Sridevi rockin' 1980s Fashion

Rock the Turban. Sridevi. Late 1980s shoot - Stardust cover shoot outtake.

Stardust May 1988: Exposed! How Sridevi dumped those who made her Number One!

 

Sridevi on the cover of Stardust back in May 1988 - sharing space with the stars of the time such as Anil Kapoor, Meenakshi Sheshadiri and others. 

The titles and headlines on the magazines were... so hyper and amped up; 

Revealed Anil and Naseer Declare War! 

Will Divya defy her parents and marry the man she loves?

How Sridevi dumped those who made her Number One! 

The 'Raaz' behind 'Thandi Meenakshi Seshadiri's Naya Garam - Garam Vibes!  

Lady in red: Sridevi styled by Manish Malhotra

 

The beautiful Sridevi centrefold - that face! The 90s perm framing her visage, the styling of newcomer Manish Malhotra - this was a Stardust spread in the mid 90s.

Photography by Sridevi's perpetual favourite Rakesh Shreshta - she was his favourite too and addressed her as 'Maai...'

Sridevi and baby Janhvi Kapoor on the cover of Stardust, October 1997

Sridevi and baby Janhvi Kapoor on the cover of Stardust, October 1997

For the longest time, I didn't put up these images of Sridevi with her baby as, these were private family pictures that someone leaked to the press. 

Indian film media - particularly vulgar, desperate television news shows and channels - didn't respect Sridevi's privacy when she gave birth, nor did they when she died. The person who leaked photos of Sridevi's body in hospital and ambulance - they deserved to be fired and arrested for the criminal negligence, massive invasion of privacy and the pure lack of humanity. But I digress....

There are rising stars who dream of landing their first magazine cover, to be even mention in Stardust, Filmfare, Cine Blitz... and some make the cover just by being born... to the biggest female superstar of her time. Baby Janhvi Kapoor - just an adorable cherub she was. 

Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi, Aamir Khan, Juhi Chawla on the cover of Stardust: RIP Stardust

 

TBT: Stardust February 1989: How Sridevi took a Kiss to Court!

 TBT: Stardust February 1989: How Sridevi took a Kiss to Court! 

Stardust: Why has the industry got together to dethrone Sridevi?

Stardust: Why has the industry got together to dethrone Sridevi? 

Why indeed! 

A Stardust magazine cover story. TBH the war was mostly on between Sridevi and the media more than the film industry. Sridevi didn't get for the tabloid press and didn't court editors or writers, and they highlighted her flops and were dismissive of her hits. But she conquered all with sari-clad ease and elegance. 

 

Shobha Kapoor, Jeetendra, Sridevi share Stardust cover with Sanjay Dutt, Rati Agnihotri

Oh Stardust! You are missed.

A throwback to this early 1984 edition of the ultimate Bollywood tabloid,  the infamous Stardust - with a young Sanjay Dutt on the cover. 

Jeetendra, flanked by his wife Shobha Kapoor and frequent co-star Sridevi; trying to put rumours to rest! More on that in earlier post here. 

 

Sridevi and Mithun Chakraborty: the Stardust staple!

In the mid 1980s, there was no bigger scandal than the alleged affair between the Number One leading lady in Indian cinema, Sridevi, versus the Bengali Babu Mithun Chakraborty. 

Their scandalous on-set rumoured relationship was the talk of the town and reams of magazines printed features and images on the two in hushed tones and bold headlines. Like this Stardust cover story from 1987! Though neither of them officially ever spoke of it or on the topic, quotes were stitched together to create salacious narratives. Four films later, as Sridevi's career escalated, Mithun's dramatically declined. They never worked together despite giving three back-to-back blockbusters, between 1984-1989, as the family couldn't cope with the tabloid frenzy.  

Both stars were Stardust staples; whispers and quotes from "insiders" and unnamed friends were cobbled together for cover stories. The tabloids couldn't get either star to pose together for a still photograph (unless on a film set), so they had to stitch together different pics eg above, Sridevi's regal still from Sultanat with a separate shot of Mithun Chakraborty. 

Till date we are asked, did they or didn't they marry, let alone have a fling in the 1980s. Well, as we weren't there on set and there's scant evidence of their "marriage", we're going to let this one slide without comment. 

80s Glamour: Sridevi rockin' a Stardust shoot

 

Stardust takes shots at Sridevi: First they crowned her, then dethroned!

Why has the industry got together to dethrone Sridevi?

Asks Stardust. 

Why indeed.

Well, or so asks the tabloid heads of Stardust back in 1987! 

I suppose none of this matters now as no more of Sridevi - or Stardust. Rumour has it the magazine has shut shop along with Cine Blitz, Showtime, G magazine, MOVIE, Tinsel Town...

Social media killed print magazines. Just as celebrities thought, phew no more paparazzi, the wild ungoverned, ruthless internet has taken over. Wild bat shit conspiracies, allegations are floating online with lawless abandon. One needs guts of steel to be a celebrity today in India - the thickest of skin as the world is paparazzi now... 
 

Sridevi

 Madhuri and Sridevi: Friendly deceptions! Oh Stardust! The writing... 

TBT: Stardust cover with Sridevi, Sanjay Dutt, Dimple Kapadia, Jaya Prada, Anupam Kher, Kiran Kher, Nasserudin Shah

Before there was the internet and trolls, gossip and innuendo and quite frankly libel.. there was Stardust! 

The best-selling film rag of all-time, during its peak, there was no other film magazine that was as powerful, influential and quite frankly, a terror to stars of all strips. 

It was also a highly somewhat unreliable entity. 

Shocking headlines, unverified reports, questionable sources, fake news, petty gossip, scandals, pure fiction, rabid fallacies, all the way down to typos, misspelt names, allegations, bad writing and amateur hour reporting. 

But dammit it was fun. Taking down powerful, rich, spoilt Bollywood brats was key. No one escaped Neeta's Natter... 

The magazine ignited protests, bans, marches... and what not. Back then there was no social media, so stars had no recourse either. 

On the other hand, a star could never get away with murder either. If you behaved badly, if you treated people like crap, if you were having torrid affairs and breaking hearts and home - Stardust reported it unabashedly without fear or censure. There was a time when leading newspapers never featured Hindi film industry stars, if you needed publicity for a film or awareness for a project, you needed to pose and give a stirring interview to the scribes. It was selling at such a pace, they had to publish another film magazine -- Showtime--from the same publishing house to keep up. 

Now... oh my, how the mighty have fallen. With the internet providing free pics, gossip instantaeously, the magazine cannot keep up. Sales have dwindled, advertising is circling the drain... its nothing like what it used to be. The latest covers have been so badly shot and the layout... its like a highschool project. What are these fonts, colours... there was never any fact-checking in the first place, but how about a quick grammar check?! Tsk tsk. 

Nothing lasts forever. Ashes, to ashes, Stardust to dust... we all end up in the grave. 

 

TBT to October 1993: Sridevi's Media blitzeriks: Cover of G, Cine Blitz, MOVIE, Stardust! Never before, never again!

On the eve of Gumrah's film release, Sridevi and Sanjay Dutt dominated all the magazine covers, taking up real estate on all major publications. The stars dominated Stardust, Cine Blitz, G magazine, MOVIE magazine. 

Some real interviews, some editorials, some... well, fiction. 

Early days of film journalism in India was deeply suspect. Just ask the stars... and even the press who left! 

October 1993 - great time to be a Sridevi fan! She was in media, movies, Mumbai! 

Stars of the early 1980s in Hindi version of Stardust

 

Sridevi's pout for Stardust

 

Credits: 

Photographer: Rakesh Shreshta 

Outfits: Neeta Lulla 

Make-up: Ifte 

 Stardust, April 1994.

Sridevi clears up her controversies: TBT to Stardust 1994

A major throwback, Sridevi clears the air in Stardust. 

Stardust: You desperately wanted to do a film with David Dhawan. You had even met and discussed a proposal with him but after the debacle of  Andaz, you backed out of the project saying that he was a crude director ?
Sridevi: I did meet David Dhawan, and we even spoke of working together. But nothing was finalised as he is presently very busy with his other films. I don't recall calling him crude or whatever. I am still looking forward to working with him.

Stardust: Shahrukh Khan too for some reason is very put off with you. Recently he was heard saying that he would rather work with a Madhuri [Dixit] or a Kajol than put up with your starry tantrums. What is it about you that people prefer keeping their distance from you?
Sridevi: This is news to me that Shahrukh doesn't want to work with me. I knew that Ajay Devgan had said that he would never work with me. I wanted to call up Ajay and clear up the Khuda Gawah  controversy, where I was supposed to have asked the producer to replace Ajay with Nagarjuna. This was all totally false. But then I was in two minds. I didn't know how he would react to my call. Well, someday I hope to clear up this misunderstanding too. Whether we work together or not, only time will tell.

Stardust: You are accused of troubling Vinod Mehra the maximum during the making of Gurudev. The poor man had to literally chase you around for your dates. He was literally at your mercy since you played a double role in the film. How could you treat him so shabbily?
Sridevi: I would never ever dream of hurting somebody as endearing as Vinod Mehra. He was a perfect gentleman. In fact, since I was doing a double role in the film I was the first to complete most of my work. In fact, even after his sad demise I co-operated totally when they wanted some more dates of mine. You could ask Kiran Mehra if you don't believe me.
-- Stardust Magazine 1994

• Sridevi in Stardust archive
• Sridevi quotes here. 
• Sridevi interviews here. 

Rishi Kapoor, Anil Kapoor and Sridevi in Gurudev

TBT: Stardust Jan 1988: Revealed: The Man Behind Sridevi's Ruin!

Sanjeev Kumar, Dimple Kapadia, Sanjay Dutt, Padmini Kolhapure and Sridevi on the cover of Stardust, Jan 1988! 

Scandals galore! Sensationalism to the max! The era of tabloid journalism at its peak.. some might say nadir.

 

50 Years of Stardust: Sridevi in 26 (give or take) covers

Originally published as the first of its kind film magazine back in 1971 (there were other film-y magazines but nothing as scandalous or gossipy as this!), for some strange reason the publishing house  celebrated the 50th year of Stardust on Jan 28/29, 2023.

Now even our basic mathematics is bad but surely this is the 52nd year of the magazine in 2023, not 50th... A point that no other online portal or newspaper picked up... which is pretty much on brand; accuracy and verifiable journalism wasn't much of a thing for the publication. Publish now, apologise later (if ever) has been a long-standing unwritten motto of Stardust; the deity maker and breaker of the Indian film industry.

Sridevi has appeared in manyyyyyyyyyyyy Stardust covers over her illustrious career - until her tragic and untimely demise. We have but a few of them and a few notable gems are missing in our collection. Sadly, even the editors and writers who worked at the magazine don't have copies as today's news is tomorrow's trash - we are talking pre internet obviously. They didn't save copies, and didn't collect them with a fevered passion like we did.

What do I say about Stardust? Well, growing up, we were strongly discouraged from reading it - especially for the magazine's faulty English - the film rag was the first of its kind to introduce "Hinglish" to the common vernacular, and my parents were horrified. The merry hybrid of Hindi and pop culture English would be intolerable to any English teacher. 

The copy was deliciously decadent; scandals galore, amoral stars and their tales of sex, drugs, alcohol,  and extra-marital affairs, rape allegations, underworld links, gangsters, Mumbai mafia stories, drug-peddlers, drug consumers... there was no topic that was too taboo. And the pictures! Stardust was the first magazine to publish a Bombay starlet topless (Oh Mamta Kulkarni!) fake pornographic image of a Bollywood star on the cover (Pooja Bhatt!) to talk about the ills of the internet! It published scantily clad men, women, starlets, it spoke to mistresses, it was the Indian version of Page 3, Hello! and Playboy.... well, without the nudity, but the words... we blush!

The magazine was high octane on cover tags, they were all screaming; Caught! Confession! Red-Handed! Rape! The words were all bold-faced and bold-type. It really had a knack for bringing down any celebrity with an outsized ego and planting them firmly down to earth. It was gossipy but it was fun - otherwise it wouldn't have been the best selling film magazine in a nation of nearly a billion! 

The rag had its own share of controversies and lawsuits; Dharmendra arrived at the office to threaten writers and editors, Amitabh Bachchan didn't speak to anyone from the magazine for nearly a decade, Saif Ali Khan had a few select abuses for one of the scribes, Rekha and Shabana Azmi sued the publication for defamation (nothing came of it), the Anupam Kher and Mithila Kulkarni (sister of Mamta Kulkarni) molestation allegation was an ugly chapter in all their lives, Mahima Chaudhary spoke about how an editorial had her spiral down into depression... The magazine never held back and punched down and high with equal fervor. 

Many stars tried to ban it, but the Bollywood boycott didn't work - if anything, gave the magazine new lease while several other newsstand rags and the magazine's poorer cousins (Showtime!) came up....  (and petered away...). 

Sadly, as much fun as it was - and it was gloriously campy fun - the end of Stardust as we know it is neigh. The internet and social media, where images and info are distributed free and faster, is slowly choking the magazine out of relevance. 

The publishing house needs a cash cow or go whole hog as an online Bollywood behemoth - but Pinkvilla seems to have that position already. 

Ah Stardust. Thanks for the nostalgia. And Good Luck babe. You're going to need it.