Why No actress Can match Sridevi's Charismatic Charm

There is a general belief in the film industry that the life of an actress is very short compared to the actors. These days there are actresses like Priyanka Chopra who are still reigning supreme not only in Bollywood (I have to use the word even though I hate it because it sounds like slavery to me after all these years) but also in Hollywood and there are others who are walking on the edge of their thirties, but look at this extraordinary woman who has been at it for the last fifty years and is still going strong.

Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan (yes, that is the original name of Sridevi) who has made her name as an actress extraordinary in films made in languages like Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and even Hinglish. For those of you who must be wondering how the fifty- four- year- old actress could complete fifty years, let it be known that she started her acting career when she was just four years old and then there has been nothing that has been able to stop her.

She worked as Baby Sridevi in several films including the all-time popular and successful film, “Julie” which was made in several languages and was a hit in all of them. She however got her first major break as a heroine in a Tamil film called “Moondru Modichu”. It was followed by a number of other films which to her good fortune and her unbridled talent were successful films and she became a name which could make a big difference to any film.

She made her Hindi debut in a small film called “Solva Saawan” in which she had Amol Palekar as her hero. The film did not do well at all and Sridevi went back to Hyderabad where she had a flourishing career, but it was in a very different and daring avatarthat she returned to Hindi films with “Himmatwala” which had the most popular Hindi film actor in Hindi films made in the south, Jeetendra as her hero. Her posters of the film with her in a swimming costume revealing her thighs became the talk of the country and she was nicknamed “Miss Thunder Thighs”. The film was a bumper hit and it opened new doors for Sridevi as she kept starring in one successful Hindi film after another like “Tohfa” “Mawaali”, “Maqsad” and many others which were ruthlessly panned by the critics but gladly lapped up by the masses, especially because of the sexy presence of Sridevi, the almost vulgar dances with Jeetendra and the double meaning dialogue mostly written by Kadar Khan who also had the most stupid kind of roles in every Hindi film made in the south and he wrote the dialogue. The other regulars in this brand of films were Prem Chopra, Shakti Kapoor, Asrani and sometimes even Amjad Khan. All the other small time actors, technicians, lyricists and even music directors like BappiLahiri, Anu Malik and even Laxmikant-Pyarelal headed for the south because the films were made in no time and the money was very good. Jeetendra and Sridevi were however the “king” and “queen” of the new empire that had come up.

Sridevi had shown sparks of her talent in some of these bad films and it was producer Boney Kapoor who first decided to cast her in big films in Hindi made in Mumbai. It all started for Sridevi when she was the leading lady of Anil Kapoor in “Mr. India” in which Anil had an author-backed role but it was the talent of Sridevi that did not let Anil take all the credit for the grand success of “Mr. India” which is to date considered one of the few cult films made in India. Boney Kapoor tried to work the same magic with his next big film with Anil and Sridevi, “Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja” but he met with the kind of disaster that he still cannot forget.

The failure of the film however did not affect the two lead actors, Anil and Sridevi. “Sri” as she was now called had to forget her base in the south and entrench herself in the new base she had found for herself, Mumbai. She was soon working in some of the best films with some of the best directors like “Khudah Gawaah” and “Aakhiree Raasta”, the first directed by Mukul S. Anand and the second with K. Bhagyaraj and both starring Amitabh Bachchan. The films got her all the credit and she was the first choice of directors like Yash Chopra (“Lamhe” and “Chandni”), Pankaj Parashar (“Chaalbaaz” with “Sri” in a double role with Rajinikanth and Sunny Deol as her two heroes). “Laadla” (with Anil Kapoor again and Raj Kanwar as the director), “Gurudev” (directed by the late actor Vinod Mehra with Rishi Kapoor and Anil Kapoor), a film about whose fate nothing was known after Vinod Mehra suddenly died of a major heart attack.

She was still working in the best of films when her sister Srilata who was looking after her career ditched her and her father, a small-time politician died and her mother fell very sick and had to be flown to America for treatment. It was at a time when no one was coming to her help that Boney Kapoor volunteered to go with her and her mother. He spent several months during which time “Sri’s” mother was under treatment, but her mother died under strange circumstances and it was Boney Kapoor who fought for compensation and got it for “Sri”. Boney had been divorced from his first wife Mona and both Boney and “Sri” fell in love while they were in America and came back to Mumbai and tied the knot and Sridevi turned into Mrs. Sridevi Kapoor.

She took a long break during which she had two daughters, Jahnvi and Khushi. There was a continuous debate among filmmakers whether she would come back to films and she finally silenced all the debates when she first decided to work in a TV serial called “Mrs. Malini Iyer” which turned out to be a major fiasco. She then worked as the leading lady of Gauri Shinde’s “English Vinglish” which proved that she was still a star attraction.

It was her fiftieth year in films and she got her another hit “Mom”  after her comeback in which she gave power packed performance. And it received praises by the classes, the masses, the critics and the industry.

Sridevi was the first ever actress to work for half a century and still looked as fresh as she was when she was very young and who has the fire to face challenges for a long time to come. She has broken all traditions and I wonder if any of the actresses of today can even try to cross the half way mark of where she has reached.

Who knew this year was the end of Sridevi’s era ?
Her death at so early age shocked her fans, industry and everyone. We wanted to see her more on the screen. But she will remain in our hearts forever.

A major share of the credit for her long career goes to all her directors like K. Raghavendra Rao, Balu Mahendra, K. Balchander, K. Vishwanath and directors from Mumbai, especially Yash Chopra and Shekhar Kapur and more than anyone else the credit goes to Boney Kapoor who stood by her side at all her times of crisis and who is still an encouraging husband who doesn’t want to come in her way if she has the desire to continue acting from here to eternity.

OTHER LEADING LADIES WHO LASTED MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS IN HINDI FILMS HAVE ALSO BEEN FROM THE SOUTH

Guru Dutt had discovered Waheeda Rehman in a village in Andhra Pradesh. He brought her to Bombay and first cast her in a film directed by Raj Khosla and then in his own masterpieces, “Pyaasa” and “Kaagaz Ke Phool” after which she ruled the industry and who is still playing meaningful character roles.

Vyjayanthimala came to Bombay in the early fifties and landed up with some of the best films and continued playing the leading lady with every big hero. She was taken aback when Yash Chopra offered her the role of the mother of Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor in “Deewaar”. She did not want to work in films again.

Hema Malini was brought to Bombay by her mentor, B. Ananthaswamy who introduced her to director Mahesh Kaul and Raj Kapoor and was offered the role of the heroine in “Sapno Ka Saudagar” with Raj Kapoor as her hero. It is more than forty-five years now and she still looks as fresh as ever and one cannot believe that the girl who could not read one line of Hindi now rattles of long speeches as an important leader of the BJP.

Rekha came in from Chennai in the late sixties and worked in a film in which she was forced to kiss her hero Biswajeet. She was said to be only thirteen years old at that time, but she really hit the big time with “Saawan Bhandon” and still works on her own terms. She is also a member of the Rajya Sabha.

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