. 

Shabana Azmi once pointed out, unlike Rekha, Sridevi was unafraid to look silly, impoverished, whatever the role demanded, she did it, whereas, Rekha, even if Rekha was playing a financially-struggling person, had to look perfect on screen. Her makeup was perfect, her saris were elegant. Sridevi threw herself into her role. 

She was our Lucy, Meryl, Julia... 

Sridevi: New addition to Hindi stars from South: Throwback Tuesday

Throwback to 1979! Sridevi's first Hindi film launch party. 
 

The endless hug: Mithun with Sridevi in their last film together: Guru

The endless hug: Mithun with Sridevi! Well, not really a hug, more of a hold Sridevi had on Mithun!  

Both knew as they appeared on the set of the last film they did together, any and every moment would be recorded for posterity by the notoriously difficult, scandal-prone and intrusive tabloids of the 1980s. This simple shot for a scene in Guru--circa 1988--was in every Indian tabloid. These two stars fuelled so much tabloid press and gossip. The movie was shot over 1987-88 in multiple schedules. You can see Sridevi in every size, fashion and makeup style! 80s was a logistic mess in Bollywood! 

Guru released on 24 February 1989 and was a runaway hit, but the two stars never worked (met or spoke!) of the other, ever again. Funnily enough, Mithun went on to work with another Guru - Mani Rathnam's fantastic film in 2007, with Ash and Abhishek in the lead, which was a critical and commercial success. 

Guru was a hit film for both, but 1989 was the year of Sridevi - she went on to feature in 9 other films culminating the year with a double whammy of Chaalbaaz and Chandni, ending the decade with a complete reign over Indian cinema. 

Sridevi and Jeetendra: 40 Years of Sarfarosh!

Sridevi, 21, and Jeetendra, 42, on the sets of Sarfarosh: TBT to early 1985. 

A rare flop among a slew of hits, the film is somewhat memorable for many Sridevi fans as it had the catchy Kishore Kumar number, "Sridevi Sridevi Sridevi Tu Nahin..." } performed on screen with no sense of irony by Jeetendra and... Sridevi herself!

The wiggy of it all - Jeetendra's! 

It appears as if Jeetendra styled himself like NTR in Sardar Paparayudu (1980) - the Telugu original version of Sarfarosh. While the original version was a blockbuster, hence remade (Sridevi appeared in both), the quick frame by frame Hindi version did nothing for the coffers of the film producer... er... Jeetendra! Jeetendra was successful, of course, but his fan following was nothing compared to NTR! 

Jeetendra's home productions rode the tide of hits and flops rather jarringly. He lost a lot of money (Deedar-E-Yaar) and then made some (Jyoti Bane Jwala & Pyaasa Sawan), and then lost again (Aag aur Shola). Overall, in the long run, the enduring legacy of the superstar lies in his business acumen - as he famously said on Comedy Nights with Kapil, his only goal in life in movies was to make money - he didn't care for any awards or accolades! Just rewards! He sowed the seeds that has led to the entertainment production behemoth his company has now become - led dutifully by his wife and daughter. Film production in India is serious business; rhino hide skin needed to survive! Just ask producer Boney Kapoor! The slings and arrows of critics are incessant and rewards infrequent. 

Released on 15 March 1985, though Sarfarosh was a surprise flop, the two leading stars Sridevi and Jeetendra barely felt the pinch, as the film preceded two hits, and followed two hits! 

Stars come and go, flops come and go, the enduring legacy lives on. 

RELATED FEATURES

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• Sridevi and Jeetendra films here.
• Sarfarosh gallery and featuers here.
• Sridevi in the 1980s here. 

Young Sridevi

 Sridevi. 

Plats: Sridevi's go-to hairstyle to de-age!

Sridevi always had a cherub, baby face, but whenever she (or the film) wanted to show a youthful Sridevi, the plats and hoop earrings and the contemporary dresses came out. When she was a teenager, she looked mature (height, long legs, statuesque presence - and gosh if ever a lady was born to wear a sari gracefully, 'twas Sri!). When she was in her late 20s, people assumed she was hitting 40 simply because she had been around for so long and done so many movies. 

BTW it was a formula that seemed to have been followed by other actresses too; be it Madhuri Dixit in parts of Koyla and Prem Granth or Juhi Chawla in her oh-so-cutesy roles, the twin braids/plats whatever you wanna call it, came out! 

Early on Sridevi had to make sure she wasn't bracketed as the older actress - Bollywood is notorious for looking for the next new 'young' 'it' gal and Sridevi was defiant in not being slotted in the the notorious 'didi' (older sister) 'bhabhi' (married wife of older brother), and mother, roles that would start being offered to actresses as soon as they were reaching 30. 

Govinda and Sridevi were the same age, but by the time he did a film with her, Sridevi had already appeared in over 100 films, and Gair Kanooni (the only film they appeared together in) was only his 11th release. False reports of the age gap were published then. The two never worked together after the endless delay in production of that film as professional and punctual Sridevi was working with someone who was famously not (despite his vast talents)!

Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan were just two years younger than Sridevi but when they appeared in films with her, by their own volition and fandom of the actress, Sridevi faced criticism for working with 'younger heroes.' Sridevi's statement, 'I'm not so ancient,' tried to calm the storm, but the failure of films (particularly the unbearable Chaand kaa Tukdaa and Chandra Mukhi) made an editor in Showtime say, "Oh, her time is up!" Sridevi was just 30 when that statement was published BTW. 

Bollywood continues to be youth obsessed - well, only with the leading ladies. The superstars, esp the Khan trifecta, are touching 60 and there doesn't seem to be a shortage of any work for them. Actresses of a certain age find employment only on OTT platforms (Madhuri Dixit, Raveena Tandon!) and occasionally in the West (Tabu!).

The more things change, the more they stay the same... 

Sridevi in Pachani Kapuram (1985)

 

Sridevi, 22, in the Telugu film Pachani Kapuram (1985). 

The pose - young Sridevi was rocking 1980s fashion and already the biggest star in the country. The media had declared her as the Number One pan-Indian National superstar with successful films in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films running in the cinema across the country. 

Pooja ya Pallavi? Sridevi's double dhamaal in Lamhe

 

The subtle touch of how differently they ate their meals... 

Glorious Sridevi in Lamhe. 

Young Sridevi

Anyone have the pic without the word stamp?! 

 

Leading ladies in plats: Trying to look younger!

 

Sridevi, Juhi Chawla, Tina Munim, Poonam Dhilloon, Hema Malini and Jaya Prada

The oldest trick in the book; trying to look younger and cutesy on screen? Get those plats on. 

The Age of Innocence: Bollywood's leading ladies and their plats: Sridevi, Juhi Chawla to Jaya Prada

The Age of Innocence: Bollywood's leading ladies and their plats: Sridevi, Juhi Chawla, Tina Munim, Poonam Dhillon, Hema Malini and Jaya Prada

In the age of IMDB and Wikipedia, today, every actress' date of birth and age is public knowledge. Until the turn of the century, no actress ever admitted their real age in print! For decades, you'd have to guess the age of Rekha, Jaya or Sridevi based on when their films were roughly released. Every figure and number was up for speculation. 

Anytime a lady was seen as being mature, they'd suddenly doll up in plats and baby pink colours to infuse a modicum of youthful zest on their screen personas. There was a stage when any leading lady would never want to portray the role of 'mother'  as they'd be bracketed as older - no matter how good the role was. 

In First Wive's Club, Goldie Hawn famously said, "There are three stages to an actress in Hollywood; Babe, District Attorney, Driving Miss Daisy!" 

In Bollywood, "Its college girl, Bhabhi, Mother to your Own Co-star of five years ago!" 

Hema Malini, Raakhee, Mousmi Chatterjee et al fell into that trap. Playing the mother role to stars who were either similar age or even older! Aging women out is common till date. 

Bollywood is that living contradiction; the more things change, the more they stay the same. 

 

Krishna and Sridevi: Telugu cine icons

 Krishna and Sridevi: Telugu cine icons! 

Anyone remember which film this shot is from? 

Comic timing on fire as usual!