Sridevi: A Fan’s Tribute

I have admired many actresses, appreciated many career choices, and applauded many performances. But when it comes to unabashed adoration, there’s been only Sridevi. Ever since shooting stills of a whip-wielding lass standing in an off-shoulder black dress on the shores of Godavari at Rajahmundry flooded the film magazines in early 1983, I joined her fandom for life. There isn’t a single Hindi film of hers (barring probably a few dubbed films that hardly got a proper release) that I haven’t watched. The quality of films (which was mostly pathetic in the first phase of her Hindi film career) didn’t matter. As long as she was in a film, I had to watch it. That I lived in a place that did not have enough theatres to run her new releases didn’t matter either. There were enough ‘video-cafes’ around playing horrendous pirated VHS prints of her latest releases.

Being a fan implies being irrational. When the film rags started playing up Jaya Prada as her rival, I started ‘hating’ Jaya Prada. When Padmalaya ditched her in Kaamyaab and came up with the publicity stunt – “She is not Sridevi, She is Radha”, I prayed hard for the film to flop. And when Tezaab became a national craze and The Illustrated Weekly ran the cover story – “Sridevi is Out, Madhuri is In”, I was livid! And conflicted! For, I couldn’t get myself to ‘dislike’ Madhuri. Sridevi remained my deity, although Madhuri too climbed up the pantheon. The walls of my hostel room were testimony to this. One wall had pictures of Madhuri, while the other – bigger, I must add – had Sridevi in all her avatars.

Those were pre-Internet, pre-TV days, so all our information came from magazines. I devoured every available film magazine just to see what Sridevi was up to, which ‘heroes’ she was working with, how her films were doing, etc., etc. Every flop of hers dejected me, while I was elated with every hit.

My film memories of the 1980s are all about Sridevi – Getting scandalized by a top rated ‘winking’ song on Binaca Geet mala, while still waiting desperately to watch the film; getting dejected for not getting a ticket for Justice Chowdhury and making up for it immediately by watching it at a video café bang opposite the theatre that turned us away; escaping ragging at college by going off almost every single day to watch Mr. India in a dilapidated Varanasi theatre; watching Chandni first day, first show, first row, first seat, even if that meant seeing Sridevi miraculously get slimmer as she walked from my end of the 70 mm screen to the other….

Sridevi’s stardom came at a time when the music in Hindi films was at its worst, but her sheer presence was enough for me to watch her perform to those songs. Rarely did I turn my attention to the hero sharing the frame with her. To the Sridevi fan in me, she is as much about those inane (at time vulgar) Jeetendra-Bappi Lahiri-Indeevar-Asha-Kishore songs choreographed like a PT routine than she is about one-woman variety show like Hawa Hawai or chiffon clad Yash Chopra heroine prancing around in foreign locales.

Here is a sampling of some of her songs, which are neither her best (or even good) nor the most popular, but do provide a glimpse into the kind of films, songs, actors and singers that define her Hindi film career.

• Saath Mere Aaogi–Justice Chowdhuri (1983)–Asha Bhosle & Kishore Kumar–Bappi Lahiri–Indeevar

• Oye Oye Oye Garmi Hai–Maqsad (1984)–S. Janaki & Kishore Kumar–Bappi Lahiri–Indeevar

• Superfast Love–Bhagwan Dada (1986)–Anuradha Paudwal & Kishore Kumar–Rajesh Roshan–Farouq Kaiser

• Jeevan Jyot Jale–Aulad (1987)–Kavita Krishnamurthy–Laxmikant Pyarelal–S. H Bihari

• Tere Aaane Se–Sherni (1987)–Sadhana Sargam–Kalyanji Anandji–Indeevar

• Jab Pyar Kiya–Watan Ke Rakhwale (1987)–Anuradha Paudwal & Mod. Aziz–Laxmikant Pyarelal–Majrooh Sultanpuri

• Dhola Dhol Manjira–Joshilay (1989)–Asha Bhosle & Suresh Wadkar–Rahul Dev Burman–Javed Akhtar

• Are You Ready–Naakabandi (1990)–Usha Uthup–Bappi Lahiri -Anjaan

• Yaad Nahin Bhool Gaya–Lamhe (1991)–Lata Mangeshkar & Suresh Wadkar–Shiv-Hari–Anand Bakshi

• Mere Watan Mein–Khuda Gawah (1992)–Alka Yagnik & Suresh Wadkar–Laxmikant Pyarelal–Anand Bakshi

• Jaanewale Zara Ruk Ja–Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993)–Laxmikant Pyarelal–Javed Akhtar

• I am Very Very Sorry–Chaand Ka Tukda (1994)–Lata Mangeshkar & Vipin Sachdeva–Mahesh Kishor–Sawan Kumar Tak

• Dhak Dhak Dil Dhadak Raha Hai–Laadla (1994)–Poornima–Anand Milind–Sameer

• Mujhe Ek Pal Chain Na Aaye–Judaai (1997)–Jaspinder Narula & Hariharan–Nadeem Shravan–Sameer