Sridevi Story

GIFT OF SUCCESS:

Five years later, in 1983, HIMMATWALA released to become a super-duper hit. The Jeetendra – Sridevi starrer movie became the talk of the town. JUSTICE CHAUDHURY and MAAWALI soon followed. Sridevi had finally arrived in Bollywood. Jeetendra became her lucky mascot and the duo went onto do as many as 18 films together. TOHFA in 1984, DHARM ADHIKARI and GHAR SANSAR in 1986 with Jeetendra became big hits. Sridevi made her entry in the bigger league of Hindi cinema with her powerful histrionics in SADMA with Kamal Haasan in 1983. The film was a remake of their Tamil hit film MOONDRAM PIRAI, which was released in 1982. SADMA became a cult classic movie. Cinema lovers, from all age groups, were touched by her powerful performance. Her portrayal of a retrograde amnesia woman brought tears to millions, who watched the movie. Bollywood producers and filmmakers started lining up to sign her. Having ruled the South Industry, Sridevi ruled Bollywood for almost two decades giving one hit after another. Flopped films of hers were soon forgotten because she always used to surprise the Indian audience with a new hit.

BEAUTIFUL MOON OF CO-STARS:

The leading pair of Sridevi - Kamal Haasan was very popular in the South. The duo was seen in 21 films from 1976 to 1986. Superstar Rajinikanth leads the pack of Sridevi’s heroes with 22 films together, from 1976 to 1992. The rage of Rajinikanth – Sridevi starrer movies created frenzy among their fans and cine lovers in South. Both were also seen in the superhit Hindi film CHAALBAAZ in 1989. Sridevi played double role with Sunny Deol and Rajinikanth as heroes. With Rishi Kapoor, Sridevi went onto give two major hits – NAGINA in 1986 and Yash Chopra’s CHANDNI in 1989. In 1986, Sridevi was seen in Feroz Khan’s JAANBAAZ, which also starred Anil Kapoor with Dimple Kapadia. It was the beginning of Sridevi and Anil Kapoor’s friendship. In the same year, she was seen with Anil Kapoor in KARMA in the multi starrer movie, which had stalwarts like Dilip Kumar and Nutan. It was Boney Kapoor’s MR. INDIA, starring Sridevi with Anil Kapoor in 1987, which became a universal hit with the masses all across the nation and overseas. MR. INDIA was a very big hit in Sridevi’s career. The big success was followed by the big flop Yash Chopra’s LAMHE in 1991. Sridevi played double role of mother and daughter opposite Deepak Malhotra and Anil Kapoor respectively. In spite of the flop, Sridevi’s performance was par excellence, as the daughter who falls in love with her mother’s lover. The 47 billion Boney Kapoor’s dream extravaganza ROOP KI RANI CHORON KA RAJA, starring brother Anil Kapoor and Sridevi in 1993 became the biggest flop for all the three. Before the release, the movie was hyped as the costliest movie at that time. However, the setback was momentary. Success soon followed Sridevi. In 1994, Anil Kapoor – Sridevi starrer LAADLA became a superhit. The film was a remake of Chiranjeevi – Nagma starrer GHARANA MUGUDU in Telugu. JUDAAI in 1997 was again a hit of the lovely pairing of Anil Kapoor and Sridevi. They both went onto be seen in 16 films altogether. Sridevi acted with Amitabh Bachchan in just 6 films, from 1984 to 2013. AAKHREE RAASTA in 1986 was their only hit film. They were seen together in KHUDA GAWAH, which failed miserably at the box office. ENGLISH VINGLISH in 2012 will go down in history as Sridevi’s last hit film. The film starred Sridevi opposite Adil Hussain. The film became a big hit even overseas. Shah Rukh Khan’s ZERO will be Sridevi’s last film, which is slated for a 2018 release. She plays a cameo in the film.

TRAGEDY IN LIFE:

In 1991, while Sridevi was shooting for Yash Chopra’s LAMHE, she lost her father. Five years later, in 1996, she lost her mother to a brain tumor. She was lost in the world of sorrows because Sridevi was very close to her mother. Mother Rajeshwari and sister Srilatha always used to accompany her during shooting. Boney Kapoor, her producer cum confidante, stood close by during her ordeal. Life of a celebrity is certainly not a bed of roses. Overcoming her grief, Sridevi completed her last assignment JUDAAI in 1997, before her marriage to Boney Kapoor.

MARRIAGE:

Boney Kapoor was the only person, who stood by Sridevi during her mother’s illness. The caring and strong support brought them together. Since Boney Kapoor was already married to Mona Kapoor, the couple kept their marriage a big secret. Sridevi and Boney Kapoor announced their 1996 marriage to the world a year later in 1997, when she was expecting. She gave birth to Jhanvi and in the year 2000, when Khushi was born to the couple.

FAMILY MATTERS:

Sridevi was strongly supported by her parents and sister. Her mother and sister were always by her side during shooting. Boney Kapoor, her husband and daughters Jhanvi and Khushi were a close-knit family. Over a period of time, she even mended her bonding with Boney Kapoor’s first wife Mona Kapoor’s children Arjun Kapoor and Anshula Kapoor. It is unfortunate that as mother, Sridevi could not see the release of her daughter Jhanvi’s debut film DHADAK, being produced by Karan Johar, Hiroo Johar and Apoorva Mehta. The film is slated for a 2018 release.

AWARDS:

The Government of India conferred the country's fourth highest civilian accolade PADMA SHRI in 2013 to Sridevi for her priceless contributions to the entertainment industry of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

She was honoured by the Afghanistan Government – the ‘Order of Afghanistan’ in 1991 for KHUDA GAWAH.

In Bollywood, Sridevi won her first Filmfare Award in the “Best Actress” category for her double role CHAALBAAZ in 1990.

Her amazing acting prowess in LAMHE won hearts of the jury. In spite of LAMHE not doing well at the box-office and with masses, Sridevi went onto win “Best Actress Filmfare Award” in 1992.

In 1991, for the Telugu film KSHANA KSHANAM, she was awarded the “Filmfare Best Actress Award”.

Tamil film MEENDUM KOKILA brought Sridevi her first “Filmfare Best Actress Award” in 1982.

Facts & Figures:

Tamil – 72 (1969 to 2015) – THUNAIVAN (1969) Played Lord Murugan – Last film PULI (2015) as Queen Yavanarani Malayalam – 23 (1969 to 1996) Kannada – 6 (1974 to 1979) Telugu – 81 (1970 to 1994) Hindi – 72 (1975 to 2018) – JULIE (1975) Julie’s younger sister; SOLVA SAWAN – First film as Heroine (1978) – FLOPPED Big Time –Last Film ZERO (2018) plays herself in a cameo. SADMA (1983) brought her in the big league and her acting prowess.