“Sadma’s lullaby haunts me now,” a grief-stricken Kamal Haasan tweeted on Sridevi’s sudden demise. The 1983 Sadma, which featured Sridevi and Haasan, truly belonged to the actress rightly called the ‘lady superstar of Bollywood’. Her spectacular performance as Nehalatha, a woman who regresses into childhood after a head injury also won her a Filmfare Award.
Sridevi, who made her Bollywood debut in 1978 with Solva Sawan, went to on pair with big names of Bollywood like Jeetendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Kamal Haasan, and delivered evergreen hits. While many of them like Chandni, Nagina, Mr India were purely commercial box office hits, others like Sadma, Lamhe and Khuda Gawah brought the actress critical acclaim. She will be remembered for her nuanced performances, her screen presence, impeccable comic timing, graceful dance moves and the elan with which she carried herself.
She made a striking comeback to Bollywood after a hiatus of 15 years, with Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish in 2012. Her performance as a middle class woman struggling to learn English to gain the acceptance of her family proved that she was here to stay. The role connected with Indian audience across the world, and won her accolades. She was back in 2017 with MOM, a revenge drama which portrayed a mother’s struggle to avenge her daughter’s horrific death. According to reports, Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Zero, set to release this year, could be the last we see Sridevi on the silver screen. Sridevi is said to have made a cameo appearance in the film.
As Bollywood bids farewell to the legendary actress, here’s remembering some of her diverse roles.
1. Lamhe (1991): Sridevi’s double role in this Yash Chopra film was one of her all-time bests. She plays the role of a mother and daughter, and bagged the Filmfare Award for best actress. With a serious tone, this was very different from the double role she played in Chaalbaaz (1989). Quite reminiscent of Hema Malini’s Seeta aur Geeta, comedy drama Chaalbaaz saw Sridevi essay twin sisters Anju and Manju.
2. Nagina (1986): Considered a cult classic, this film totally belonged to Sridevi who played the role of a nagin who takes human form to avenge her partner’s death.
3. Mr India ( 1987): A movie that well exploited Sridevi’s fine comic timing, she will forever be remembered for the song Hawa Hawai, and her imitation of Charlie Chaplin. In this ‘sci-fi’ film starring Anil Kapoor, she played a journalist who sets out in search of an exclusive story. She ends up in the middle of a plot, with Kapoor and a bunch of children, trying to save the nation from Mogambo.
4. Chandni (1989): Playing the titular role, Sridevi mesmerised the audience in this with a soul-stirring performance in this Yash Chopra film. The romantic drama also featured Rishi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna.
5. Laadla (1994): Yet another hit with Anil Kapoor, this film saw Sridevi in the role of a successful, domineering businesswoman. Delivering a strong performance, she transitions well from the fiery woman who would not be adhere to stereotypes, to a humble woman who realises her mistakes. And the film was famous for her dialogue: "Understand? You better understand.”