Filmfare digs out rare photos of Sridevi from their vast archive: Can Filmfare digitally save its vast archives?

With the slow death of print media in film journalism, Filmfare is the last standing bastion of archiving Bollywood. Circulation is down, ad sales aren't what they used to be, the staff numbers are down, the freelance budget is near non-existent, the photography budget hasn't changed in eons... btw this is true of almost all magazines, be it a rag in New York or New Delhi. 

The Bollywood fandom is strong - it'll take a collective to fund a process to scan and archive all the issues - as Vogue did painstakingly. 

Condé Nast officially launched the digital Vogue Archive in December 2011. It made every single issue of American Vogue, from its founding debut issue in December 1892 up through the current issues, fully searchable and accessible online. 

The digitization project took approximately two years to complete (spanning 2009 to late 2011) as over 2,700–2,800 issues were scanned, translating to roughly 400,000 pages and over 100,000 to 400,000 images, advertisements, covers, and articles indexed by designer, model, photographer, and garment type. 

Condé Nast has never publicly disclosed the total financial expenditure spent to execute the digitization project. However, industry estimates for archival scanning, high-resolution color capture, OCR text extraction, and granular tagging put large-scale database builds of this magnitude in the multi-million dollar range.

When Condé Nast first introduced the standalone archive, consumer subscriptions were priced at US$1,575 per year. In subsequent years, individual prices were increased to $3,250 per year for commercial professionals (fashion designers, stylists, and industry researchers). Institutional Access (ProQuest): Today, standard access is largely provided through the database provider ProQuest. Academic institutions, universities, and public libraries pay annual licensing fees to provide access to their students and patrons for free.

Now, imagine if they could do the same with Filmfare? 

Filmfare was launched on March 7, 1952, by J. C. Jain and published by Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain and his wife Rama Jain of The Times Group (Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.) in Bombay. Its debut issue featured screen icon Kamini Kaushal on the cover.  Filmfare has been continuously published for 74 years. While the publisher has not released an exact master count of every issue printed, the total can be estimated based on its publication frequency changes over the decades:

1952–2000s (Fortnightly): For over 50 years, Filmfare was published as a bi-weekly (24 issues per year), generating roughly 1,300–1,400 regular issues.

2000s–Present (Monthly & Special Editions): In later years, the print schedule shifted primarily to a monthly cadence (12 issues per year), alongside annual special issues (such as the Filmfare Awards collector issues, regional editions in South India, and special style/glamour releases).

Accounting for regular fortnightly runs, monthly issues, and regional/special collector editions, Filmfare has published approximately 1,600 to 1,800 total issues. 

To put every published work, image and credit into a digital archive... a Sisyphean task as the volume is vast and the budget - nonexistent! 

One fine day, a passionate fan with deep interest and deeper pockets will have to do the deed.... 

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Sridevi

 

The white pullover, the bangles... Sridevi's 1987 photoshoot with Filmfare. 

The soft lighting and lens... looks like work of the late great Gautam Rajadhyaksha. 

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Sridevi and Kamal Haasan: The magic of Tamil cinema

 

Can fans name both films? Are they both from 16 Vayathinale?! 

Little known facts about Sridevi - from Sridevi herself!

In the mid 1980s, Sridevi listed her favourite things for Cine Blitz. 

Sreedevi: Little known facts.

• Sreedevi loves to watch Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin films, which she can see over and over again.

• Sreedevi never eats at restaurants because she is habituated to watching Video as she eats.

• Sreedevi loves the colour white, as much as she does red.

• Sreedevi, on her trips aborad, makes it a point to indulge in a bit of cooking as well.

• Sreedevi simply adores Sylvester Stallone and his films. She feels he is terrific and probably the best amongst action heroes.

• Sreedevi rarely reads film magazines. If she does she merely flips through the pages.

• Sreedevi would go in for an arranged match, not a love marriage.

• Sreedevi loves shopping abroad, and rarely does any of it herself while on motherland.

• Sreedevi loves pets but has no time for them.

• Sreedevi has a big collection of dolls. That’s definitely on the shopping list on jaunts abroad.

Sridevi and Sudeep in the Tamil film Puli (2015): Happy Birthday Sudeep!

 

Sridevi and Sudeep in the Tamil film Puli (2015).

Shame the movie was rubbish and didn't measure up to Sri's... or anyone's standards. 

Born on 2 September 1971, actor Sudeep turns 54 today. We wish him the very best. 

Sudeep, "Srideviji is an epitome of perfection. Recently, when we were shooting for a scene together, I was noticing her minute expression. Suddenly, I realized that I didn't act. I was just standing watching her. I later had to re-shoot those portions. What came to my mind then was Mr.India. I've watched her films so many times and little did I wonder that I would be working with an icon. The way she has maintained herself, the aura she carries - she easily makes anybody feel old. Sometimes, you wish you aren't in the shot. On the first day of the shoot, she came up to me and said, "I saw Eega and you were wonderful.'. I was smiling so much that I didn't say anything..." 

Melodrama, Wardrobe Whispers, and the Box-Office Fate of Jeetendra and Sridevi’s ‘Suhaagan’

 

Released on April 18, 1986, Suhaagan remains one of the more curious entries in the hyper-prolific collaboration between director K. Raghavendra Rao and leading lady Sridevi - particularly the prolific pairing of Jeetendra-Sridevi. 

A remake of the Telugu hit Aalokanam, the film paired Sridevi alongside Jeetendra, Raj Babbar, and Padmini Kolhapure in a high-pitched domestic family drama centered on sacrifice, societal expectations, and marital discord. This was classic soap opera... before the advent of ZeeTV and other cable channels that exploded in the late 90s, early oughts! 

At the box office, Suhaagan emerged as an average commercial performer - the songs charted fairly well. While it did not match the earth-shattering success of Tohfa (1984) or Himmatwala or Mawaali (1983), the presence of the reliable combo of Jeetendra–Sridevi marquee guarantees ensured decent theatrical returns, particularly across single-screen circuits in North India.

The Sridevi–Padmini dynamic was interesting to note. Both were child prodigies, both won Best Actress Filmfares in their teens, and yet had distinctly different styles of acting. The emotional anchor of the film lay in the contrasting sibling chemistry between Sridevi (Janki) and Padmini Kolhapure (Jyoti), providing the narrative with its core melodramatic weight. Rumours were the team wanted Jaya Prada as Sridevi-Jaya as sisters was a popular pairing, but the most famous feud between the two had reached boiling point and Sridevi, the bigger star by 1986, was hired and Padmini sashayed in. Though both the leading ladies were well-established, Padmini was no threat to Sridevi's dominance at the box-office. Sridevi was averaging 10 films a year, Padmini was married in 1986 and concentrating on family more than film. 

Bappi Lahiri’s score hit the charts - tracks like "Tu Ladka Garam Masala" and "Chamma cham chai" captured the mid-80s South-to-North crossover sound, blending fast-paced disco beats with heavy-handed emotional ballads. 

Kader Khan’s dialogues were the rage - written with signature theatrical flair, the sharp dialogue delivery provided vital comedic relief amid the heavy sentimental narrative in the melodrama. 

The commercial film arrived pre-packaged as the near frame by frame remake was made quickly - and the critics were not kind to the movie. During the mid-1980s, Sridevi's sartorial choices in her South-remake productions often drew sharp commentary from Hindi film journalists and glossy trade rags. Critics frequently panned the flamboyant, brightly colored ghagra-cholis and over-the-top, heavily sequined ensembles designed for the song sequences. Critics argued that the extravagant, exaggerated styling clashed jarringly with the tragic, traditional bhartiya nari narrative her character was meant to portray. Sridevi's dazzling outfits, crop tops, bikini-blouses and sequined ghaghra cholis were deemed risque - and the actress took note. She chose her designers, encouraged the employment of choreographers like Saroj Khan and even made sure the camera was placed where there was no possibility of a peekaboo shot. Though famously quiet, the actress took criticism to heart and the faster she climbed to the top, the volume of the canards increased, but like a meticulous editor, she carefully picked up constructive criticism, and discarded the chaff.  

Sridevi's magnetic screen presence effortlessly transcended the costume excess, reinforcing her position as the undisputed box-office queen of the decade.  

Sridevi songs with over 100 million views!

 

Surprising songs of Sridevi that now have over 100 million views on YouTube!