Read the full article on Film Companion, here: http://www.filmcompanion.in/sridevi-kapoor-death-obituary/
A Madras boy remembers the actress, the star who could do everything every kind of director wanted her to do.
G
rowing up in the seventies and eighties, in Madras, meant you grew up with Sridevi. Actors and actresses, those days, made a ton of movies a year, working in multiple shifts, across multiple languages. So Sridevi was everywhere in Tamil and Telugu cinema. There wasn’t a number system those days. At least in the south Indian press, titles like “Queen Bee” or “Numero Uno” did not exist. In the sixties, Saroja Devi was a top actress, and so were Savithri and Jayalalitha. In the seventies, Sridevi was popular, and so was Sripriya. “Popular,” those days, meant they starred in many films with up-and-comer young stars like Kamalahasan (the spelling change to “Kamal Haasan” was a while away) and Rajinikanth.
But Sridevi was special. It was a time Tamil cinema was changing. Directors like Bharathiraja, Mahendran and Balu Mahendra — even K Balachander, whose seventies’ style is markedly more “cinematic” than what he did in the preceding decade — were finding ways of expression that were different from those of melodrama monarchs like P Bhimsingh. And Sridevi fit into that mould as well. She fit into every mould, really. In Hindi cinema, they called her the ultimate “switch-on, switch-off” actress. That must have been true, for she certainly did not have a great deal of life experience to draw from, having grown up in the studios, in front of the cameras from when she was a child.
Copyright ©2018 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Anu Warrier
February 25, 2018
Ours became theirs, indeed. They didn’t deserve her, the roles they gave her. She was light years ahead of the films they cast her in, but you’re right – she gave them what they asked for, adding that extra dash of something that made her performances such a delight to watch. Damn! Damn! Damn!
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"Original" venkatesh
February 25, 2018
The Sridevi i knew was the one from Nagina, dancing to “mein teri dushman…”, 50 p coins being showered on her in Regal Theatre in Connaught Place, the one in Chaalbaaz who had the audience eating shouting at the screen when she was not on it…
Never to be repeated. Sridevi.
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Thupparivaalan
February 25, 2018
Haven’t watched a lot of her movies as I was born in the 90’s, and yet whenever I caught one, she blew me away with her grace and warmth. Speaking of chemistry, I loved her in johnny with rajni. One for the ages.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
February 25, 2018
Lovely tribute to the greatest diva. The Madras angle is something unique which you bring to your writing similar to your sense of “betrayal’ when Mani Ratnam did a Hindi film.
As you’ve rightly said it was acting in its purest form – sheer impersonation and make believe. Just like what Laurence Olivier reportedly told Dustin Hoffmann “why dont you try ACTINg instead ?”
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Ratish Ravindran
February 25, 2018
When she returned to the silver screen from her Sabbatical, her performances in English Vinglish and Mom appeared more internalized. I think in her second avatar, she drew deep from her own life experiences instead of the usual Bag of Tricks to carve out Shashi and Devki.
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Madan
February 25, 2018
Wonderful tribute. I think in this case, the sense of betrayal was justified because the films she did in Hindi were, barring Mr India, terribly underwhelming compared to the work she did with Bharatiraja, Mahendran, Balu Mahendra and KB. Also agree with Ratish Ravichandran that in her 2nd innings, she had learnt to act in a more understated way, in fact adapting well to the naturalised acting of our times that you refer to. I was watching Mom today and she used the typical ‘method acting’ pitch, if I may call it that, with a near flawless Hindi diction. Some film personality in his tribute to Sridevi today said that she was yet to reach her peak and got taken away. RIP.
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silverambrosia
February 25, 2018
Illuminating piece on a very charismatic actress. Maybe her southern films better showcased her talent, but there were some Hindi films in which she also turned in impressive performances. ‘Lamhe’ is my favourite Sridevi film in which she displayed a great flair for comedy. Some of that ‘bag of tricks’ element comes through there as well. She is apparently really funny in ‘Mr. India’ too. Want to watch that movie now.
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whimsicalwhining
February 25, 2018
This is such a beautiful tribute. Most of the tributes I have been reading online speak of her Hindi movies. But I think it is in the south that she gave her best performances. 16 vayathiniley, moondram pirai etc! This entire phase of her career is not getting due recognition. An amazing talent.
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kaizokukeshav
February 25, 2018
“Tamil and Telugu cinema still needed her.”
Well said. I believe this is what she too missed in her 2nd innings and really wanted to do. She was trying to make inroads into Telugu again with Mom, alas Rajamouli didn’t select her for Sivagami (no offense to Ramya Krishnan she is most suitable though) but Sridevi asked for more money…Oh the irony for a film that made 1000 cr ! And she might have regretted not doing such a role and opted Puli !!! And during my saddened home sick/human sick says in USA she atleast made my few days with English Vinglish.
Sridevi has given something special in every industry she worked in. In Tamil it’s those special roles with Kamal. In telugu it’s those RGV movies and that angel from heaven role in Jagadeka Veerudu Atiloka Sundari. And in Hindi it is the 2nd innings where an still can persue Amitabhesque transformation. I wished to see atleast 20 movies in this phase, damn !!! She is the actress who stood loyal to her profession to the core and showed that industry actually has some real talent to offer. Kudos.
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"Original" venkatesh
February 25, 2018
Why does this feel like a personal loss ?
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Madan
February 25, 2018
“my favourite scene is the one where Kamal gives her a sari and drifts off into a reverie, expecting this amnesiac with the mental faculties of a little girl to have magically transformed into a woman. Ilayaraja sets up the mood with a languorous piano duetting with violins. Sridevi steps out of the room, the sari perfectly draped. She does everything Kamal wants her to. She’s sophisticated. She’s romantic. She’s in control. She’s even motherlike, drawing his head to her bosom, giving him milk from a glass. Then he snaps out of it, and sees that she’s tied the sari all wrong. She’s still the little-girl amnesiac.” – I just happened to watch MP again today and you have put it perfectly. Indeed, the background score manipulated me into thinking it was a sudden lapse into lucidity on the part of the Sridevi character only to find it was Kamal dreaming.
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Sifter
February 25, 2018
A compact, different tribute. Ours became theirs. Apt. That’s how I’ve always felt and said when there was any conversation around her movies. For me, she was brilliant in her pre-bollywood avatar! To know and be reminded time and again that she became a leading lady at 13, done Moonru Mudichu, 16 Vayadinile, Sigappu Rojakkal, Johnny, Meendum Kokila, Moondram Pirai, Varumayin Niram Sigappu before she was 20! She is (was) incredible….like Shoba.
Most of them talk about her as a bollywood legend, and i go like…ehh? But you are right, she gave them what they wanted. And got their love in return. Can’t grudge that.
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Rahini David
February 26, 2018
Can we have an AskBR on moondram pirai or 16 vayathinilea or just Sridevi herself.
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Jayram
February 26, 2018
Just Sridevi herself would suffice for an #AskBR.
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Anupama Chandrasekhar
February 26, 2018
Great piece, Baddy. I feel like I’ve lost a family member… she — and Kamal Hassan — were such important figures when I was growing up. 16 vayathiniley, Meendum Kokila, Varumayin niram sigappu. What an oeuvre she had and what a complete actor she was! They don’t make talents like her anymore.
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Naveen
February 26, 2018
it really feels like a personal loss. my earliest memories of her are those from the lottery ticket calendars where she would stand on a big lotus, in golden silk sarees, full jasmine, in bridal accessories, holding a plate full of currency and lottery tickets, coins raining from her hands. the embodiment of goddess lakshmi. azhagunna sridevi maadiri trope. these calendars used to be in saloons and most shops, one would think this is Mahalakashmi coming down and posing for a calendar, every year.
my most fav of hers is Lamhe. the morni song in the desert gives you an ethereal aura to that character. Khuda gawah was where she stood shoulder to shoulder with the Big B.
in Tamil it was a bit of too early for her to carry on those heavy roles of moondru mudichu or 16 vayathinile. in Telugu, it was a full glam fest
even though shse left south film world a long back, her place stayed vacant. nobody could come to fill even half of the area she mastered – dance, comedy, acting.
she could have done few more movies with the new directors. too soon.
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Enasni
February 26, 2018
“Ours became theirs” – so Apt. I loved her in all languages. Like some said, it feels like a personal loss. She was magic onscreen. I would have loved to see her act – act again with the likes of Kamal. And also what you mentioned about her and Kamal having not Chemisty but Electricity – So true. I had to watch every single song you mentioned. She was really step in step with Kamal.
Also, i wish she got to read this to know how much she is appreciated. I wish such praises are written not just after death but also while they are alive. These Ask BR sessions do that in part. Please still do one with her films. And with Kamal’s too…
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MANK
February 26, 2018
Its hard to discuss or argue about the legacy your most beloved actress, when you haven’t fully recovered from mourning her, just a day after she has passed away.
Sridevi’s career in many ways mirrored that of Amitabh bachchan with whom she was incessantly compared to during the height of her stardom, both started out being pure actors under pure filmmakers, Bachchan with KA Abbas and Hrishikesh Mukherjee, while sri with Balachander, Baharathirja , mahendran etc. As bachchan made the transition from being a pure actor to a star actor through the Salim Javed films and then the star performer with his own bag of tricks through the films of Manmohan desai and Prakash Mehra , so did sridevi, except that she made that transition in hindi films. So i dont fully buy the we lost sridevi to hindi films and she would have been better off in tamil cinema logic, it was just an obvious next step in any movie superstar’s career
She had pretty much reached her peak in tamil cinema or rather tamil cinema had reached its peak in offering actresses roles that their talent deserves, there would be a marked shift post the mid eighties as far as the treatment of heroines would go, it would become a totally male centric superstar driven industry, when all the great actresses of the time would just recede into being the shadow of the hero. i would say she got out at the right moment- may be just a tad early, she could have done a few more great characters, but she would have ended up just being another Radha or Radhika
And its not like she was immune to being the glamour doll or eye candy here in the south, even as she was going through Jhonny and moondram pirai here, she was just being an armcandy to actors like NTR or ANR, actors old enough to be her grandfathers, just being their dancing partner, so why not go and do the same routine in hindi with Jeetendra, where there was more money and fame. May be it was her parent’s decision who by all accounts held a firm grip on her life and career and used her as the rainmaker of the family
And after an intial period of being just a sex symbol and dancing queen, she stretched herself as a performer, i wouldn’t say she went beyond as an actor as she was in her best tamil films, but she went into a different tangent of being this great performance artist through movies like MR. India or Chaalbaaz, the kind of roles she would never have got in south industry. I would say the her true worth as a performer can be measured by these performances, her USP, the kind that no actor other than her in the world could manage to do. however great her performances in the Balachander, Bharatiraja films were, may be another actress with a certain level of talent and training could have done them perhaps better than her or may be not as good as her, but they could have done it, But take a film like Chandni, an atrocious film made by down in the dumps Yash Chopra, it works only and only because of Sridevi, that’s the hallmark of a true superstar performer.
Sri must have been the chief inspiration in Chopra picking himself up and making something like Lamhe, which wouldn’t have worked with another actress, someone who could be equally convincing as both the older woman and the much younger woman to the same actor. its one thing to give a convincing performance in a Balachander or Mahendran film, but it requires a quite another level actress to infuse the same conviction in a pankaj parashar , Harmesh Malhothra or Raghavendra Rao film. Her Indraja character in Jagadeeka veerudu athiloka sundari must be the only loosu ponnu character in film history saved by the Actress portraying it
And as it happened with Bachchan, once she became this megastar, she stopped taking chances of any kind, it was repeated attempts to capitalise on what worked before and on her image of being the diva, the queen of beauty and dance, as one can easily deduct from the her last batch of atrocious films like Roop ki rani, Chandramukhi or chand ka tukda, those ‘in and as’ roles, as with Bachchan in Mard, Shahenshah or Aaj ka arjun, designed specifically to exploit his mythical macho image. And only way one can make a comeback as a pure actor from such a star pedestal is to take a break and come back when audience are willing to accept you more as the character than star. like Bachchan did with Aks , Khakhee, dev , sarkar,etc.. Sri herself was beginning a new phase in her career, as witnessed in English vinglish and mom, she was going back to her roots as a performer, its a real pity it has been so tragically cut short. Sorry for this lengthy comment, but this was quite therapeutic
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MANK
February 26, 2018
This is one of my favorite sridevi performances, perhaps my most favorite – from kshanam kshanam – mainly because she has a very ordinary role, absolutely nothing special about it and the kind of role which is difficult for any actor to stand out in, but she does, in this typical damsel in distress character, breathing the same amount of conviction and nuance into her role as RGV does into this off repeated hero and heroine on the run from the bad guys story, his unique mix of our masala cinema meets the hollywood road movie. Resulting in a wonderful film and a wonderful performance. RGV would remake this film thrice but never with the same success.
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fijisuva
February 26, 2018
Great article that makes one think about the nature of “acting”.
At the risk of deviating from the topic, I wanted to share something I felt yesterday while watching “Yejamaan”.
At the end of the film, Rajini offers some sage advice to Napolean — in a way that only he can — and walks off to the wonderfully set title track — in a way that only he can — before spotting Ishwarya. Whereas the above can be argued to be from Rajini’s own “bag of tricks”, what he does next with Ishwarya, I believe, does not seem like at all like trick.
A brief look at Ishwarya and then a subtle gesture to denote acceptance (followed, of course, by the redundant overt symbol of the hands joining together to remove any doubt). If this is not “internalized” acting, I don’t know what is…
Ok, here comes my claim. I’ve been a three-decade fan of Kamal’s acting, but lately, when I watch his films I can only see the “bag of tricks” and no “core” or “authenticity”.
Is this because, for Kamal — a man who grew up on the sets “acting” (much like Sridevi) — the “acting” became his very internal core?
Or is this because I, as the audience, became so familiar with the Kamal’s internal core, that it has stopped becoming authentic for me?
Irrespective of the above conundrum, what I can say categorically is that: (in my subjective perception) a well-cast Rajini comes off as more authentic and dare-I-say a better “actor” than Kamal.
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brangan
February 26, 2018
I don’t mean “bag of tricks” as a derogatory thing. I think it’s like a toolbox, and you reach in and pick out whatever tool is best for the occasion. The better the actor, the bigger the toolbox. So when I say “bag of tricks,” I mean being alert and knowing how best to address this situation.
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Shalini
February 26, 2018
“…ours becoming theirs.” To which this Northie gratefully says – thank you for sharing. My “southern envy” has never been more actue than after reading all these references to Sridevi’s work in Tamil, Telegu and Malyalam films. Oh, the movies I could see if they were just subtitled. Sigh.
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fijisuva
February 26, 2018
@brangan: “I don’t mean “bag of tricks” as a derogatory thing.”
This may not be what you meant but I work in an area that is considered “creative” and I know how I will feel should somebody call me a “bag of tricks”…
Btw, Fellini might approve with the “bag of tricks” comment. He was alleged to have said “Art is a scientific operation, so I can say that what we usually call improvisation is in my case just having an ear and eye for things that sometimes occur during the time we are making the picture.”
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kaizokukeshav
February 26, 2018
@Shalini : To satisfy your envy, may be you can begin with spellings .. it’s not Telegu it’s Telugu
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sanjana
February 26, 2018
I have observed many spelling it Telegu! Telugu(some) people call tamilians as arava vallu. I dont know why arava and how it came into existence. Not derogatory but there must be some reason.
According to Quora
The ārcādu (anglicised as Arcot) district was historically referred to as aruvā vadathalai nādu in Tamil and Kanchipuram was known as aruvā nādu (before Pallava … river were called Hindus, The people beyond the southern boundary of Telugu region were called generally Arava Vallu & their language Tamil as Aravamu.
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e.hari
February 27, 2018
Rangan – most balanced obituary. Captured the essence of what Sridevi was beautifully.
Manak – I agree with you. Kshanam Kshanam is probably one of her best performance. It is the kind of movie to introduce Sridevi to anyone. The way she managed to bring those small and subtle expressions and fill it in every single second of the screen time was astounding. I just watched the movie after the sad news and even after all these years, her performance was still fresh and enjoyable.
Few are born to entertain and blessed with natural beauty and talent, but none wore that lightly than Sridevi.
IMO, though she gained the pan india stardom by moving to Bollywood, but sadly it was a huge loss for TFM. I always wondered how MMKR or Nallavanavku nallavan would had been with Sridevi in Uravasi or Radhika’s role.
She got the bag of tricks from the best gurus you can get- KB and Kamal and built much more by herself
Best of part of Sridevi to me personally was always the songs and her ability to elevate it by a notch with subtle expressions – some of them only for few seconds, but leave you with an impact forever.
Meenduk Kokila – Chinanchiru vayathil – just observe her finger placements in the Veena through out the song and the brief blushing smile perfectly synchronised with the singing at the end.
Valve Mayam – Devi sree devi – two seconds – the way she orchestrated her sitting in the temple before the dream sequence.
Another underrated movie of is Gumrah – in Main tera ashiq hoon , – those beautiful long steps towards the horse cart, that little cute finger snap before calling Sanjay over – few seconds of tricks from the bag – Eternal impact on audience
Finally who can forget that lovely duet in Varumaniyen Niram sigapu, blessed with the electricity ( What a opt word – Rangan) between Kamal and Sridevi.
In every single popular Sridevi song , there is always something to latch on.
RIP – Sridevi. You were one of a kind.
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Santa
February 27, 2018
@Anu: ‘They didn’t deserve her, the roles they gave her.’
You mean like Chandni, Chaalbaaz, Lamhe, etc.(not including Sadma since it is a remake)? I am not familiar with her body of work in Tamil and Telugu, but I would be surprised if her performance in these didn’t rival – or perhaps even exceed – some of her best performances in regional languages.
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Madan
February 27, 2018
“there would be a marked shift post the mid eighties as far as the treatment of heroines would go, it would become a totally male centric superstar driven industry” – Very valid point and something I was thinking of. Sridevi’s exit from the South coincided with a dwindling of the wonderful Mahendran/BM/KB era of filmmaking. Maybe Sindhu Bhairavi was the last stab at it. Afterwards, as you say, most films were action/action-comedies, the films began to get noisier and crassier and yes driven heavily by male superstars. Mani Ratnam did write the one memorable female protagonist in Mouna Ragam otherwise even his films (Nayagan. Agni, Dhalapati) were male-driven. And even if the earlier era of strong narrative-driven films had continued, I don’t think Tamil cinema would have allowed her the chance to outshine the male stars. She would have always been playing second fiddle to Kamal/Rajni.
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Madan
February 27, 2018
“a well-cast Rajini comes off as more authentic and dare-I-say a better “actor” than Kamal” – Possibly because he has better screen presence and a better voice. But his range is more limited. So there is less room to go wrong as long as he plays to his strengths but also a heck of a lot more repetition. Kamal experiments a lot and while usually his acting is not what pulls a film down, the film itself may not be well executed. It’s kinda like the Kishore-Rafi comparison. I can understand why Kishore would make a bigger impression on many listeners when operating in his zone but it’s a much smaller zone than Rafi. Not many people realise that a song like Akele Akele Kahan Ja Rahe Ho is more full out belting than most Kishore songs. Or even Deewane Ka Naam Toh Poocho from the same film.
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Anu Warrier
February 27, 2018
You mean like Chandni, Chaalbaaz, Lamhe, etc
You are joking, aren’t you? Out of the films you listed, Lamhe was probably the only one of the lot which was worthy of her calibre. Look, I loved her in her Hindi outings, even Chandni and Chaalbaaz – her double act there was a riot. But to say – without being familiar with her work in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, yet! – that her performances in these films ‘exceeded’ those in the South Indian languages?
Man, you don’t have a leg to stand on to argue that point. I’m talking from the vantage point of having grown up with her Malayalam films, explored her oeuvre in Tamil and some Telugu (not all), and then enjoyed her move to Hindi. And I will say this – her performances even in her worst outings was far ahead of the script.
But let’s face the facts here – she, and Madhuri after her, came into films at the worst possible times for a heroine. If Sridevi had been born a couple of decades earlier, or a couple of decades later – to make her presence felt in the Golden age of Hindi cinema, or in the present time, I can only wonder what her career trajectory would have been?
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Jai
February 27, 2018
@ Santa: wrt “” You mean like Chandni, Chaalbaaz, Lamhe etc…………..I am not familiar with her body of work in Tamil and Telugu, but I would be surprised if her performance in these didn’t rival – or perhaps even exceed – some of her best performances in regional languages.””
Dude….the answer to that remark is inherent in your sentence itself, the part where you said that you were not familiar with her work in other languages. 😊
At this tragic time, of a life cut short at least a couple of decades too soon, it would be trivial to let the grief turn into discussions of superiority of Bolly/Kolly/Tolly/Molly. However, would just like to put forward my perspective, as a south Indian born to parents who were themselves born and brought up in Mumbai, and therefore being familiar with Sridevi’s films across Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam.
When I started watching films in the early to mid 90s, I watched Sridevi’s Bollywood hits before I watched her work in Tamil.
Both me and my sis were definitely more Madhuri fans than Sri’s (considering their respective Bollywood performances), and we could not quite figure out why our Mom used to keep insisting that Sri was magical. To us, Sri’s performance in Chaalbaaz seemed over the top and loud (as the “bubbly” twin). While we loved her in Chandni; and in the role of Pallavi in Lamhe, we got put off by her squeaky voice and antics as Pooja in the same film (possibly that was her trying to create a distinct difference between the persona of mother and daughter double role). And we were frankly aghast at her roles in films like Chandramukhi, Chand ka Tukda and Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja. But then, amidst the Madhuri versus Sri debate which used to rage at home, we were introduced to Sri’s Tamil films. 16 vayithinile, moondru mudichu, meendum kokila, varumayin neruppu sivappu, vazhvae mayam. In fact, a few years past her reign at the top in Bollywood, Sridevi’s performance in the Malayalam film Devaragam, was, IMHO, superior to any of her Bollywood films you mentioned (with Chandni being perhaps the exception).
Somehow, I felt Sri’s performances in Tamil and Malayalam (haven’t seen any of her Telugu movies) were more organic and heartfelt, somehow…….than most of her rather more stylised portrayals in Hindi cinema. The “bag of tricks” referred to in the article and some previous comments does describe it quite well. Again, not taking away from some of her best roles in Bollywood, just that if one were to experience her full oeuvre across film industries, her finest performances do lie elsewhere.
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sanjana
February 27, 2018
Yash Chopra and Raj Kapoor reduced their heroines to eyecandies. Especially Chopra. All the heroines looked alike in his films. At certain age, those films have their own appeal.
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doba
February 27, 2018
Wow the fact that her performances in so many industries is being debated, not just discussed, says so much!
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Madan
February 27, 2018
Regrettably, the obituaries have mostly revealed how blindsided the North dominated mainstream media is towards Southern cinema and their tone deafness to the concerns raised by fans of Southern cinema. It is NOT about Southern superiority complex. It is about Sridevi having a very large body of work, arguably weightier at that, in South films so when she is described as ‘Bollywood actress’ instead of just ‘actress’, it excludes a huge portion of her work. Now I personally couldn’t care less about the media per se and their nonsensical ways but how the media describe a personality does influence a lot of people. I had a long argument with a Bengali chap yesterday and at some stage, he preferred to stop responding than to acknowledge my perspective. You don’t have to agree but at least admit you never thought about it this way and would have to consider it. Nah!
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brangan
February 27, 2018
sanjana: There’s a huge difference between YC and RK. Even in something like Sangam, you find very interesting shades in the heroines — whereas YC’s films have very straightforward characterisation. (Except in the ones Salim-Javed wrote, to an extent — though even those scripts were more about the men.)
A piece on YC:
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Naveen
February 27, 2018
happened to hear a TV show where the speaker wondered how, as a 13/14 yr girls, Sri could learn the body language and the character to play Rajini’s step mom where she had to admonish him like a son.
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shaviswa
February 27, 2018
Grew up around the same time and Sridevi’s films were a regular given that she was acting so often with the new sensations Kamal and Rajini. And she made a fantastic pair with both superstars. And then when she moved to Bombay, we felt that as a personal loss. We felt betrayed. The feeling was so bitter that when she returned to star in Naan Adimai Illai – there was a huge sense of resentment. I remember discussing this film with my friends and most of us decided not to see the film – just because of her. How could she do this to us? Why did she desert us to go to Hindi movies? And that too to sing and dance with oldies like Jeetendra?
The acceptance came a little later – around late 1990s – and we did watch Chandni and Mr. India.
Now she has been taken away completely. Just when we thought she was returning to be the actress that she promised to be. 😦
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Naveen
February 27, 2018
i think there was a very big gap between her on screen and off screen persona. in spite of all the glitter and glamour, she was a deeply sad person. always had to live up to very high expectations placed on her by others. not too different from Jayalalitha
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shaviswa
February 27, 2018
“around late 1990s” – should have been late 1980s.
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Anuja Chandramouli
February 27, 2018
Like so many others here, Sridevi was a part of my childhood. But yet, where I came from (Back then Sivakasi was my grandma’s place and a whole lot of my cousins lived there) she was mostly seen as a tragic figure and a victim of exploitation though she was also venerated as a glamourous and beloved star. I am not going to repeat the salacious local gossip but her parents especially her mother were infamous. It is probably why I grew up wondering if she was truly happy despite the Himalayan heights she achieved and tended to be anxious on her behalf.
My mum deemed films like Moondru Mudichu, 16 Vayithinilae and just about any film she did with Kamal Hassan inappropriate for children which is why I watched them in my late teens. I was horrified to learn that she was only 13 when she did the former and only slightly older when she did 16 Vayithinilae. (One cannot help but suspect that no 13 year old looks like that without the aid of hormonal injections and what not) The notorious scene in the Bharathiraja film where she is seen raising her ‘paavadai’ for the viewing pleasure of a creepy pervert makes me nauseous to this day and while you are not supposed to speak ill of the dead I can’t help but be horrified by her mother’s decision to put her daughter through what she did. And I am less than thrilled with the director as well. Remember the ‘illamai yennum poongatru’ song? Tis truly barf – worthy is what it is but thanks to Ilayaraaja’s genius it is a regular fixture on late night music channels and serves as a reminder of the sleazy underbelly of the movie business and it’s many victims.
In the aftermath of Sridevi’s death and the ensuing circus, I find myself wondering about the woman behind the Superstar facade. It wasn’t easy for her to make it in Bollywood and during a rough patch in her life and career she was little more than fodder for the gossip mills. Sri was famously reticent through it all, but could it have been because she had been rigorously trained since the age of four to doll herself up to perfection, perform as per her mommy or director’s instructions and ask no questions or even think? What did she really want? Was she happy? Could she look back on an illustrious body of work with satisfaction and not with regret? I am curious but guess we can wonder about it all we want and keep on asking questions. But no answers were ever forthcoming and now we will never know. Ever.
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Pavan
February 27, 2018
The moment I heard about Sridevi’s death, the first thought that stuck my sane brain is “How would Ram Gopal Varma react to this?”
And he did. In two long posts. Though I might sound coldblooded, these two posts would give the readers “script goals” (If you know what I mean)
https://www.facebook.com/notes/rgv/i-hate-god-for-killing-sridevi-and-i-hate-sridevi-for-dying/935574113267321/
https://www.facebook.com/notes/rgv/my-love-letter-to-sridevis-fans/936720359819363/
Call me anything you want to. But, for once, ask your heart. Are you able to witness a Gautham Menon’s kinda one-sided romance unfolding before your eyes?
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MANK
February 27, 2018
midst the Madhuri versus Sri debate which used to rage at home, we were introduced to Sri’s Tamil films.
Jai, this sridevi versus Madhuri debate was always erroneous to begin with. this was fanned by a lot of illiterate tabloids and fans over the years. to put things in context, When Madhuri made her hindi debut around 86, 87, she was just another star hopeful, rather raw as an actor and of course a fantastic dancer. she had a Godfather like Subhash Ghai who built her up in an ultimate act of star packaging. When Sri made her hindi debut, she was arguably the biggest star, if not the greatest actress in south india. with a decade worth of experience in more than 100 films. she went through the grind in hindi, working her way up bit by bit. And the speed with which she worked her way up is a testament, not just to her extraordinary gifts as a performer and beauty, but also to the enormous experience she had gained through her stint in the south indian films. Remember Yash Chopra saying in some interview that he cast her in chandni based not on her performances in hindi films, but on her performance in moondram pirai. So Right there you could see how different their careers have been.
Dont get me wrong, I love Madhuri a lot and i mean a lot, there is no question about her talents. She has paid her dues, relegated to being window dressing in countless movies before she achieved superstardom. for me its always been Sri, then Madhuri, then the great deluge as far as the mainstream hindi film heroines goes in the last 30 odd years, i wouldnt take any other heroine’s (or hero’s) name in the same breath as theirs, but it doesnt take much to realise that Madhuri hasn’t had even 25 percent of sridevi’s accomplishments. i am not just speaking of the volume of great work she has done, but the individual quality of each one, as i mentioned earlier regarding kshanam kshanam. And it doesnt take much to see how much an influence Sridevi has been on Madhuri, mainly in comedy and dance sequences. Madhuri is technically a much more competent dancer than Sri, but she picked up a lot of ‘Acting in songs & Dances’ from Sri
Sri for me is the ultimate 70 mm actress, i am talking about movies shot in 70 mm, rather than shot in 35 and blown up to be shown in 70.if you have seen those old 70 mm pictures like lawrence of arabia or Ben hur and stuff like that, you know what i mean, where most of the action takes place in a master medium shot or long shot, with very few cuts to close ups, because the images were so big and crystal clear that you could see the facial expressions even without cutting to a close up. it would have been perfect for sri, because she performed with her whole being, whether acting or dancing.. Shekhar Kapoor said this about shooting hawa hawai from Mr India that he was completely confused where to place the camera. whether to concentrate on her facial expressions, or her body language or her overall graceful movements as a dancer. if you have seen that song you will agree, you wouldnt want to be in the director’s seat.
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harish ram
February 27, 2018
@MANK: That is one hell of a character study. While I would add in the beauty and insecurity angle and make it more personal, yours is a more professional view as a consumer on why your favourite company is giving a certain type of product.
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Santa
February 27, 2018
@Jai: Point taken. And my point absolutely was not to compare Bolly/Tolly/Kolly/Molly. It was that I found her performances in those Hindi films exceptionally wonderful, especially in an era where strong roles for women in Bollywood were few and far between.
@Anu: Same as what I said to Jai. And I didn’t claim that her performances in Hindi were better, was merely hazarding a conjecture (‘would be surprised if her performances … didn’t rival – perhaps even exceeded’)
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Madan
February 28, 2018
@ Pavan: I do agree to a large extent with what RGV has covered in the second post (Anuja has echoed similar thoughts in this thread). Sridevi’s life seems to have been similar to Karen Carpenter, exploited by a dominating mom (who wouldn’t let her cancel a marriage she knew was doomed because, “People Magazine are going to be there”) and deeply unhappy even as her work gave happiness to millions. This may explain why the bright, lively on screen persona became so reticent and watchful during interviews. On an unrelated note, I wonder what’s up with Deepika Padukone. I couldn’t make it through beyond a couple of minutes of her interview with Rahul Kanwal (even though the questions were very sympathetic at least up to that point). She was taking so long to compose an uber politically correct answer and looked so serious she might have been at a funeral.
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MANK
February 28, 2018
Harish Ram, Thanks. I would like to stay away from the personal angle and concentrate more on her artistry which is what makes her special from the rest of the bunch.
You see,all these actresses who came up during that period in film history, have pretty much the same story, particularly for the ones who were thrust into this field at a very young age. of personal insecurities, exploitation by the family , use and abuse by the men in their life and ultimately a tragic end . from Hollywood to kodamabakkom, whether its Judy Garland , Natalie wood, Madhubala , shobha or sridevi, its pretty much the same story.K.G. George had made lekhayude maranam oru flashback about 30 years ago based on shobha’s life, but if one were to make sridevi’s death a flashback, it would more or less be the same film. the same old tale of over ambitious parents sending their barely legal age daughters into the casting couch of rich old producers and directors, controlling almost every aspect of their personality to an extend that they never develop a personality of their own. its legendary that in almost all the interviews with sridevi, the majority of her answers were , ask my appa or ask my amma.Always keep them insecure about their looks and talent which leads to all those nose jobs and breast implants and what not. I have no doubt Sri was a very insecure, very fragile women who was completely dependent on the people around her.Very few child actresses like Jodie foster or Natalie Portman are lucky to escape this vicious circle, where their mothers managed their careers , but also made sure they develop their personalities and have a good education and be independent in their own right.
Sridevi’s death has an eerie similarity to Natalie wood’s death, she drowned while holidaying on a yacht with her husband Rober Wagner and the case was never solved. now after 35 years , Wagner has been named a person of interest in her death (whatever that means), this is the situation in hollywood in USA, imagine the situation here. Now that the dubai police has finished their investigation, its time for our media police to start and i see that all our top investigating agencies Arnab Goswami, Rajdeep sardesai to Subramaniam swamy are all on the job 24×7 . based on the number of news channels in our country, wont be surprised to see the number of theories on her death soon go into double and triple digits. i dont think Sri ever had much happiness or peace in her personal life while she was alive, now rest assured she isn’t going to have any in her death either.
So i would rather remember her by the good rather than the bad, all the pleasure and happiness she provided me when she was in front of that camera and perhaps that was also the time when she too was completely happy and content , giving it her all , being far away from her real self.
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shaviswa
February 28, 2018
@Madan Deepika is another case of a successful actress who is struggling through depression. But I hope her family is with her to support her and help her where needed. Given her family background, she should come out of it.
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Jai
February 28, 2018
@ MANK: Lovely posts, and a very cogent as well as emotional analysis of Sri’s enduring magic and legacy. I think one of the hallmarks of such a great artiste is to leave such a wealth of work behind, which inspires heartfelt tributes like yours and others on this thread.
I must confess that limited to their forays in Bollywood, I was always more of a Madhuri fan than Sridevi’s. This perhaps (as I touched upon in my previous comment), has something to do with the fact that when I started watching films in my tweens, Madhuri had a slew of her films hitting bullseye and was gradually edging Sri from the top spot (in Hindi cinema of the time, at least). But I definitely do agree with you: in terms of the sheer volume of work Sri has done, the durability she had as a top star, the quality of her work across film industries in different languages—Sri has no peer. And not to restrict that to heroines alone, none of the leading men have had the breadth of her impact either. One more reason why the correct tag for her would be (as some media outlets belatedly started terming her), a pan Indian superstar, not just a Bollywood icon.
Plus of course, in an era in commercial Bollywood cinema which was largely hero dominated and well written roles for the heroine were incredibly sparse, she had the talent and aura to command screen time on par with the heroes. Not to mention frequently overshadowing them, to become the film’s main draw. She definitely did pave the way for the stars who followed her to the top.
“Sri for me is the ultimate 70 mm actress……..she performed with her whole being, whether acting or dancing…….whether to concentrate on her facial expressions……” Very true. Brings to mind that dialogue from English Vinglish about her character’s expressive eyes: “Like two drops of coffee in a cloud of milk”.
RIP, Sridevi. You will be missed.
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Madan
February 28, 2018
@ MANK This seems to be a trend with female performers per se. Steffi Graf was also essentially a vehicle for her father. Her coach said there was no party, no nothing after she won the Golden slam. Just straight back to practice. In a way, she and Agassi were indeed made for each other because he too had a cruel father.
@shaviswa: She had once opened up about depression and suggested she had overcome it but looking at her demeanour in the interview I mentioned, she is still tormented. Yes, hope she gets over the hump. It is kind of disturbing to see that someone at the apex of her career is quite evidently unhappy. And not unhappy in a Jobs/Streisand like grumbling perfectionist sense but miserable, perhaps not finding what she is looking for.
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MANK
February 28, 2018
Jai, my biggest dream was to see Sri and Madhuri in a film together with Amitabh Bachchan , and for these 2 to have the ultimate dance off , something that would top the muqabla humse na karo vyjayanthimala -Helen dance off in Prince or even better , the vyjayanthi-padmini dance off in vanjikoottai valiban , i mean that was the ultimate and if any 2 stars were going to top them, then these were the two ,with Bachchan pulling down the curtain(or chandelier) at the end
i wish there existed a film like that , with these 3 ‘masala’ geniuses running amok in the ultimate madcap masala film directed by manmohan desai at the peak of his powers,something on the lines of amar akbar anthony. it is a pity that desai finished his career making something terrible as ganaga jamuna saraswati, i wish his swan song was something like chandni mohini anthony with these 3 in the lead.aaah! Only if wishes were films, i would be watching this one everyday.
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Jai
February 28, 2018
@ MANK: Madhuri–Sri in a film together featuring a spectacular dance off, would have been cinematic gold for sure. Pity it never happened, though apparently Ramesh Sippy had signed them on for a project which was then shelved. I think the film was supposed to have Sanjay Dutt opposite Madhuri and Vinod Khanna opposite Sridevi. No question that the leading ladies would have stolen all the thunder from them! Ah well, one of the great “what could have beens”……..
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Sriram
March 1, 2018
Great article and thought provoking comments. Going through these comments, I have some thoughts…
1) You cannot measure the life of super stars (not only in cinema, be it politics, business or science) with middle-class yard stick. When you have to achieve something big, you do loose something else. If it is personal choice, it is understandable. But if it is someone else dream (like your parents), it is sad. Very sad if we have to give-up your childhood.
2) Shalini could have gone the same route as Sridevi – God’s grace, Ajith interfered.
3) All Northies are raving about Sridevi’s dance skills… TFM never seemed to consider Sridevi as a dancer. She probably has couple of Telugu songs – I presume they came after her Bollywood entry.
4) I don’t agree TFM did not have anything to offer more than what she did. She could have done lot of roles filled by Radhika, Radha (Kadhal Oviyam), Ambika (Naan Paadum padal), Suhashini (Sindhu Bhairavi and couple more), Revathi (Pudhumai Penn) and Poornima Jayaram (Darlingx3, Payanagal Mudivathillai). Saritha and Sujatha may be exceptions.
5) Bollywood did not steal Sridevi from us. It is the Telugu producers that sold Sridevi to Bollywood. (And Jayaprada). Many of Jittu-Sridevi movies were remake of Telugu movies produced by Telugu producers. (They are also responsible for bringing Bollywood actors to the South – Kushbu was the first northie super star in South, first Telugu movie with Venkatesh before coming to Tamil. Incidentally just like Sridevi, Kushbu also married and stayed back)
6) I know lot of people may disagree with this one, but this is my personal opinion – Sridevi looked better before the nose job. She looked natural. She looked “plastic” in Bollywood movies.
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Anand Raghavan
March 1, 2018
Lovely tribute BR. Didn’t get a chance to read all the comments, but wanted to convey my thoughts on this unprecedented outpouring of grief and what was so special about her.
Sridevi in Tamil cinema was this cute, innocent girl with all her subtle nuances. Worked under great directors and stamped her presence against budding giants. Her move to Telugu made her to learn and adapt to a more commercial style. Step dances with heroes almost triple her age were order of the day. But she held her fort. Then the big ticket to Mumbai and what a transformation that was. Quickly learning Hindu she then mastered unbelievable dancing skills and comic timing. She became a complete package and a thorough entertainer. Madhuri in a way followed her footsteps.
Coming to the response to her death.
Having seen the unprecedented outpouring of grief for sridevi in Mumbai as well as other parts of country, I am holding myself from asking questions like if she deserved the state funeral, wrapping of Indian flag and all this frenzy considering the weird circumstances of her death, Also she is not the happening star now yet people have shown this much love and respect.
One reality struck, all these are for what the ppl perceived of what she gave them. It’s the connect that they had during her prime thru movies, thru songs etc. This doesn’t occur for all stars, at least at a pan India level. It happened for Sivaji in TN, Rajkumar in KA. In that way I don’t see any outpour at such level for any actor in future.
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Madan
March 1, 2018
@Anand Raghavan: When Rajesh Khanna died, thousands, maybe lakhs of people poured onto the streets as his pyre was carried. Of course, he was the original superstar but he was long gone from the limelight and had not aged well. Sridevi’s popularity got a bump up from the success of English Vinglish. Having said that, when I reported to work on Monday, there was NO discussion about her death. I think North side those who were either teens or young adults during her Bollywood reign are talking more about her death. In the South, there has been much more discussion and more outpouring of grief. This is not surprising because down South people still connect very emotionally to stars in a way that doesn’t really happen so much anymore in the North.
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Vipin
March 1, 2018
@fijisuva, totally off topic but am surprised and curious to find a fellow brangan follower in Suva. Am in Suva myself, am reachable at prosper.nvn@gmail.com, if you would like to connect.
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Naveen
March 1, 2018
@Madan, the difference in the response to her death in N and S could be that in the South, people have seen or repeatedly heard of her as child who started at age 4 and acted with the legends like Sivage, Kamal, MGR, Jayalalitha etc as a child and with the later male stars that the south loved like Kama, Rajini, Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna et al as a heroine. of course she paired with NTR, ANR as well as their sons. she was someone ppl have seen growing (or heard of her life growing in the chennai studios along with Kamal ). like namma ooru ponnu/lady who made it big pan india in the north, she was relatively older kid ( she was acting as child in Hindi while debuting as heroine in Malayalam ). so the noth has seen her, unless they really bothered to check her south films, as a starlet that became a larger than life star
so the grief in south is more genuine, IMO. east or west her screen presence was unmatched by any heroine or hero.
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Madan
March 2, 2018
“so the grief in south is more genuine, IMO” – In general, the South industry is a little less pretentious than Bollywood and I am not saying that just because I am a South Indian. When I was seeing photos of the Bolly bigwigs who had turned up to condole Sridevi’s family, I was counting how many of them were wearing dark goggles. 😛 Most of them were. There is a scene in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Page 3 where two drivers at a funeral ponder over why the celebs are wearing goggles for a sad occasion and the know-it-all among the two tells the other that it’s because they are drunk and don’t want their red eyed look to be captured on camera. 😛 Is it true? I was thinking about that when the photos from Sridevi’s shok sabha were uncannily similar to what Bhandarkar depicted in that film.
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Naveen
March 2, 2018
it is thankful that channels did not get access all the rituals, else it would have been live 24 x 7. as per her early time co-workers in the South ( Kutty Padmini Sripriya etc ), Sr was a very very private person. just sitting in a corner of the set thinking about the next scene ( make up, costume or mostly the language ). a tleast she was given that privacy in the last few hours
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sanjana
March 2, 2018
There maybe reasons for those glasses apart from making a stylish statement. The stars may come with full eye makeup or without any and they may want to hide behind those glasses. They may not want to have eye contact with others due to the anxiety of being photographed by the media. To avoid shedding tears and showing emotions. I observed one star sporting red lipstick. And those designer white, off grey and light yellow clothes! Afterall it has also become a show of sorts. In south we dont have that dress code. But the people stick to sober dressing.
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Madan
March 2, 2018
“Afterall it has also become a show of sorts.” – And that is exactly my point and probably where Bhandarkar was going with that passage. Everything is a show in Bollywood, even somebody’s death. It wasn’t so a long, long time ago when the Kapoors, the Burmans etc made it the edifice it is today. And even then, Kishore Kumar thought the film industry was crazy. Maybe he would become a raving lunatic in today’s Bollywood.
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sanjana
March 2, 2018
Saw one clip of Madhuri and Sri dancing to songs like Sri doing dhak dhak karne lagaa and Madhuri dancing to mere haathon mein. Their styles are so different.
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Naveen
March 2, 2018
you can see the way media tortures these celebs. bollly has become like holly in this. i would only empathize with these stars for wearing dark glassess to avoid direct eye contact or camera lens contact.
i am sure they would be more normal when they are sure there are no prying lens or eyes, in privacy byte crazy media really drives them to be too circumspect. have observed that in the south too. too many youtube in the name of celebs with catchy title and no relevant content in those videos.
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rsylviana
March 2, 2018
After receiving the news,processing it and getting over the initial numbness of it all, I went on a huge marathon of all my favorite Sridevi performances from her movies. After sometime I went on fb and stumbled upon an ad where she is playing a zany mom and I finally realized what is glaringly missing in our actress’s performances these days. It was the complete disregard for vanity in front of the camera .Even in the sad scenes and dramatic scenes you can see them taking extra care to look good while emoting , while Sridevi’s features were doing a tiny little dance in her face in just the 2 minutes I saw her. Mind you , It was just an ad and here she was giving an act that would put all of Nayantara’s and Trisha’s filmfare awards to shame .
Sigh, there truly is/was/will be nobody like her!!
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Madan
March 3, 2018
“i am sure they would be more normal when they are sure there are no prying lens or eyes” – I agree with this up to a point but there is no need nor requirement of ageing/yesteryear stars to look good; I mean nobody is scrutinizing THEIR looks. So there is a vanity factor at work too. In Tamil, the biggest star doesn’t mind turning up old and balding in his off screen appearances. So there is something peculiar about Bollywood that way or I should say it is imitating its bigger sibling across the Atlantic in that regard.
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Madan
March 3, 2018
“while Sridevi’s features were doing a tiny little dance in her face in just the 2 minutes I saw her” – I just rewatched Mr India yesterday and yeah she was a real virtuoso when it came to facial expressions. Forget Trisha or Nayantara, even for those Bollywood actresses who ARE good at acting, like Kangana or Vidya Balan, it would be tough to match the speed at which Sridevi could flex her facial muscles. There may be other aspects like use of body language where she wasn’t quite so strong but when it came to using her face to convey the mood, she was pretty much unbeatable. Kamal is right to say they were like siblings and that some of her acting resembled his own.
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Anu Warrier
March 3, 2018
I agree with this up to a point but there is no need nor requirement of ageing/yesteryear stars to look good; I mean nobody is scrutinizing THEIR looks
Madan, did you have anyone particular in mind? Who among the yester year actors insists upon looking good? Waheeda, Asha Parekh, Sharmila, Hema, all come looking their age. Rekha, I think, is the only one who still dresses herself up.
Raakhee has her hair shorn and looks nothing like her on-screen self. Sadhana famously remained a recluse because she wanted to bed remembered the way she used to be. The men – Amitabh, Rishi, the late Vinod Khanna et al definitely don’t hide behind shades. In fact, Rishi mocked that habit of the present lot to walk with sunglasses and bodyguards. To be fair to them, today’s stars have stalkers, death threats, and an almost annoying set of fans who use their cameras to be self-anointed papparazzi. It can be scary.
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Madan
March 3, 2018
@ Anu Warrier: ” Who among the yester year actors insists upon looking good? Waheeda, Asha Parekh, Sharmila, Hema, all come looking their age. Rekha, I think, is the only one who still dresses herself up.” – I didn’t say they all insist on looking good. This was just with reference to the habit of wearing sunglasses when visiting to offer condolences to the bereaved and I said if it was only about looking good, why would veteran actors too resort to it. From the ageing stars club, Rekha, Shabana, Tanuja turned up in goggles. Those were others too like Farah or Sajid Khan who aren’t exactly renowned for their looks and who turned up in goggles. Maybe 50-50 among the oldies/non-hero/heroine category and 80-20 among the younger set. About the paparazzi, well, not many have been hounded by the media to the extent that Aishwarya Rai has been and she turned up without goggles. So I am not going to rule out other reasons like style statement, etc.
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Sriram
March 3, 2018
Just remembered Srividya – she is also as beautiful and skilled actress as Sridevi. Her early career was very similar to that of Sridevi – KB, Rajini, Kamal etc. She almost died an orphan someplace in Kerala. Commercial success is the only thing that matters?
We live in a world where we want to learn philosophy from Steve Jobs.
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sanjana
March 4, 2018
The other day an actress was criticised for smiling at someone when everybody looked serious and grave. She is a bad actress, I feel.
The actors and actresses are so well versed in expressing all sorts of emotions including grief and after the initial shock, are they all just acting? Or the occassion makes them realise that they are also going to be grieved and mourned one day sooner or later and that makes them serious and thoughtful?
The real emotions mix with the reel emotions for most of them. It is not their fault. Unless one experiences personal loss, all expressions are just expressions after the initial shock and sorrow.
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Madan
March 4, 2018
@Sriram: “We live in a world where we want to learn philosophy from Steve Jobs” – Not philosophy but marketing and design brilliance. Which he did seem to have by many accounts. But the larger point is philosophy is less valued in a materialistic society. Jobs is deified (to the point that fairly reasonable films made by two different directors did not pacify Apple fans) because he represents the aspiration. By implication,a less ‘successful’ (in a material sense) Srividya is not worth aspiring to irrespective of what acting skills she may possess. I would say Srividya is still an example of a very successful actress even if unheralded in death. There are many other artists further down the totem pole and not for lack of skill but lack of attention, lack of ‘destiny’ etc.
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Anu Warrier
March 4, 2018
Madan, thanks for clarifying the context. Yes, it always seems odd to me to see them in sunglasses for prayer meetings or condolence visits. You’re right that Aiswarya never seems to need them anywhere. It does seem to be a style statement.
I remember Rishi Kapoor mocking stars for wearing sunglasses at night when they get off a flight, etc. I remember thinking he was so right.
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Enna Koduka Sir Pera
March 5, 2018
I thought I was the only one who noticed the oddity of sunglasses at a funeral or condolence meeting until I read the comments here. But, are we being traditional to perceive it that way? Maybe they have a reason to wear it or maybe we should not read into it too much.. I remember how when I was young, my grand father used to comment that cricketers who removed their caps while receiving an award at the presentation ceremony following the game were decent and those who did not lacked manners. As I became older, I started questioning the notion of what is decency/manners.. does this act of taking your cap out or not wearing sunglasses at a funeral really describe the nature of a person? Just sharing the conflicting thoughts in my head..
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MANK
March 5, 2018
In Bollywood, every event is an opportunity for either film promotion or self promotion, birthdays , funerals, chautha , karva chauth, you name it. its a world of hypocrisy, hyperbole and superficiality. well all film industries are, but its particularly true about bollywood and Hollywood – just watch all the hullabaloo surrounding the oscars ceremony. i wouldn’t be surprised if Manish malhothra launches his funeral fashion line soon. In the south ,perhaps, there is still some sanity left
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sanjana
March 5, 2018
https://www.today.com/style/funeral-fashion-evolution-mourning-attire-1D79887634
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rsylviana
March 5, 2018
@MANK – Very true . People were making a huge hungama about Jacqueline Fernandez caught smiling in some of the funeral pics but I was more surprised to find Sonam Kapoor in full makeup and carefully- co ordinated clothes at the funeral. I can understand Jacqueline not being all somber throughout since like it or not Sridevi ji wouldn’t mean that much to an accidental actress(!) like her as much as she means to us . But Sridevi ji is Sonam’s family for crying out loud! Its disturbing in the least to find her own family coming all decked up to her funeral 😦
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sanjana
March 5, 2018
I dont think they have any uncoordinated stuff in their ward robes.
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Anu Warrier
March 5, 2018
But was Sonam in makeup – she didn’t look like it in the clips I saw – with her hair tied up and wearing her glasses. Colour-coordinated – eh – she was wearing white. Film folk seem to pull their whites out for funerals and prayer meetings anyway.
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Naveen
March 5, 2018
I would squarely blame the media for their desperate attempt to get any sound or photo bytes from anybody to do with film industry. film pp being film ppl, they understand that every bits and bytes will be published on all digital forums plus TV channels, so why not capitulate the opportunity. in most of these occassions, cameras peer into any car that would come by the gathering spot and let the car pass only after they have been honored with a clip. even the security is not able to do anything. it is death by media that is happening. there are hundred of false news videos created on you tube.
one such had posted a funeral video of Sri where Sri herself is walking in. apparently it was the funeral video os Mona Boney kapoor where Sri too had attended. this video was posted / dated before Sri’s final rites took place
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sanjana
March 5, 2018
Agree with Anu and Naveen on certain points.
Have we become too judgmental?
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Madan
March 6, 2018
@sanjana Eh, I think blaming the media is convenient when they also help stars orchestrate public opinion in their favour when they get into trouble. Media and filmstars have a parasitic relationship; they feed off each other. Filmstars get to stay in the limelight, which they love though most will publicly claim to hate it, and media gets the TRPs.
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sanjana
March 6, 2018
I think blaming the media is convenient when they also help stars orchestrate public opinion in their favour when they get into trouble. Media and filmstars have a parasitic relationship; they feed off each other. Filmstars get to stay in the limelight, which they love though most will publicly claim to hate it, and media gets the TRPs.
This is too true. They need each other.
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rsylviana
March 6, 2018
@Anu I saw Sonam Kapoor in pics and was able to make out the ‘nude-makeup look’ she had. Her cheeks were definitely made-up albeit not in an obvious way so there is a chance you might’ve missed it.
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sanjana
March 6, 2018
There maybe reasons.
Low self esteem and no confidence to look natural
Or force of habit.
For the sake of it one can look natural and unattractive.
Everything depends on the individuals and their choices.
In many parts of north india, women cover their heads when meeting elders. If they dont do so, they are labelled as disrespectful.
There is a slight similarity between these two instances because people are censured for what they do and for they do not do. Especially if they are women.
Can we just pass remarks based on these things? Sonam with slight makeup still maybe grieving for her aunt. Someone looking natural may get more marks because they appear natural.
Women who cover their heads may not be respectful and women who dont cover their heads may not be disrespectful.
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MANK
March 6, 2018
i think the balance of power is tilted much more in the favor of stars today. Earlier, say in the 80s and 90s, the stars needed the media much more than the media needed them. it was the only outlet available. there has been stars who acquired and maintained their stardom purely based on the support of the media. nowadays every star has his own twitter and facebook pages, every piece of information about a star is tightly controlled by stars publicist and media managers- something that did not exist earlier. Today the star’s publicist is more powerful than the star or the journalist. every scrap of information, every photograph is carefully selected and given (or leaked) to the media to build up the star’s image. There are no accidental or investigative news about the stars anymore
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Pavan
March 6, 2018
sanjana: Have we become too judgmental?
Try being non judgmental and you will never see black, leave alone shades of grey. Its all white. Painful enough to blind our eyes.
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sanjana
March 6, 2018
There is nothing like absolute white. It is always grey, more grey and dark.
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Naveen
March 6, 2018
when every tom, dick harry, geeta, seeta et al are so conscious of their presentation and would not step out without a bit of touch up even as the first thing in the morning, the stars who have to rely on their good looks as part of their profession can be forgiven for trying to feel comfortable with some make up and touch up.
Mank, yes media ( tv, print, digital ) need stars to catch attention of the public more than ever. stars always had the dubious distinction of leaking out personal news/kisu kisu through PR and reporters they trust to spread such news fast. this is teh age of sponsored news, so self-sponsored news is not a surprise. as viewers we learn to disregard certain channels/media automatically
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olemisstarana
March 7, 2018
@rsylvania: Judgmental? I’ll be, why thank you! How dare Sonam wear makeup! Why didn’t she rend her hair and do her best impression of a Rudaali – the nerve!
@MANK: What is appropriate funerary regalia, in your opinion? Can we point out examples of good and bad funeral fashion? For future reference, please? I must learn how to calibrate my outrage, after all.
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Rahini David
March 7, 2018
Most of what I wanted to say.
http://seemagoswami.blogspot.fr/2013/12/dearly-departed.html
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rsylviana
March 7, 2018
@olemisstarana – Think I’m being too harsh and judgemental ?! Cool, that is your opinion and you are allowed to have one.
Peace !
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Vivek narain
March 7, 2018
What strikes me is that rsylviana has twice been addressed as sylvania. Wolf Larsen insisted on calling Johnson as Yonson and Saint called Jimmy as Oswald, a neighbour of mine always calls a person named Munna lal as Panna lal. Very interesting psychology that has endured over the centuries.
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rsylviana
March 7, 2018
@Vivek narain –
Thanks for noticing and mentioning the typo! Having a name like this, I have made peace with the fact that 90% of the people are not gonna get it right the first time either while speaking or writing. Autocorrect hasn’t been helping things either.
But I don’t get the psychology bit in your comment. Care to explain ?
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olemisstarana
March 7, 2018
@rsylvania – oh not at all. I agree with you. Women these days I tell you. Nude makeup? The horror. I think she should cover herself in black for 40 days and 40 nights and smash all her mirrors to avoid even a hint of vanity. Also, thank you so much for allowing me my opinion – I wasn’t sure I was allowed one! Peace right back at ya 🙂
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Vivek narain
March 7, 2018
Never mind the explanation, whatever you write now would be marvelous. It’s only tired and disillusioned people who have to seek sensations.
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sanjana
March 9, 2018
So many things are happening in quick succession that we move on to the next unknowingly.
How quickly everything becomes history!
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Naveen
March 9, 2018
very quickly all of us will be history
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sanjana
March 9, 2018
‘very quickly all of us will be history’.
One by one sooner or later. Unless some catastrophe takes place to take everyone in one go.
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olemisstarana
March 10, 2018
@MANK – “In Bollywood, every event is an opportunity for either film promotion or self promotion, birthdays , funerals, chautha , karva chauth, you name it. its a world of hypocrisy, hyperbole and superficiality. well all film industries are, but its particularly true about bollywood and Hollywood – just watch all the hullabaloo surrounding the oscars ceremony. i wouldn’t be surprised if Manish malhothra launches his funeral fashion line soon. In the south ,perhaps, there is still some sanity left”
Are you tetching about beautiful people who are paid to look beautiful doing their job? Should they just wear old skechers and torn jeans all the time? In the south there is sanity left? What do you even mean by all this?
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tonks
November 13, 2018
I rewatched Lamhe today. I had watched it earlier many years back, and the story was just as moving and affecting today as it was then. Sridevi and Anil Kapoor have acted so well, and it’s romance is realistic and handled with a sensibility that is unusual for Hindi commercial cinema of that time. I hear it did not do well in India because the audience thought the second relationship incestuous, but that it was a huge overseas hit.
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Jennifer Johnson
May 31, 2019
I happened to see a “Telugu hits of Sridevi” playlist on YouTube yesterday and, being only familiar with Sridevi’s Hindi songs and a handful of Tamil ones, I took a look. I was shocked. I mean, I’ve seen Sridevi work with much older actors in Tamil and Hindi cinema, but when she was doing a lot of Telugu films, she was clearly a teenager and the heroes (I’ve looked them up) were 20 or more years older than she! Why was this EVER allowed? There are scenes of her in PIGTAILS dancing with the actor Krishna who was easily in his late 30s. It’s like watching a pedophile stalk his next victim. And yes, the Tamil song “Illamai yennum poongatru” is disgusting in its own right. I can only imagine what was done to this young girl off camera. Hopefully, she is now at peace.
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MANK
August 13, 2023
Happy Heavenly Birthday to Sridevi, my all time favorite actress, the most influential and the one and only true Pan India star we ever had. She would have been 60 today. Thank you Google for the Doodle celebrating the superstar who left us so early. I’m getting very emotional writing this, having just finished watching two of her films back to back. What an actress! what charisma, what screen presence.. there will never be anyone like you. The woman, who has been an immense source of joy for me and millions of her admirers, deserved much better in life and death.
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MANK
August 13, 2023
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