Box office queen

Top 10 films which made Sridevi the Indian cinema icon she is.

ACTOR par excellence, dancer extraordinaire and possibly the only among her contemporaries to master a comic timing, Sridevi leaves behind a void impossible to fill.

Sridevi passed away after a massive cardiac arrest in Dubai on Feb 24, at the age of 54.

Across a span of 300 films and 50 years, she enjoyed diverse roles and an opportunity to reach out to different sections of the audience. In an interview with Hindustan Times, she had spoken about her love of being the leading lady in multiple projects.

“I got to wear different clothes, I got to do the best roles. If the picture does well, I’m surprised and happy; and if it doesn’t do well, it’s part of your profession. You see what went wrong and try not to do the same mistake,” she had said.

Awarded the Padma Shri in 2013, Sridevi was known to be reserved and generally kept to herself. Reminiscing about a meeting with her, actor Juhi Chawla said: “We lived in the same building. Once in a while when I would go for a walk, I would see her jogging, with earphones plugged in. I would often see her taking evening walks when there would be fewer people around. She would often say hello. She was very shy and would prefer to be on her own. I met her on several occasions and she has always been very sweet and soft-spoken in real life as well. She kept more to herself. She was just fabulous and magical on screen and I will always be her fan.”

Married to producer Boney Kapoor in 1996, Sridevi took an eight-year sabbatical from Hindi movies before returning with English Vinglish in 2012, a comeback that was received warmly by the audience.

Sridevi’s last film in the Southern film industry was a Tamil fantasy film, Puli (2015), which won her many accolades. The actor was to be seen next in a cameo in Zero, directed by filmmaker Anand L. Rai.