Sridevi in Chandni and Lamhe

 

Yash Chopra's muse - Sridevi in and as Chandni. 

The Lamhe still - click to enlarge - is a rare pic for our page.

Sridevi: 90s throwback

 Colour correction and published in newspaper image restored. Somewhat successfully... 

Sridevi's only sequel

Gauri Khan posts pic of Sridevi

 

Gauri Khan @gaurikhan

Gauri Khan @gaurikhan
Aug 23, 2017
Thank you for coming over to the #GKD store, Sridevi!
#GauriKhanDesigns


Aug 27, 2017
Sridevi #GauriKhanDesigns ...

Throwback to 2017...

Strike a pose: Sridevi

 A familiar pose for Sridevi. Time and again. 

Sridevi in Farishtay: The blue sparkling dance costume

Sridevi in Farishtay: The blue sparkling dance costume 

Many, manyyyy people have incorrectly assumed that this is from Nagina - absolutely not. Its from the fun song Saat kunwaraon main, from the awful film Farishtay - which I learned later made a lot of money! 80s and early 90s was a strange era. 

Part of the song in the beginning is sung by a chorus singer, then Lata Mangeshkar takes over. In many films Sridevi often had a song by Lataji, except in movies like Chandni and Lamhe where the Mangeshkars (Aasha Bhosle too!) did the entire album. 

Eternal Chandni: Is this the most famous ghaghra choli of 1989?!

 

Sridevi on the sets of Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja

 Sridevi on the sets of Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja 

Sridevi makes an entrance!

 Can you, dear fans, name both films?! One is obvious... 

Sridevi rocking the IIFA Stage: 2013

 

Am so blessed I've seen Sridevi perform live on stage; in Hong Kong and Macau. When she was 30 and when she was 50 something. What all these tribute dances on Indian reality TV shows reveal is the dancing aspirant's acrobatics, not the grace, charm and expressive nature of a definitive Sridevi dance. Sridevi wasn't don't circus acts on stage, she was glamorous, gorgeous and graceful. A woman in full command, what distinguished her from the girls. 

Sridevi on the sets of Farishtay: Throwback to 1988!

The snake motif repeated again... and again! After the stupendous success of Nagina, Sridevi donned her famous blue lenses in both Nigahein, briefly in a song in Chaalbaaz and again in Farishtay. 

Legend has it that the lenses caused her eye strain and corneal damage - Sridevi never wore those blue coloured accessories thereafter. But by then, some damage was done. It's tragic how much of her personal health she sacrificed for her art. 

Sridevi in Filmcity: On the sets of Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja in the early 90s in Bollywood

 

Sridevi on the cover of Ashwinam magazine: Goddess in Costume

 

12 నవంబర్. 1982 

12 November 1982 

ఆశ్వీనం 

Ashwinam - Telugu month name 

20వ తేదీ-7-25వ 

20th day - 7 - 25th  

సినిమా చిత్రాలు 

(roughly translated to "Cinema Pictures").

Sridevi on the cover of a Telugu film magazine back in 1982! Her costume and full look from the film Deviyin Thiruvilayadal. 

Sridevi and Nagarjuna: On film: On set with a fan

 Sridevi and Nagarjuna: On film: On set with a fan

Rare pic: The Sridevi centrefold from the 90s: Rakesh Shreshta captures the Queen of Bollywood

 

This rare pic - have not seen many outtakes of this tie-dyed look - was published in Stardust annual in the early 1990s. Photographed by Sridevi's favourite Rakesh Shreshta... or was she, his favourite? Either way. This is a slightly altered image of Sridevi as fans will note - the original image is in the archive here - we asked Grok to remove the folded page wrinkle and centre the image. 

Sridevi with Jaya Prada in their epic dance off in Maqsad

 

Released on April 27, 1984, Maqsad was led by an all-star cast of Jeetendra, Rajesh Khanna, Sridevi and Jaya Prada. The film is no great shakes, but we were all shook up when we saw the epic dance-off between the famously warring leading ladies, Sridevi and Jaya Prada. The film is worth watching only to see these two dancing icons work their hardest. They made each other better. Both are so damn good in it, even with our cognitive bias in favour of Sridevi, cannot decide who is better. Expressions, movement, elegance, grace, precision, both are fantastic.

The men are... well, overacting their way through the dance, but really, no one's looking at them when these flashes of blue and pink are raging on the screen. 

Jeetendra and Sridevi

Jeetendra holding on to his lucky charm; gorgeous Sridevi! 

It's funny how much praise Jeetendra has bestowed upon Sridevi in the past, and especially after her sudden, shocking passing. 

In turn, Sridevi acknowledged that their successful pairing was a surprise and she felt lucky that he agreed to work with her when she was considered "a flop" actress after the initial failure of her first Hindi film as a leading lady, the box-office bomb, Solva Saawan.

He gave her a foothold in Bollywood, her youthful exuberance and sex-appeal--she was known as sensuous Srievi in the early days-- gave his flagging career a second boost in the 1980s! Jeetendra himself has acknowledged the Telugu superstars Sridevi and Jaya Prada were his bread and butter in the 1980s.

Rare still of Sridevi in Kaun Sachcha Kaun Jhootha: Dancing icon of Indian cinema

Released on 11 Apr 1997, Sridevi is perfectly lovely in the thriller and murder mystery Kaun Sachcha Kaun Jhootha. 

People mostly remember Judaai which released months before (February 1, 1997), but this was Sridevi's last film before she took a sabbatical for nearly 14 years! 

 

Vinod Khanna and Sridevi in Farishtay (1991)

Farishtay (Angels), the 1991 Hindi action-drama directed by Anil Gaddar Sharma, was released on 22 February 1991.

Vinod Khanna (born 6 October 1946) was 44 years old at the time of the film's release (he turned 45 later that year). Sridevi (born 13 August 1963) was 27 years old (she had turned 27 about six months earlier). 

The film featured a massive ensemble cast including Dharmendra, Rajinikanth, Jaya Prada, and others, with music by Bappi Lahiri. It was Anil Sharma's early directorial venture (his first outside production, as some sources note). If you watch the film now, and even back then, by all accounts it was a hot mess, just an awful movie and yet, fueled by film stars, it was a surprising success despite getting almost all negative reviews. 

Farishtay turned out to be a solid box office hit (described as a "blockbuster" or strong performer in certain box-office collection reports), especially considering it was a multi-starrer masala entertainer in a competitive era. Budget estimates hover around ₹2-3.3 crore, with India net collections reported around ₹3.65-4.8 crore in some analyses—making it profitable and one of the notable successes of 1991. Which was great news for the film producer, the firebrand that was Sattee Shourie, ie mother of Mona Kapoor. 

Its success was somewhat unexpected given the long production, choppy editing, mediocre songs, a haywire script, a bizarre screenplay, tacky costumes, crowded star lineup and typical risks of ensemble films, but the action, drama, and star power (including the rare pairing of big names like Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, and Rajinikanth) helped it connect with audiences and perform well commercially. A severe 80s leftover hangover kind of film that has not aged well. But in Bollywood, a hit, is a hit, is a hit. 

Even if the film is shi...

 

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Sridevi in and as Chandni (1989)

Look for symbols and watermarks when original images of actors have been modified, enhanced and manipulated in some way. Usually its obvious and dreadfully done, but as ai gets better with each passing day, altered pics are creating altered reality. 

The Sisyphean task of alerting social media -- particularly on Instagram, Twitter-- that fake pics are... well, fake. The platforms themselves need to step up and alert viewers. No harm, no foul? I don't know - am one of those old folks that believe the truth matters.