When a star disappears all too soon, mourning apart, a barrage of questions follows, often raised by industry colleagues — how, why, what happened? Exactly these questions were raised a year ago, when on February 24, news of 54-year-old Sridevi’s demise shocked the Hindi film industry and millions of fans across the world.
One year down the line, Janhvi, Sridevi’s elder daughter, is following in her mother’s footsteps, Boney Kapoor is back to producing films and the absence of the scintillating star is beginning to, well, sink in. But given her stature, Sridevi will perhaps never fade from the collective memory of the nation. Yes, nation, because her enviable body of work spanned not just the Hindi film industry, but also Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam cinema.
Sridevi was already a force to reckon with in the south when she decided to venture into Hindi films. She ruled her new empire for two decades, till she took a sabbatical to play real-life mother and wife. But that’s how Sridevi was, never shying away from the innumerable challenges that came her way.
Sridevi made her debut at a time when Rekha was already the uncrowned queen of Hindi films. Of the five top grossers of 1979, Rekha starred in three — Suhaag, Jaani Dushman, and Mr. Natwarlal, two of them opposite Amitabh Bachchan. Interestingly, that year among the top five hits was Sargam, Jayaprada’s debut vehicle, while Sridevi’s low-key debut opposite Amol Palekar in Solva Sawan released and sank without a trace.
The wise thing to do for her was to go back south, where she was already a big star. She did so, as did Jayaprada who, despite the success of Sargam, was struggling to find a foothold in Mumbai. This was a time when two other stars from the south — Kamal Hassan and Rajinikanth — were contemplating a career in Hindi films. Hassan made a stunning debut in 1981 with Ek Duje Ke Liye, and Rajinikanth followed with Andha Kanoon in 1983. The two became overnight stars in Mumbai. Meanwhile, Sridevi would often be seen alongside Hassan and Rajinikanth in Tamil and Telugu films.
The same year, Sridevi took another shot at Hindi films, this time in a completely different avatar. Himmatwala, in which she was cast opposite Jeetendra, went on to become that year’s biggest hit. Of course, Jayaprada too was making her presence felt. And eventually, the two southern belles were cast together in Maawali, the same year. The film not only went on to become a blockbuster, but also marked the beginning of a long rivalry.
While both Hassan and Rajinikanth would go back to their roots after a rollercoaster ride in Hindi films, Sridevi and Jayaprada fast shot to stardom. However, it was Sridevi who went on to take the lead. Her looks, unconventional for a typical Hindi film heroine, immediately grabbed eyeballs, earning her the epithet ‘thunder thighs.’ Interestingly, Sridevi not only established her position in Hindi films with Himmatwala but also gave Jeetendra’s career a fresh lease of life, with the two going on to do 16 films in a span of five years, of which 11 were hits.
However, unlike Jayaprada, who did as many as 24 films with Jeetendra, with 18 being hits, Sridevi gave a glimpse of her versatility with Sadma, the same year Himmatwala released. The icing on the cake was Nagina (1986), where she played a snake woman, a role that was first written for Jayaprada. By this time, Sridevi had proved that she could fit into any genre — romance, action, fantasy.
Doing the unconventional was always in Sridevi’s repertoire, right from her days in the Tamil and Telugu film industries. Or she wouldn’t have braved the idea of playing Rajinikinath’s stepmom in Moondru Mudichu. She was only 13 then.
The second half of the 1980s was an all Sridevi affair, with the actress giving a fine display of her grasp over action and comedy in films like Mr. India (1987) and ChaalBaaz (1989). Not too many names come to mind when we try to list stars who excelled at playing comic roles in the century-old Hindi film industry, the only exception being Madhubala. But then Madhubala always had the able support of the genius Kishore Kumar.
The jewel in the crown for Sridevi came in 1989 with Chandni. The maverick Yash Chopra, who had initially thought of casting Rekha decided to go for Sridevi. And not only did she live up to Chopra’s expectations but also took the entire nation by storm. This was also the first time she dubbed for her own role; till then it was Naaz (Baby Naaz from the classic Boot Polish; 1954), who would dub for Sridevi, barring Aakhri Rasta, where Rekha did the honours.
In 1991, Chopra cast Sridevi yet again in a double role in Lamhe, a film that went on to become the filmmaker’s biggest disaster but established Sridevi as the industry’s first female superstar. By this time, Sridevi had mastered playing double roles, something most actors found uncomfortable in the pre-CGI era.
The actress played double roles in as many as seven films, Lamhe, Chandni, Khuda Gawah and Guru being counted as her best. By this time, Madhuri Dixit too had arrived on the scene and was a star in the making, but Sridevi continued to rule. Mumbai had become her home, as Hindi films had completely taken her away from the south Indian film industry.
So much was she into Hindi films that she didn’t think twice before turning down a role in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1993). Given the Hindi film industry’s obsession with Hollywood, anyone would have lapped up the offer, but Sridevi refused to be cast in a role that she found “too insignificant given her stature.”
The same year also saw all four of her films tanking at the box office, with Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, the most expensive film made at that time, turning out to be a debacle. And Baazigar, the film that went on to become one of the year’s biggest grossers, saw the birth of two new stars, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol — a role that was initially written keeping Sridevi in mind.
However, Sridevi never had any regrets. A year earlier, she had refused Beta, which cemented Madhuri’s stardom. Her decision to take a sabbatical in 1997 and her thumping comeback in 2012 with the surprise gem English Vinglish seemed to be the beginning of a new innings. But that was not to be. Sridevi died on February 24, 2018, a day before the birthday of Divya Bharti, who she had replaced in Laadla after the actress’s mysterious death, and also the day on which Himmatwala was released, 35 spring times ago.
