SRI DEVI - THE ONE AND THE ONLY 

`ALL INDIA FEMALE SUPER STAR’

Millions of fans like me woke up on Sunday to the shocking news that Sridevi is no more.  She neither had any health issues nor is she aged enough to go away.    With 50 years acting career at the age of 54, more than 260 movies in five languages, millions of fans all across the country and world, might have mislead the almighty to think that she has lived her full life.  

Undoubtedly, she was the most charming, bubbling, natural, talented actress who lit up the screen in every frame in every movie and dominated it for decades.  She was probably the only female actor for whom special scripts and roles were written not only in South Indian languages but the male dominated Hindi movie industry.

The earlier days:

Born in Shivakasi as Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan, Sridevi started her career at the tender age of 4 years in a Tamil movie `Thunaivan’ and has become very prolific child artist in Tamil and Telugu movies.  As child artist she acted with superstars and the demy Gods of south Indian film industry like NTR, ANR, MGR, Shivaji, Savitri, Jamuna and Jayalalitha, but never overawed by their larger than life presence and held her fort by her confidence, natural and in born acting talent (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjoatqtTIzw - song from `Badipantulu’ with NTR and Anjali).  Right from childhood, she was so intense and involved in her acting the moment camera starts rolling.  Telugu Director Ragavendra Rao shared an interesting incident of her childhood days- in one of the movies she was asked to run across the road and a car was to cross over the road very close to her.   She ran across the road without any fear but due to mistiming of the driver of the car she was hit by the car and almost came under the wheels (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XfH5nd4Tn0) People like me who followed her career from her childhood never had any doubt that she will make it big as a heroin also.   She graduated from child artist to heroin without any transition break.   Apart from acting as an adolescent in Hindi movie ``Julie’ she did few Malayalam movies around the age of 13 to 15 before making it big in Tamil and Telugu with resounding hit of `16 Vayathinile’ which was remade in Telugu as `Padaharella Vayasu’ and `Solwa Sawan’ in Hindi.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v2C8m1lM1Y song from Padaharella vayasu)  

Superstardom:

For the next decade or so there was no looking back for Sridevi in Tamil and Telugu movies.   Whether it is aging superstars in their mid fifties like NTR, ANR, Krishna, Shoban Babu, and Shivaji or the young budding stars like Kamal Hassan and Rajnikanth the first choice was Sridevi.   It goes to her credit that she used to adjust herself looks wise and more importantly in dance sequences keeping her male counterparts limitations and slow movements and strangely most of the movie with all these stars were blockbusters and audience never felt very odd about it. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q4MU5UTTbE - Super duper hit song with NTR in Vetagadu)  In an era where heroines were reduced to mere decorative pieces and just used for song and dance sequences, she commanding top billing, screen space and meaty roles alongside all the south Indian superstars.  Within no time she developed a huge fan base of young (with her charms) and female and elderly fans (with tear jerker south Indian movies).   A time soon has come where movie started revolving around her and heroes like Shoban Babu, Chandra Mohan, Murali Mohan and Bhagyaraja were only consequential.  

Unique distinction :

movie with Father ANR

movie with son Nagarjuna

One of the greatest tribute to Sridevi is her adaptability and tenacity was that she worked as a daughter and granddaughter of NTR, ANR, Krishna and Shobanbabu and later on worked as heroin in many blockbusters with the same actors.  And the unparallel achievement was that Sridevi not only acted as granddaughter and daughter of NTR and ANR later on as their heroin but also acted as heroin with NTR son Balakrishna and ANR son Nagarjuna.  This achievement still remains unmatched in Indian cinema industry.   

Most Charming actress:

Sridevi was one of the most beautiful and charming actress with big eyes and most expressive face.  She had most impeachable timing in dance and comic scenes. Apart from having a child like face she had an unbelievable body language which she used very effectively in acting and more importantly dance.   She was a most natural and innovative dancer who used to enjoy dancing and caste a magic.   Though many Telugu, Tamil and Hindi heroes were no match to her in dance numbers but she set the screen on fire with good dancing stars like Chiranjeevi and Kamal Hassan. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw5BPAtPgDA – dance with chiranjeevi) .  Her pairing with Kamal Hassan was the most enduring with both of them acting in 28 movies together.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHlg_JCD7fM – song & dance with his favourite co-star Kamal H)assan

Versatility personified:

The range of acting and versatility of Sridevi is phenomenal and helped her to have an extended tenure in Indian cinema.   As a child actor she used to be very cute and lovable, as a heroin in commercial movies (like Vetagadu, Sigappu Rogjakkal, Himmatwala) extremely attractive, very naughty and `chulbuli’ in comedy roles (like Kshanam Kshanam, Mr. India and Chaal Baaz), very mature in tearjerker south Indian family oriented movie (like Karteeka Deepam, Devata, Premabhishekam, Lahme and Maa)

She is probably one of the best dancers in Indian cinema.  Though not an exponent of classical dance, her adaptability in every type of dance was amazing.   No one could match her in expression in a song and dance sequence.  Her dance number `Katenahi katihai ye raath’ in Mr. India is a text book for budding actors (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9KecQZLVTE – song from Mr. India).   Sridevi and Saroj Khan were a deadly combination and churned out great super hit dance numbers.  Sridevi and Madhuri competition in late 1980s was legendary.  

The successful cross over and becoming a National Super Star:

Sridevi was the most successful cross over from South to North.   Though South Indians like

Vaijayatamala, Rekha and Hema Malini were very successful in Bollywood, they started their career in Hindi only.   But Sridevi after having very successful career in all the four South Indian languages made a very successful cross over to Bollywood.   From a plump big nosed and a typically South Indian looking actor Sridevi transformed herself into a slim, sharp nosed and stylist smart young lady and accepted easily in Hindi movies.  Initially most of the her Hindi movies like Solwa Sawan and Himmatwala were remakes of Telugu and Tamil movies later on she established herself so much that she paired

with all top stars under all the leading banners.  Her dominance was to such an extent that then Superstars like Anil Kapoor, Sunny Doel, Rishi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna and Rajni Kant did not mind playing second fiddle to Sridevi in movies like Mr. India, Chaal Baaz, Chandni, and Nagin, and in Khuda Gawa she was pitted against Amitabh with double role.  Her all India fan following and acceptability was phenomenal and she was so prolific that she acted in a record number of 260 movies – 85 in Telugu, 72 in Tamil, 71 in Hindi, 26 in Malayam and 6 Kannada.

The Personal Life:

Howsoever active, energetic and bubbling she was on the screen, but in her personal life she used to be reserved, talk very measured and tried to stay away from controversies.   Her decision to get married  to Boney Kapoor, an already married man with grown up children, attracted lot of criticism, she always maintained a dignified silence on the subject.  Once blessed with two daughters, they became her life and played her role as mother as intensively as she did her movie roles. 

The last High:

After marriage with Boney Kapoor she took break in 1997 and settled down in life and stayed away from movies for over a decade.   But the born actor in her could not keep her away from arc light for a long time.  She started her second innings with a bang with critically acclaimed `English Vinglish’ and followed it up with fantastic performance in `Mom’ and raised hope that she will have a very long second innings like Amitabh.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMaw21lRBqk (dramatic scene from Mom)

 

Though Sridevi, in close to half century career at relatively young age of 54 has achieved more than what a female actor can imagine to achieve in Indian Cinema, there was a lot which remain unfinished.    Indian cinema surely lost one of the most beautiful, charming, talented and versatile actor who proved that the female actors can carry movies on their shoulders and paved way to many young female actors like Priyanka Chopra, Vidya Balan, Deepika Padukone and Anushka Shetty.   As far as female actors are concerned the Indian cinema can now be divided and referred to in two phases, `THE PRE SRI DEVI ERA AND POST SRI DEVI ERA'.  Sri Devi has measured up to the pre Sri Devi Era top heroins like Nargis, Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Savitri and Jamuna but we have to wait and see if the present crop of heroin and future entrants can measure up to the dizzy heights Sri Devi has scaled.    Surely many female actors can come up and prove their metal but there cannot be another Sridevi and the dominance and universal acceptability as Sridevi enjoyed.  

In the climax scene of `Jagadeka Veerudu Atiloka Sundari' where she has done the role of a Deva Kanya, she was all set to return to heaven where from she comes and in the last moment throws the magic ring and stays back in the world.   Millions of her fans really wish that something like that could happen but alas it is REAL LIFE & NOT REEL LIFE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlrpmuJcNvo – climax scene from Jagadeka Veerudu Atiloka Sundari)

You live on Sridevi

S. Prabhakar / 25.2.18