16.Sridevi
Sridevi made an incision into the tinsel town and peeked in the industry when she was a child. She made her debut as a child artiste in Tamil movie “Kandan Karunai” (1967) as bubbly ‘Muruga’. Throughout her teens, she acted in numerous roles in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam movies. Later she debuted in the Hindi film genre as a child actor in “Julie”. She was a screen grabber since her childhood, and so were her later ones.
Her breach in the Tamil film industry was a remarkable success as she gradually rose in the viewer’s eyes as the star to be cast in her 1st film opposite the then South heartthrobs Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan in her movie “Moondru Mudichu” (1976) where she was positioned to be the female lead. Scores of successful films followed her career after her 1st Tamil breakthrough. Once paired with the Southie stars, she nurtured all the more hit deliverance with them to the industry, such as “Gayathri”, “Priya”, “Karthika Deepam”, “Kavikkuyil”, “Meendum Kokila”, “Johnny” and many more. She rose as a hit superstar with the film “Aakali Rajyam”. In 1979, she made her Bollywood debut opposite Amol Palekar with “Solva Sawan”-the remake of one of her Tamil films in 1977. She achieved the honours for her hits “Meendum Kokila” and “Mundram Pirai” for which she won critical appreciation, and the movies were critically acclaimed.
From 1983 to 1997, Sridevi was the in-demand star for every movie banner and the famed names of productions. Her next Hindi film “Himmatwala” (1983) paved her path firmly in the Bollywood film industry. Offers from every nook and corner and from reputed producers and directors gushed into her career graph. Her pairing up with Jeetendra in movies like “Tohfa”, “Justice Chowdhury” and “Mawaali”, and her Southern touch grooving style was what tagged her as a blockbuster face at the box office. In 1986, the fantasy film “Nagina” gave her a rise and helped her acquire the desired superstar status in Bollywood. In the late 80’s, the deliverance of movies like “Chandni” and “Chaalbaaz” reasserted her stand in the film industry, and even scripts were being written then visualizing Sridevi and the major lead of films. Her “Chaalbaaz” were given the honour of being counted in the Filmfare Magazine for 80 Iconic Performances of the Year, which was bestowed with the fourth position. In the 1990’s she worked under the banner of Yashraj Films in their aspiring film “Lamhe” for which she won critical appreciation internationally and it won the Filmfare Best Film Award. She was also paired opposite Amitabh Bachchan in film “Khuda Gawaah” which won her a Filmfare nomination for her dual mother-daughter role. In this very span of early 90’s, her Telugu film “Kshana Kshanam” won her the Filmfare Best Actress Award and the Nandi Film Award. In the late 90’s she continued to appear in movies like “Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja”, “Laadla”, and many more. Among these the greatest gainer at the box office was “Gumrah” and “Judaai”, whilst her film “Laadla” was a moderate success. Later she appeared as the lead in many Telugu and Tamil films before her sabbatical of fifteen years. To name a few were “Govinda Govinda”, “Aakhari Poratam”, “Mudulla Koduku”, “Khaidi Rudrayya”, etc.
After a six year chasm, Sridevi returned to small screen in a television programme “Malini Iyer”. She sashayed the ramp for Lakme and HDIL Couture weeks in 2008-2009. She also has been appointed as showstoppers for veneered designers like Queenie Dhody, Neeta Lulla, and Priya Chintan. She also judged TV shows like “Kaboom” and appeared in “Jeena isi ka Naam hain”. She was honoured by Salman Khan in his TV show “10 ka Dum” and even Kareena Kapoor paid tribute to her by performing in her all-time chartbuster songs in the Global Indian Film and Television Awards (2011). She also appeared as a surprise special guest appearance in Aamir Khan’s TV show “Satyameva Jayate”, where she was also a suitor to petition against sexual and child abuse.
After a fifteen year long sabbatical, the glamour queen of Bollywood-Sridevi- announced her comeback in 2011, with her new film “English Vinglish” under Gauri Shinde’s direction. The film has an ensemble cast comprising Amitabh Bachchan in a cameo, French actor Mehdi Nebbou and also Adil Hussain. Her comeback, after her prolonged hiatus from this industry, was declared at the IIFA Awards 2011 at Toronto, which got her receiving cozy welcome from all Bollywood stars present there forth. The trailer which was raised for the movie’s promotional and teaser purpose has become a rage both nationally and internationally because of the tenoring theme the movie “English Vinglish” encompasses. The film’s trending promo portrayed a baffled Sridevi trying to decipher the English censor certificate issued for this very movie. It was broadcasted worldwide with the film’s first look on 15th June, 2012.
