Sridevi: The Gorgeous Goddess of Grandeur

As shots of her last rites filled our screens, her lifeless body bedecked in a rich Kanjeevaram red and gold saree with a bright red bindi and lipstick, adorning a mute face that expressed more than words, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of deprivation. The whole nation mourns Sridevi’s passing away so suddenly, even as her elder daughter gets ready to follow her footsteps towards charting her own career as an actor in the Hindi film industry. The show must go on as they say even as generations of fans rue the loss of a gigantic on-screen personality, who starred in over 300 films from the age of 4, making a mark in regional as well as Hindi cinema. If there is one actor whose life exemplifies an illustrious career that is inspirational for contemporaries as well as future generations, it is hers.

However limited her public persona may have been after her marriage to Boney Kapoor, even her comeback that was English Vinglish in 2012 demonstrates how an artist just needs the right platform to showcase her talent, no matter how long her self-imposed hiatus may be. Most people in the industry swear by Sridevi’s mettle when it comes to her acting, dance, dialogue delivery, screen presence and utmost discipline to her craft. The fact that this otherwise reticent actor was able to bloom into a full-fledged flamboyant diva as soon as the cameras rolled, is awe-inspiring as well as noteworthy. Indubitably, she was one of those actors who laid down the rules of gender equality in an otherwise primarily male-dominated industry where her leading co-stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra, Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor and Anil Kapoor ruled the roost and enjoyed massive fan-followings. Popularly deemed the first female superstar, she was able to hold her own even while rubbing shoulders with them in film after film. She also was a constant threat to other actors in claiming every meaty role that came their way at a time when female characters were usually relegated to playing romantic partners or damsels in distress to add further glory to the macho hero. Sridevi was no novice to the world of films when she landed in Hindi films, having spent the better part of her childhood in Tamil and Telugu films since 1967.

I still remember looking out for her but being disappointed seeing her in a miniscule role as Julie’s younger sister in the film by that name starring the formidable Lakshmi in the lead. It was not until 1979 that Sridevi would make her presence felt in the lesser known Solvaan Saawan where she really made her debut as a Hindi film heroine. A spate of regional films later, she won thunderous applause for her high-octane performance complete with thumping dance moves in Himmatwala opposite then superstar Jeetendra in 1983. Suddenly, props like earthen pots, gigantic replicas of drums, daflis and other props took a life of their own as Sridevi perfected the art of thumkas and jhatkas, steam-rolling in to the hearts of millions of Indians and proving to be a choreographer’s dream come true. If her pelvic thrusts and thunder-thighs were making people sneer and chuckle, she proved her detractors wrong and managed to reduce everyone to tears with a heart-rending performance in Sadma the very same year. Her potrayal of a lost and mentally regressive woman was so poignant, it moved even her own daughter Jahnavi to call her mother mean as she herself claimed in an interview, when her character is shown abandoning her philanthropist turned madman lover Kamal Haasan in the film after having fully recovered from her condition.

I claim no loyalty to her ‘80s phase otherwise, having consciously ignored her range of films at this

time like Inquilaab Tohfa, Nagina and such other run-of-the-mill fare. However, her small appearance as the drug addict in Jaanbaaz, gyrating to the soulful ‘Har kisi ko nahi milta’ opposite Feroz Khan was hardly a forgettable guest appearance for the sheer sensual quality she brought to that song, offset by its moridbund mood. My fangirl moment when it comes to this versatile actor was when I saw her in Mr.India in 1987. This film saw Sridevi in her element, she lit up every frame whether she was enacting a comic sequence in her Charlie Chaplinesque mode or her sexy avatar as the passionate lover of an invisible superhero in the song Kaante Nahi Kaat te. The film gave her ample room to explore her own penchant for performance and she simply sizzled through it like a firework display. This was a cue to future filmmakers on how to really bring out layers in a female actor’s on-screen persona, taking her presence beyond just being a romantic interest to the hero of the film. No wonder filmmakers like Yash Chopra and Pankaj Parashar went on to give her roles in Chandni and Chalbaaz respectively, which would not only shine on her CV but also give lessons in superlative acting standards to female actors for the future. Here was a Hindi film heroine, giving her male counterparts in these films a run for their money, matching steps with them, dialogue to dialogue and expression to expression to emerge victorious and worthy of the honour for cinematic excellence she was bestowed with in later years. All this charisma held her in good stead in a path-breaking film like Lamhe where Yash Chopra really put her to the litmus test. Here was a role which people were most likely to hate her for and yet, she managed to come out trumps with her effortless essaying of a girl in love with a man old enough to be her father. She defied convention and orthodox beliefs when she stood her ground before her lover, lovelorn enough to fight his every critic but unwilling to let him overlook her individuality, despite her resemblance to her mother whom he earlier loved. The film may not have been a box office success but deservedly won her critical acclaim and audience love galore.

A seasoned veteran of double roles, she managed to outshine herself in the multistarrer Khuda Gawah as well, playing mother and daughter in this action-packed revenge drama opposite superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Nagarjuna. Let’s not forget that she was the co-star to actors like Kamal Haasan, Rajnikanth and Amitabh Bachchan who were literally deified and known to amass not fans but followers since a pre-Twitter era. To carve her own niche amongs these stalwarts is a matter of pride if not reason for hubris. The debacle of the highly ambitious Roop Ki Rani Choro Ka Raja may have slowed down the accelerated pace at which Sridevi rose to claim her fame in the ‘90s but films like Gumrah and Judaai still proved that she was down but never out. Her subsequent comeback in English Vinglish surprised her fans, and reopened her diary of artistic achievements, as the audience happily embraced her in her demure, fresh, sensitive and subtle potrayal of a housewife who reclaims the respect of her loved ones by learning English. From practicising how to make laddoos in order to look convincing in her role as Shashi to isolating herself to express internal pain and struggle in Mom, these films proved that Sridevi’s dedication to her craft was intact and in fact, the driving factor for her success even after so many years.

This deep-seated need for perfection manifested itself in her personal life in recent years as well as

she turned out in fabulous designer lehengas, sarees, cocktail gowns and jumpsuits, styling herself as an epitome of grace, charm and elegance in every Instagrammable frame, giving her daughters major competition in the quest to look like a fashionista. Not one to let age catch up, her cosmetic makeovers and slender frame may have become reason for much debate and discussion alongwith murky details surfacing about her tragic and sudden death. I believe we have suffered a big loss with her demise and we must in stead, grieve the body of work that she could have gifted us with were she alive today. However untimely her death may seem and harsh as well, I can only sum it up in two lines:

Probably this is how an inspirational icon must go…
leaving legions of fans craving for more.