Sridevi was one of the most iconic actresses of Indian cinema. The actress is the first female megastar of India. Sridevi has been part of 300 movies for almost 5 decades. Be it her beauty, her style, or her acting the lady had it all to rule the Indian cinema with her talent. Apart from Hindi cinema, she was been part of multilingual films like Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada.
Sridevi- The Lady with Talent and Charm
The actress was honored with Padma Shri, the country’s fourth-highest civilian awards. She was also awarded Filmfare awards, Nandi award, the Tamil Nadu and Kerala State Film Award, and many more for her exceptional talent.
The star was also known for her styling, she was the biggest style icon from her time till today. Anything and everything she wore she added dignity and elegance to it. Her beauty and style was an epitome of grace, exhibiting how beautiful and talented Indian women are.
Every role the actress played on the big screen will forever be remembered. She can never be zoned into one single type, the actor had it all be it comedy, serious or negative roles. Not to forget she was also a terrific dancer, though she was not a trained but a born dancer. Her dance and her expression were a deadly combination for the songs. She gave us some classic signature dance moves and all her performances make us go awestruck.
Sridevi Death- End of an Era
The megastar Sridevi was found dead on 24th February 2018, in a hotel room in Dubai where she went to attend her nephew’s wedding. As per the Dubai Police investigation report, the cause of her death was accidental drowning in the hotel room’s bathtub. Some traces of alcohol was also found in her body. Her death was an unpredictable incident she was in the process of delivering a few more movies and we lost to see her dazzle the screen once again.
Celebrating Sridevi’s 57th Birthday with all her Iconic Movies
Yesterday, August 13, was Sridevi’s birth anniversary let’s celebrate the lady by reliving some of her iconic movies.
1. Sadma
Sridevi’s career took a kickstart with this movie Sadma, the film was a remake of Tamil film Moondram Pirai. She played the role of a girl suffering from retrograde amnesia, where one behaves much younger than the age. Her performance was highly praised and the movie got many critical acclaims. She was being starred opposite Kamal Hasan the duo delivered a spectacular performance in this movie making it worth remembering. Even today the last scene of the movie is listed in the CNN-IBN 50 Most Memorable Scenes of Bollywood. Sridevi as Nehalata in Sadma is considered one of her best performances to date.
2. Himmatwala
The movie starred Jeetendra and Sridevi in the lead roles, this was a complete Bollywood masala movie. This movie was all about the hero (Jeetendra) taking revenge for his father’s honor meanwhile the villain’s daughter played by Sridevi falls in love with the hero and both play a trick together to teach a lesson to her father. The movie was a blockbuster hit of that time, making it a game-changer for Sridevi’s life. She was then spotted as the glamorous actress and started being cast in mainstream commercial Hindi cinema.
2. Tohfa
This was another blockbuster hit starring Jeetendra, Sridevi, and Jayaprada. During the ’80s Bollywood masala movies were at the peak, Sridevi played the character of Lalitha, loving sister of Janaki (Jaya Prada). Both of them fell in love with Ram (Jeetendra). Lalitha sacrificed her love for her sister and got married to a bad man (Shakti Kapoor). There journey with the twist and turns of life was much enjoyed by the Indian audiences. Sridevi as Lalitha was loved by everyone.
3. Nagina
This is one iconic role of Sridevi that will forever be remembered. She played the role of an Icchadhari Nagin who falls in love with a normal man played by Rishi Kapoor. Her dance on the popular song ‘Mein Nagin Tu Sapera’ opposite Amresh Puri couldn’t have been any better. Looking at her dance and expression it is very hard to say she was not a trained dancer. The actress received a special Filmfare award for her spectacular acting in the movie.
4. Mr. India
Mr. India was the biggest hit of the 80’s Hindi cinema. The movie has become the classic entertainer of all time. Sridevi played the role of a young, radiant, and not so skilled news reporter who falls for a superhero (Anil Kapoor), who is Mr. India. This movie was for people of all ages from children to old folks everybody loved this movie. She portrayed her character very well being bubbly at times and also steamingly sensuous in the famous song ‘Kaate Nahi Katte Yeh Din Ye Raat’ is worth remembering.
5. Chandni
The next hit of the ’80s was the movie Chandni starring Rishi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna along with Sridevi. This was a romantic movie where she portrayed the role of a dignified and loving lady whose fiance, Rishi Kapoor meets with an accident and her in-laws play all possible tricks to get her away for his life. She then moved to a new place where her boss, Vinod Khanna falls for this beauty, who in turn later becomes a friend with Rishi Kapoor. Sridevi played the role of a matured and dignified lady which was way different from most of her bubbly characters. The movie was a huge hit with Sridevi winning the best actress in Filmfare.
6. Chaalbaaz
Sridevi rocked this super hit comedy Hindi cinema by playing a double role. She played the character of twin sisters one being shy and timid and the other was quirky and smart who got separated at birth and later they cross each other’s path. He was starred opposite Rajnikanth and Sunny Deol but her performance was the show-stealer. We still remember the iconic scene with the famous dialogue ‘Jaani Ye Kya Hai? Chaku Hai’.
7. English Vinglish
This is among Sridevi’s recent movies, where she played the most relatable character of an Indian housewife who tries her best to get fitted in today’s society. The only weakness the lady possesses in the film is English. Sridevi aced this role and we can’t think of anybody playing this better. Her hard work and determination to learn English to get placed with respect in her own family were so common to many of the Indian women. Sridevi’s acting and the movie were well appreciated and yet again got her nominated in Filmfare for best actress along with the young actors.
8. Mom
Mom is the last released film of Sridevi making it to a total of 300 films of her career. She played the role of a mother of a young girl who was raped. Sridevi’s portrayal of her character of being a fierce full and affectionate mother who can go to any extent to avenge her daughter’s rapist was way beyond any complements. This film was released in four different languages and got critical acclaims.
Sridevi’s journey in India cinema will always be remembered. She changed the game of being a Bollywood actress even in the ’80s where the movie world was dominated by male leads. Be it any movie her presence can overshadow any male star, that’s why Sridevi is the first female Megastar of the Indian cinema.
Also Read: You may also read our article on Katrina Kaif’s journey in Bollywood.