Gone too soon:
FANS, FRIENDS AND THE FILM FRATERNITY STUNNED BY THE SUDDEN DEATH OF THE BEAUTIFUL AND TALENTED SRIDEVI AT 54
For acting and dancing legend Sridevi, her entire world revolved around her children and her family. “Being a housewife is a fulltime job. My children, my husband and my house — are all I can think about all day. I am always assisting my daughters,” Sridevi had said during her last interview with the writer of this story. “By constantly keeping in touch with them like this, I am not turning them into spoiled brats, but they are all dependant on me for the smallest of things, and I like helping them always,” she had said.
As a doting mother, Sridevi was always protective of her kids. Throughout last year, she was mentoring elder daughter Jahnvi Kapoor for her acting debut with
D had ak. Unfortunately, the dream remains unfulfilled. On Sunday, millions of fans woke up to the news of the demise of the celebrated actress, at the age of 54. Sridevi was in Dubai with her family and close relatives for the wedding of her nephew Mohit Marwah when she got a cardiac arrest. A nation mourned.
The doe- eyed diva was never nervous in front the camera. At the age of four, Sridevi made her debut with the Tamil devotional film Thunaivan. Her first Hindi film was Julie in 1975, where she played the role of the leading lady’s younger sister. However, it was Himmatwala alongside Jeetendra that made her a favourite among her audiences.
Subhash Ghai recalls working with Sridevi in Karma in 1985. “Sridevi was a quiet lady with a bundle of talent — it was pure magic watching her on the screen. The country can never get another star like her,” he says. Sridevi was known to be a shy, quiet person, but the actress was a powerhouse of talent. “She was an introvert by nature, but the minute she was in front of the camera, she was filled with a certain electricity. She would shock directors with each shot she gave. Be it dancing, working in a drama or romantic film, she was an uncrowned queen of acting in all languages in her times,” he says.
The actress was never worn down by the trappings of her role. Perhaps what worked best in Sridevi’s favour was the manner in which she excelled in her comic timing, especially in ChaalBaaz, where she played the double role of a street- smart girl and a docile, shy one. With Nagina ( 1986), the role of a shapeshifting woman who is actually a snake in the human form, Sridevi proved that she was nothing less than her male counterparts. She displayed her apparent effortlessness once again, with Lamhe, where played the double role of a mother and daughter. With a vast body of work limited to not just the Hindi film industry but across languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Malayam and Kannada industry, Sridevi has a fan following in millions.
Subhash remembers her fondly as someone who prioritised her family. “Boney is a dear friend and as result, I have known Sridevi closely. She was an out and out traditional housewife and a great, loving mother,” he says.
The Nightingale of the Country, Lata Mangeshkar also has fond memories to remember the actress by. “Both our families have been very close all these years. Whenever there was a family function, Sridevi would make sure to visit, and come along with her husband. She was always warm and affectionate,” she says.
Remembering the work they have done together, Lata says, “Sridevi has lip- synced some of my best songs in recent years including the iconic Mere haathon mein nau nau churiya hain in Chandni and Morni baghan ma in Lamhe. Her expressions in these two dance numbers matched my voice. I used to always feel happy watching her dance to my songs. Maze ki baat yeh hai, Sridevi told me she never learnt dancing! When she was a child, she just followed the dance steps that were given to her. She learnt to dance on camera. And to be so good at it!”
The veteran singer finds it unbelievable that we have lost Sridevi this early. “She was so young and beautiful — she had such a long way to go!”
Vandana Omung Kumar, who designed the late actress’ house, shares that Sridevi was very specific about her requirements for her abode. “She briefed me about how exactly she wanted her house to look like. She invested a lot of time and energy in the building of that house and gave her best to make the house their home,” she says.
Rohini Hattangadi, who worked alongside Sridevi in the very popular ChaalBaaz, laments the untimeliness of her demise. “It is so shocking
— 54 is no age to leave the world. Fortunately, I got to work with her in three to four films,” she says. “She was reserved in real life, and never gossip or roam around the sets. But the minute the director said action, you could see a different version of Sridevi altogether,” recalls Rohini, admiring in her memories the beauty and brilliance of the diva that S ride vi was.
She was so young and beautiful — she had such a long way to go — LATA MANGESHKAR