Come on Charlie! Sridevi did it not once, but twice! The famed Charlie Chaplin impression

In fact, she probably did it once more in Telugu cinema, but we haven't found the pic yet. 

A Yen for Sridevi: Kimono clad

Sridevi famously wore a kimono for an ad in the late 1980s, and also in the Telugu film Maharajasri Mayagadu (images and screengrabs in the archive here). Five years later, she took it to the next level as a Princess in the ill-fated Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja (1993), of which we have a massive archive of pics here.

When Sridevi did something well, producers and directors asked her to repeat it, trying to imbibe the winning formula. Sridevi famously did a Charlie Chaplin routine in Mr.India (which everyone saw) and then years later, yet again in Naaka Bandi (which no one saw!). 

And let's not forget her innumerable rain songs, her dancing around the villain in his den - be it Mr.India, Nagina, Naaka Bandi... all with Amrish Puri! When you appear in 266 films over 50 years, eventually, you'll be asked to repeat a scene, song, movement until it become a trope.

Mr.India was originally written for Rajesh Khanna?! Anil Kapoor was the Replacement?!!

Legend has it that Mr.India was originally written for erstwhile superstar Rajesh Khanna in the title role. Rejected by the famously mercurial legend, he allegedly told off the writers that the  "invisibility" factor was the main hero of the film and he wasn't going to waste his time just lending his voice to the movie. The story and screenplay was written by the iconic Angry Young Men, duo Salim–Javed in what was their last collaboration before their (still inexplicable!) split.

After a few timely script changes by film director Shekhar Kapoor and producer Boney Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, the then still rising star, was cast in the place of 'the' Rajesh Khanna. Kishore Kumar, the playback singer of Khanna in innumerable superhit songs, originally recorded the memorable numbers under the impression that it would be picturised on the screen legend -- even music director Laxmikant Pyarelal were under the same impression, they were composing for the icon Khanna, not newcomer Kapoor! 

But casting musical chairs in Bollywood are nothing new. Only one star was irreplaceable; the diva-licious Sridevi. 

Below: Sridevi in her Charlie Chaplin getup for the movie! 

TBT: The first review of Mr.India: Anil Kapoor and Sridevi's first blockbuster: Shekhar Kapur's Classic

The principal photography of Mr. India began on 6 July 1985, and the film finally released on 25 May 1987 ie 37 years ago today!!

A rare find (left), and major throwback, the early reviews of the experimental, high-concept film that became an all-time favourite of a generation, Mr.India. 

I believe this was published in Filmfare magazine back in 1987. Excerpt;

Desi Superman

Mr India heralds a new hero who does the disappearing act to turn the tables on the enemies of the nation. And has a lot of fun in the process. 

Too much pre-release hype can boomerang. So much was promised by Mr India--the last Salim-Javed script to be directed by Shekhar Kapur who had Masoom to live up to. The story is a judicious mix of many imported and indigenous elements not taking itself too earnestly thought all those elevating sentiments of patriotism, of the common man fighting the internal and external enemies are present. These cliched props of sentiment, suitably updated to keep nice with the times are as inevitable as that deadly foreign hand insidiously working to destabilise our country. In fact, Mr India repeats the destabilising mantra with such repetitive run that you wonder if Salim-Javed and Kapur are not having you on. Besides, there is this uncanny anticipation of the current scenario--the villain Mogambo who wants to destroy India prior to conquering it and struts about like a megalomaniac in a blond wig and an outlandish uniform embroidered with zari dragons and stomping along on cowboy boots. He also demands the Nazi salute. This composite bad man is modeled on those extravagantly mad villains who make the Bond films such fun. Mr India could have been high camp but the production company of Kapoor and Kapur (Boney Kapoor and Shekhar Kapur) believes in marathons of stretching a gag till it snaps with a rebounding effect. They don't believe brevity is the soul of wit. 

Mogambo only provides the outlandish extravagance demanded by the scale of the film. They couldn't have Krypton and Gene Hackman. So they settle for a mad Mogambo (Amrish Puri) doing a parody of a latter day Chengiz Khan who has read Indian history very assiduously. To counter his diabolical plans for India is another avatar of Brahmachari. Arun Verma (Anil Kapoor) doesn't have Shammi Kapoor's breezy vitality but he tries hard. And comes up with an over-grown boy scout charm. He runs an orphanage on lots of love and very little money made form giving music lessons. The gaggle of youngsters are not individualised except for the cherubic Tina--finally made into a sacrificial lamb to feed Arun's righteous anger and pull our heartstrings. There is also the bespectacled Jugal, a sly conspirator who knows that the mysterious hero Mr India is none other than the harmless Arun bhaiyya. Kapur is marvelous with children even en masse. They are endearingly believable not the revolting moralists wished on us in film after film prattling high sermons in childish lisps. 

The film is undoubtedly Sridevi's. As Seema, the intrepid reporter of the 'Crimes of India', with an editor who is being driven mad by the vagaries of Bombay telephones, she is equal to any occasion. Initially, she's prickly with the children till they melt her heart which should've turned into stone if she were a rime reporter worth her typewriter. She sizzles as Miss Hawa Hawaii, cabaret dancer extraordinaire doing a combination of belly dancing and other gyrations born of the choreographer's fevered imagination, with élan. Even if it is an overweight élan. The director gives her the privilege of a Chaplin homage. The set piece in a tough gambling joint where Seema goes on rampage a la Charlie is not strictly necessary for the plot but is a loving homage to slapstick. Can a Hindi heroine escape drenching, even if she is number one? The I love you number is a blue one--literally as well as in its orgasmic writing by the lovelorn heroine. To balance this is the sprightly parodic medley of past hits, quite amusing. More amusing than Roshanlal of Buniyaad trying to date the events through his offkey rendering of popular film songs. Here, it is an occasion for self-congratulatory nostalgia for Laxmikant-Pyarelal. 

Mr India announces that India has come of age as far as special effects go. The tricks of an unseen man entering a room sitting on a chair, draining a bottle of Thrill and smoking a cigar will do Hollywood proud. Where the firm of Kapoor and Kapur has slipped is in wrapping up Mr India much too neatly with no room for surprises or a sequel. When they domesticated Superman into a softie and transplanted H.G.Wells' Invisible Man to a beachside Bombay bungalow, they should have kept Mr India's identity secret from Seema-Lois Lane. But leaving a love story dangling midway, however tantalisingly is anathema to our box-office formula. Here was a chance to create a comic stirp hero with a series of adventures keeping the heroine mooning about Mr Mysterious while the modest half of the hero looks on with amused knowingness. This demands a sophistication which the film makers are not willing to concede to the audience or to themselves. 

-- Maithili Rao

Bombay June 22-July 6, 1987

• We have of course 87 posts, 100+ images and features about Mr India here.
• News about Mr India 2 over the past 25 years here!

Oscar nominee Shekhar Kapur, "I never miss a Sridevi film. I'm very impressed"

Actor, director Shekhar Kapur spoke to Filmfare (August 1990) about the phenomenon that was Sridevi. In his own words;

"I never miss a Sridevi film. I've seen most of her Tamil and Telugu films. I was very impressed by her performance in Moondram Pirai. She was brilliant. 

It was during Joshilaay that I got to know her.. .and discovered the incredible performer in her. I was absolutely fascinated. 

In fact, the song, I love you was not in the original script of Mr India. It was added later. One day Boney (Kapoor) came and told me that he had seen Jaanbaaz and was stunned by the sensuality Sridevi exuded in a song sequence. "She can't look more sensual," he said. I went and saw the film and accepted the challenge to present her more sensually. The result was I love you. She looked so sensual, fully clothed. 

Even the Charlie Chaplin bit was an afterthought. The scene required Sri to disguise herself as  a man. Why not as Charlie Chaplin? I thought. She was so good in the scene that I went on extending it, adding one gag after another. 

Mr.India was a kind of film and she played a king of role in it. In Chandni, she went a step beyond, projected another aspect of her. She now needs to play an exceptional character. maybe a tragedy. I think someone should make a Mughal-e-Azam with her. I regret not having made a film with her immediately after Mr India.  I got caught in an absurd project, which finally didn't take off. I'd like to make an intense love story with Sridevi and Amitabh.

 

Below: Sridevi on the sets of Mr.India in her Charlie Chaplin avatar

TBT: Sridevi as Charlie Chaplin

TBT: Sridevi as Charlie Chaplin! 

On screen and on set of Mr.India in the mid 80s in Bollywood! 

Have yet to see a better tribute act on screen in India than the perfection of Sridevi
 

Vidya Balan releases Sherni First Look: A title Role Sridevi held for decades

Two days ago, Vidya Balan released her film Sherni's first look on her official Instagram account, but for Sridevi fans, it conjures up images of the late icon and no one else - its a title role Sridevi had for decades. 

The original Sherni of Bollywood  - Leonine Sridevi (August 13 - she was indeed a Leo!) - had the tile role first; Sherni was a Hindi film released 33 years ago on May 13, 1988. Produced and directed by Harmesh Malhotra who famously made the blockbuster Nagina (and five other films) with Sridevi. However, that film - very, very loosely based on Phoolan Devi's life - was a flop that took a critical drumming too.  Not a great picture, but bold and beautiful Sridevi shines in several scenes. Hope Vidya's takeover on the title measures up. 

The Vidya - Sridevi connect goes far back; a life-long Sridevi fan (scroll through the archives here or on YouTube), the film adds yet another tangent to Vidya's lofty links to Sridevi. Vidya did a remix of the song Hawa Hawaii as a gentle tribute to Sridevi, Vidya donned the Charlie Chaplin getup like Sridevi did in the past for a photoshoot, Vidya's song outfits in Dirty Picture are a nod to Sridevi's costumes from her Jeetendra films, and like Sri, Vidya's got a knack for opting for title roles that give her several opportunities to showcase her talents as a thespian. To top it all, Vidya was the first recipient of the Sridevi memorial award too. In fact, Vidya Balan received her first ever Best Actress award from Sridevi back in 2010 .

Sridevi mentioned that two of her favourite films and performances of Vidya Balan were Dirty Picture and Kahaani - Sridevi did a rare guest appearance in Vidya's film Halla Bol and she was at the launch of Vidya's film Tumhari Sulu. 

Vidya's said in several interviews that she "worships the ground Sridevi walks on." Well, on that note, she's certainly following her footsteps. 

MOVIE magazine's feature on Sridevi: Indian Luminary

Sridevi (1963): Sridevi of the saucer eyes has always been more at home with fall-down-funny farce (the Charlie Chaplin riff in Mr.India, the child-woman in Sadma, the beer guzzler in Chaalbaaz etc.) than with morbid meditations on human frailty. A long-standing No.1 and a brilliant actress, her on-screen verve and erotic energy lifts one over bumpy scripts as she extract juice even from pulp like Himmatwala, Tohfa, Nagina or Laadla.

Having slogged it out in 200 films (between 1977 and 1983 she did 14-15 Telugu and Hindi films every single year), she can now rest easy in the knowledge that from among her contemporaries, she has had the riches haul of meaningful roles.  

Charlie Chaplin's Birth Anniversary: The Sridevi tribute

 On this day, back in April 16, 1889, cinema icon Charlie Chaplin was born. 

Sridevi's tribute to his most famous on-screen character, The Tramp, in Mr.India is easily the best impression the actress ever did in her rich cinematic history. 

Sridevi dominated the publicity stills of the film in her various avatars in the movie. 

We have lots of pictures of Sridevi as Charlie Chaplin in the archive here. 

Rare pic: Sridevi on the sets of Mr.India getting ready to Charlie Chaplin herself

Rare pic: Sridevi on the sets of Mr.India getting ready to Charlie Chaplin herself! 

Bollywood's leading ladies' tribute to Charlie Chaplin: 43rd Death Anniversary of cine icon

On a more somber note, on this day in 1977, film legend Charlie Chaplin died. On December 25, 1977, Chaplin died on Christmas day in Vevey, Vaud (Switzerland). According to reports, he died of a stroke in his sleep at the age of 88. He was undoubtedly the most famous man alive on the planet... Well, his iconography as the homeless tramp certainly was. 

We've seen many tributes to him over the years in different mediums around the globe - including a good take by Indian actresses Karishma Kapoor (for a magazine shoot for Filmfare in the early 90s), Dimple Kapadia (for Illustrated Weekly in the early 1980s) and Vidya Balan for a Filmfare cover shoot in June 2015. 

As fun and on point as many of the shoots were, Sridevi set the benchmark for her 15-minute-act and nod to the icon in the film Mr.India in 1987.  Everything else pales in comparison - with all due respect to all the ladies who gave it a go 

Postscript: legend has it, later in life, Charlie Chaplin himself appeared on a talent show, in a Charlie Chaplin lookalike contest - and lost. Now if its myth or verifiable truth is beyond our scope at the moment, but its fun to think about with a smile. 

Archive of images of Sridevi dressed as Charlie Chaplin here.

Update: Delnaaz Irani joins the list! 

Delnaazz Irani

@IamDelnazzIrani

Dec 26, 2017

Thankyou @dnaAfterHrs for this sweet piece ..my inspiration my idol @SrideviBKapoor

 ..tried to take the Charlie look for a sequence in my show  #EkDeewaanaTha #odhni in different avatars simply love it @prateek_lsd @SonyTV

Sridevi on working with director Shekhar Kapur

From the Filmfare archives, reporters from the magazine were on the sets of Mr. India, when Sridevi said, "I love working with Shekhar Kapur. His style of direction is great fun. Sometimes when he likes a shot, he prolongs it beyond what was originally intended. he gets totally excited with what he's doing."

On Shekhar's sets it is obvious she's enjoying herself thoroughly. To see a girl who was, till quite recently hampered greatly by the language, bantering un-self consciously with madcap director like Shekhar is amazing. To Shekhar's "This shot is for Shekhar Rao" Sridevi would pose mock-provocatively, flutter her eyelashes and strike a sexy pout, much to the amusement of all around. There is general atmosphere of merry making. But the moment pack-up is announced, she wastes not a moment. doing a quick pranam of dance master Kamal, she scampers off the sets like a schoolchild does when the last bell of the day rings.

Sridevi is also working on another film helmed by Kapur, Joshilay.

"Joshilay is hero oriented but I think my role is a cute one. It's very different. But the film that makes me think and ponder over is Shekhar Kapur's Mr.India. I feel comedy is my forte and of all the films I have in hand only this one gives me scope to reveal my talent in this respect. I love Charlie Chaplin films and I was thrilled when I was asked to impersonate him."

-- Sridevi, Filmfare, October 1, 1985

Sridevi had so much fun working with Shekhar Kapur that in features in the ensuing decade, she listed him in every interview when asked who her favourite directors were (a list that obviously included Yash Chopra, Balu Mahendra among others). 

Meenakshi Sheshadiri revealed in an interview that only on the sets of Joshilay had she seen Sridevi relax and toy with the director by calling him Chandra-Shekharaa! (Quote from her interview here) When in public, Sridevi was shy, reticent, on closed sets however, with people she was comfortable with, full of laughter and fun. 

Sridevi's Charlie Chaplin tribute

One of the most memorable scenes in Mr.India was Sridevi dressed as "Charlie" and the entire comical routine done to perfection by the actress.

Its the birth anniversary of Charlie Chaplin (born April 16, 1889!) - even he would have bowed down to the physical transformation and tribute she did with such honed perfection.

(And no - for the record he never saw it - Chaplin died on Christmas day back in 1977 and the film was released a decade later!)

See the entire archive of Sridevi dressed as Charlie Chaplin here. On set, behind the scenes, on film, rare stills - everything that we have here.

Sridevi fan art: Sridevi's looks in Mr India

#TBH Sridevi enacted several roles in one film; Mr.India. She was the ambitious reporter, she was Ms Hawa Hawaii, she was Charlie Chaplin, she was... well, everything.

Kamal Haasan reflects on Sridevi's career, marriage proposal and legacy

Kamal Haasan's piece on Sridevi for the Mumbai Film Festival brochure. Sridevi was honoured with a screening of her films.

"....But this girl was young, only 13 yeas old. I had of course known of her because she was a famous child actor, and I had seen her on posters. She got the part, and that became our first film, Moondru Mudichu ((Tamil, 1976).

By then, I had done five films with Mr Balachander. I was his blue-eyed boy, his assistant, and probably, the class pupil leader. So when Sridevi joined, I was given the responsibility of rehearsing with her. Since people have seen us romancing each other on screen, they've assumed that we were on a first-name basis. but the fact is, till the day she died, she called me sir - something that is rare in a hero-heroine equation.

We were very similar. We were both child actors who became successful. Hollywood has a long tradition of child actors becoming big stars, but that wasn't the case in the Tamil or the Indian film industry. I sometimes thought she'd never make it. But she was a faster learner, and we ended up doing 27 films together. So, in a sense, I've seen 27 steps of her, of her remarkable rise. Even after she became a star. hardly anything changed between us. She always kept that corner for me: when we were alone, I could still recognise that location , and find that Sridevi.

So that was our relationship. With Mr. Balachander around, like a godfather, we almost behaved like siblings. We liked each other, her mother liked me a lot. She used to tell me, "Why don't you marry her?" And I'd say, "Oh no! It'd be like marrying within the family." In my early days of knowing Sridevi, she was so young, that I'd often make fun of her. She'd be sitting in her mother's lap and eating. I used to tell her mother, "What nonsense is this? You're spoiling her." Then I'd turn to Sridevi and say, "Is this what you'll do even after getting married: have dinner in your mum's lap?"

She was unparalleled as an actress. You can't equate her to Shabana-ji or Meena Kumari-ji, and I admired that. She was her own thing, always willing to perform for the audience. That's what made her a star as well. you could see the glint in her eyes when she as acting. She never hesitated to playing to the gallery: something considered inferior by many actors. but that's what made her great. That's what made Charlie Chaplin great. For her, the audience mattered.

She wasn't too concerned with sweating the small stuff, which, I thought was fantastic. She didn't learn classical dance, for instance. A conventional dancer would concentrate on the posture, the beat, the rhythm, the position and coordination of the leg, hand, and eye, it is complicated. But she'd concentrate on what was in the frame - out of mind, out of sight - and yet, she was able to bring it all together in a piece. That was her forte, her magic, she understood the medium like no other.

When we met for an award function, at the Yash Raj studio last year, we hugged, it was unusual, because we never did the filmi style hugging in real life. But that day we did - I don't know why. And that hug lasted more than the usual podium hugs last. That was the last time I hugged her. That was the last I saw of her.

Sridevi on the sets of Naaka Bandi (1990)

Sridevi on the sets of Naaka Bandi (1990)

Did you know? The song Main Lagti Hoon Sridevi was first shot differently. In the original version, when the names of various Indian actress's were mentioned, their black and white portraits were shown on screen. When the director saw the rushes, he felt something was missing. The images turned to color digitally, and yet, something was lacking. Someone had the ingenious idea to ask Sridevi - a proficient comedienne - to mimic the actresses of the past and recreate iconic looks of those mentioned. It is pure comedic genius and the most watchable song in Sri's vast repertoire.

Left: Sridevi had done a delightful cameo of Charlie Chaplin in Mr India. But copying Chaplin was mere child's play compared with what she's now undertaken in Naaka Bandi. The actress steps into the shoes of popular stars and does some fascinating tributes and caricatures!

Ten Films to Watch of Sridevi - according to SKJ

10 Top Films Of The Ultimate Diva

By Subash K Jha

“Jaag Utha Insan” (1984): Though it was “Himmatwala” that launched her into stardom in Bollywood, it was this unsuccessful nugget of a film produced by Rakesh Roshan and directed by the inimitable K. Vishwanath, where Sridevi shone as a temple dancer wooed by a Brahmin boy (Rakesh Roshan) and a socio-economically challenged underdog (Mithun Chakraborty). Sridevi danced and emoted as though there was no tomorrow. And as long as she did, we didn’t care if there wasn’t a tomorrow.

* “Sadma” (1983): The true coming of age of one of India’s finest actresses. As a girl, who after an accident regresses into childhood, Sridevi conveyed all the nuances of her character’s predicament without getting over-cute. The performance is so accomplished and complete that it never ceases to astonish. Sridevi’s formidable co-star Kamal Haasan thinks she did the character even better in the Tamil original “Moondram Pirai”. We could say the same about him.

* “Nagina” (1986): An awful film, but what an impact! Sridevi as a snake-woman slithering on the floor dancing to Amrish Puri’s music as Lata Mangeshkar sang the chartbuster “Main teri dushman, dushman tu mera”. Does anyone remember anything else about this hideous Harmesh Malhotra creation?

* “Janbaaz” (1986): It is strange how Sridevi’s legendary reputation is built on songs and dances as much as her breathtaking performances. In Feroz Khan’s “Janbaaz”, she had a brief role as Feroz’s beloved. But her presence in the glowing orange chiffon sari dancing to the sound of “Har kisiko nahin milta”, lingers.

* “Mr. India” (1987): A turning point in Sridevi’s everlasting romance with the camera. Playing the perky journalist, who hates kids, the actress was just amazing. Shekhar Kapur made her do everything we always wanted her to. If Sridevi’s comic timing in the Charlie Chaplin impersonation sequence was impeccable, she oozed sensuality in that iconic blue chiffon sari in the song “Kate nahin katt te”.

* “Chandni” (1989): With this film, Sridevi became a Yash Chopra heroine. Thinned down to a chiselled charmer, and sharpening her subtle emotive skills, Sridevi delivered a knockout performance, which straightway propelled her to the top position. The film was an extended showreel of her talent as she danced, sang, giggled and wept for the love of a tragically wheelchair-bound Rishi Kapoor. Seldom has any Yash Chopra heroine made such sumptuous use of the camera space.

* “ChaalBaaz” (1989): The same year as “Chandni”, Sridevi wowed movie buffs with her double role as the docile Anju and the tomboyish Manju. Though Dilip Kumar and Hema Malini had done the same double role before, Sridevi brought an added zest to the role. Pankaj Parashar let the actress have all the fun that she wanted.

* “Lamhe” (1991): Sridevi, as we all know, is addictive. After “Chandni”, Yash Chopra brought her back to the screen in this bold love story of a girl who dares to love a man old enough to be her father. Sridevi played both the mother and the daughter with such distinctive flair that we wondered, could the same actress do so many different spectrums of emotion in the same film?

* “Army” (1996): It is the only film that brought Sridevi face-to-face with Shah Rukh Khan. In this film, there is a sequence where Shah Rukh, playing an army jawaan, is brought home dead. All through the film Shah Rukh plays ‘I-am-dead’ pranks on Sridevi, so she presumes this is also one of those sick jokes. The way she goes from giggling dismissal to shock and finally a breakdown in that sequence, is a textbook of pitch-perfect acting. Sridevi played a gender-reversed Amjad Khan’s role in “Sholay” of a woman, who hires mercenaries to avenge the villain Danny Denzongpa. As it often happened, Sri was far superior to the material offered to her.

* “Judaai” (1997): Her last hurrah before she bowed out to play wife and mother. “Judaai” is a crass melodrama directed by the late Raj Kanwar. It features Sridevi at her absolute best. The way she lifts the most mundane of scenes has to be seen to be believed.

* “English Vinglish” (2012): Her comeback film. It proved once again there will never be another Sridevi.

From SKJ Bollywood News: http://skjbollywoodnews.com/2015/08/sridevis-51st-birthday-10-top-films-of-the-ultimate-diva/4135353.html

Sridevi as Charlie Chaplin in Mr India

click to enlarge

The absolute pinnacle, the highest benchmark set by Sridevi for a leading lady and as the Queen of Comedy; Sridevi as Charlie Chaplin in Mr India.