I got the news of her death as a tweet shared on Whatsapp. I had just woken up and my first reaction was #FakeNews. I didn’t believe it. So I clicked on what’s trending to check the veracity of the claim. She was trending at #no1 and a strange inevitability creeped in. Tweet after tweet confirmed the news. But then wasn’t she in her early 50s? How could this be? So I googled. And the results filled up with one eulogy after another. This couldn’t be, not Sridevi. Just when Bollywood had started writing beautiful scripts for this great actress, how could she leave us? After reading some reactions, I got up and switched on the TV. Every News channel was covering the same News. Saroj Khan’s voice quivered as she spoke fondly of Sridevi’s brilliance. And then it sunk in. She was gone. Gone too soon.
In the 90s, while I grew up, there were 2 powerful female influences in my life ( excluding my family member’s ofcourse). And I was crazy for the both of them. Sridevi and Steffi Graf. Both insanely talented, both at the top of their game and both dedicated to their craft. In this patriarchal world, these women showed me that they were second to none. While Graf blazed her way on the court, Sridevi sizzled the silver screen. And amazingly, both these women whose name started with an ‘S’ were pitted against 2 equally brilliant ‘M’s — Madhuri and Monica Seles. Evenings were filled with debates on who was better and I always sided with the ‘S’s. No matter what people said, I always believed Sridevi’s ‘Kaatein Nahi Kat tey’ was much better than Madhuri’s ‘Dhak Dhak’. Madhuri may have been the modern Madhubala, but Sridevi was a singular beauty who was unique and peerless. Her eyes mesmerised. Oh! those eyes.
A complete actor, equally equipped to make you cry or leave you in splits, she gave every hero she worked with a run for his money. In fact be it Kamal Hassan or Sunny Deol, I am sure they would be terrified at the thought of being outclassed by her. And more often than not, she did. When she came to Bollywood, she had already acted for more than a decade. And her ability to bring life to a scene was just incredible.
One of my favourite movies was Mr.India and Sridevi was like a tornado in this film. The intrepid journalist who falls for the superhero but is in many ways tougher than the hero himself. I was simply amazed by this character who disguises herself first as Hawa Hawai and then as Charlie Chaplin to get to the bottom of her stories. And the comedic timing was spot on. In the era when you had to be fat or deliberately ugly to do comedy, she did it with pure timing and an alarmingly expressive face. Be it Chalbaaz or Lamhe or Chandani, she was always the centre of attraction of every film. She carried it on her shoulders. If she was on screen, nothing else mattered.
A complete actor, equally equipped to make you cry or leave you in splits, she gave every hero she worked with a run for his money. In fact be it Kamal Hassan or Sunny Deol, I am sure they would be terrified at the thought of being outclassed by her. And more often than not, she did. When she came to Bollywood, she had already acted for more than a decade. And her ability to bring life to a scene was just incredible.
One of my favourite movies was Mr.India and Sridevi was like a tornado in this film. The intrepid journalist who falls for the superhero but is in many ways tougher than the hero himself. I was simply amazed by this character who disguises herself first as Hawa Hawai and then as Charlie Chaplin to get to the bottom of her stories. And the comedic timing was spot on. In the era when you had to be fat or deliberately ugly to do comedy, she did it with pure timing and an alarmingly expressive face. Be it Chalbaaz or Lamhe or Chandani, she was always the centre of attraction of every film. She carried it on her shoulders. If she was on screen, nothing else mattered.
I remember dragging my parents to Eros to watch ‘Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja’ in the opening week just because I wanted to watch Sridevi’s magnum opus. That, it was a magnificent dud, didn’t matter to me. And I went with my friends to watch Army with the same enthu. It was so awesome to watch SRK play second fiddle as this Devi/Diva lead from the front. In those days, I felt proud to be living in Lokhandwala, just because she had moved into Green Acres! Every time I walked by that building, I wished I would catch a glimpse of her. Alas, I never did.
While she got some amazing roles in Tamil/Telugu/ Malayalam cinema, the thing that makes me most sad is that she was short-changed in Bollywood. After the masterclass in Sadma, she had to do a spate of ridiculous movies with Jeetendra (Himmatwala / Justice Chaudhry / Tohfa). The great films were too few and far between. While I lapped up Nagina, Nigahein, Joshilay, Sone pe Suhaga - let’s face it, these were atrocious films. Even the late 90s had films like Chandramukhi, Chand ka Tukda, Ladlaa, Mr.Bechara and Judaai. This was cinema at its worst, even though Judaai was a roaring hit and her performance was outstanding.
While she got some amazing roles in Tamil/Telugu/ Malayalam cinema, the thing that makes me most sad is that she was short-changed in Bollywood. After the masterclass in Sadma, she had to do a spate of ridiculous movies with Jeetendra (Himmatwala / Justice Chaudhry / Tohfa). The great films were too few and far between. While I lapped up Nagina, Nigahein, Joshilay, Sone pe Suhaga - let’s face it, these were atrocious films. Even the late 90s had films like Chandramukhi, Chand ka Tukda, Ladlaa, Mr.Bechara and Judaai. This was cinema at its worst, even though Judaai was a roaring hit and her performance was outstanding.
And that is why we have lost her too soon. Just when we could have had an outstanding second innings of which we had already seen a glorious trailer. As Shashi in English Vinglish, Sridevi showed that the queen had not lost her touch one bit. It was a commanding comeback, showcasing her in all her glory. And although I missed watching Mom, its hard hitting trailer had given me goosebumps.
I secretly had a desire of writing a film for her. But alas, that wish will never come true. And I am sure there are many like me who were itching to work with this stellar actress. Just when Bollywood had become more accepting and was finally writing some good stuff for actors of all ages and appearances, have we lost the brightest flame.
And all I can say is ‘Thank You’ — for the laughs, for the school boy crush, for the paper clippings, the mix tapes, the insanity, the rain dances, those hypnotic eyes and that beautiful, expressive face that could break the hearts of millions. Thank you Sridevi.
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I secretly had a desire of writing a film for her. But alas, that wish will never come true. And I am sure there are many like me who were itching to work with this stellar actress. Just when Bollywood had become more accepting and was finally writing some good stuff for actors of all ages and appearances, have we lost the brightest flame.
And all I can say is ‘Thank You’ — for the laughs, for the school boy crush, for the paper clippings, the mix tapes, the insanity, the rain dances, those hypnotic eyes and that beautiful, expressive face that could break the hearts of millions. Thank you Sridevi.
Do Like and share if you feel the same
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