‘Like Sridevi, we can battle and rise above every adversity’
The idea of the book had originated in my mind years before Sridevi’s tragic demise. I have always been her admirer and wanted to write a book that captured her incredible cinematic journey,” says Satyarth Nayak the author of late Sridevi’s biography, Sridevi - The Eternal Screen Goddess . It was in 2017 when his idea finally crystallised. The year was when she completed 50 years in Indian cinema and Mom released as her 300th film. “It was a milestone year in her career and I approached Boney (Kapoor; her husband) sir with my book proposal. He was excited about the idea and he spoke to Sridevi about it. However, at that point of time, Janhvi (Kapoor; her daughter) had just signed up for Dhadak (2018) and Sridevi wanted to focus all her energies on her daughter’s big debut. So, she proposed that we start the book after the release of Dhadak,” says the author.
“That was the original plan, but then 24th February (2017) happened and suddenly Sridevi was no longer amidst us. I was shattered, like millions of her fans across the globe. But then, this was something I owed her and I began work on the book,” adds the author, of the bestselling novel, The Emperor’s Riddles.
The author adds that the only apprehension that he had was how to condense her prolific five-decade-long journey into a book. “Indian cinema is 100 years old and Sridevi owns fifty years of that,” he says.
A result of one-and-a-half years of research, a lot of the
In the book, you also get to know how she battled her father’s sudden death, her mother’s botched-up brain surgery in New York (USA) and how she became a messiah for the LGBTQ+ community.
SATYARTH NAYAK, AUTHOR
content came as first-hand information from Sridevi’s family, friends and colleagues. A diehard Sridevi fan, Nayak owns a stack of film magazines from the ’80s and ’90s filled with interviews of the timeless actor through various stages of her career. “In her absence, those quotes became her voice in my book. When you read those, you will get glimpses of both the person and the performer that she was. Those were my main research components and my narrative becomes the glue that holds it all together,” he says.
The author met numerous people who were close to the late actor to complete his book. “Down south, I interviewed some of her biggest heroes such as Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna along with veterans — Sowcar Janaki, Bharathiraja and Raghavendra Rao — who had seen her grow from a child star to India’s First Female Superstar,” he says, adding, “In Mumbai, I spoke to her costars such as Anil Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Jeetendra etc. Even veterans — Lata Mangeshkar, Javed Akhtar, Waheeda Rehman and her directors — Shekhar Kapur, Mahesh Bhatt, and Ravi Udyawar — have contributed a lot.”
Nayak was never worried about making the book a pageturner because “the facts of Sridevi’s journey are so astounding that they have made the book a gripping read”. He adds, “She became an actor at the age of four and became a leading lady at the age of twelve! Despite knowing only Tamil and Telugu, she acted in five industries and ultimately became India’s No 1 female actor and pan-India megastar.”
And why wouldn’t it be? His research was not confined to Sridevi — the star, but the daughter too. “In the book, you get to know how she battled her father’s sudden death and her mother’s botched-up brain surgery in New York (USA). How she became a messiah for the LGBTQ+ community, how she and Boney sir came close, and how she made that comeback after 15 years with English Vinglish (2012). This is the biggest takeaway for anyone who reads this book that like Sridevi, we can battle and rise above every adversity,” he concludes.