Sridevi was a versatile actress
Writer Taraprasad MIshra
Jajpur,Jan 6 : Sridevi was a versatile actress and has starred in a number of tamil, telugu, hindi, Malayalam and kannada films. She was the first woman to be named as Bollywood’s female ‘Superstar’. She was the ‘No.1 Actress’ of bollywood during her peak. She was awarded the ‘PadmaShri‘ award which was the fourth civilian award of India, in the year 2013. She was very clear in choosing her roles and she performed excellently in whichever role she played. She was the ‘Dream Girl’ during her golden period 1980-2012. Actress Sridevi was born on 13th of August 1963 at Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu. She was born to Ayyappan and Rajeswari.
Her father was Tamil and her mother was Telugu. She had a sister and two stepbrothers. Her father was a lawyer. He passed away in the year 1991 and her mother passed away in 1997. Some sources say that her mother was a dancer in films. Having started her career at a very small age, she did not have much time to concentrate on her studies. Her parents were not able to cope up with both films and education. So, when she had to choose between her films and studies, she chose films and so she missed out her education.
She was the sole earner and the only financial support to her family. She was not a trained professional in dance, but she was considered one of the finest dancers. She was regarded by media as the most iconic lady of Bollywood. She was also considered as a dexterous comedian. She has also developed a passion towards painting. Her paintings were sold by an international art auction where money raised was donated. Initially, she did not know many languages but, later she became fluent in tamil, hindi, telugu and English. She was married to Mithun Chakraborty in 1985 which was not a happy one and they got divorced in 1988. Later she married Boney Kapoor in 1996 and they have two daughters Jhanvi and Khushi.
She stepped foot in the cine industry at the tiny age of four. She played the role of young Lord Muruga in the Tamil film Thunaivan and has acted in a number of telugu and tamil films thereby. She made her debut in telugu film industry with the film ‘ Maa Nanna Nirdoshi’ in 1970. In 1971, she was awarded ‘Kerala State Film Award’ for best child artist for the film ‘Poompattu’. Some of her remarkable films as a child artist were Kandan Karunai(1967), Nam Naaadu (1969), Prarthanai (1970), Babu (1971), Badi Panthulu (1972), Vasantha Maaligai (1972), and many more. She made her debut in Bollywood in 1975 with the film ‘Julie’ as the Heroine’s sister. She has acted in 63 Hindi movies, 62 Telugu Movies, 58 Tamil movies, and 21 Malayalam movies during the period of 1967 to 2007. Her first film as a heroine in Tamil industry was in K.Balachandar’s ‘Moondru Mudichu’ in the year 1976. Her first film as a heroine in hindi was ‘Solva Sawan’ in 1979. She gave back to back romantic hits with Kamal Hassan during 1977-1983 in Kollywood. During 1983-1988 she acted in 16 films in Bollywood with Jeetendra, of which 11 were massive hits.
She was the only actress who rocked the Indian film industry by working with actors of literally three generations. In Tamil, she has worked with MGR, Sivaji Ganesan, Kamal Hassan, Rajinikanth, Ajith Kumar and Vijay as well. Her remarkable acting in ‘Himmatwala’ earned her the famous sobriquet ‘Miss Thunder Thighs’. Her film ‘Mr.India’ was considered as one of the most iconic films of that period. She was called the ‘Undisputed No.1’ in the box office. She was the highest paid actress in the 1990’s. She was also a member of board of directors at the ‘Asian Academy of Film & Television’. After the release of ‘Judaai’ in 1997, she took a huge break from acting. After a six-year hiatus, she briefly appeared in the TV show ‘Malini Iyer’. She gave a great comeback with the film ‘English Vinglish’ in the year 2012. During that time Sridevi was hailed as the ‘Meryl Streep of India’. She was ranked as the ‘No.1 Bollywood actress’ in the year 2012. Later she played the role of the evil queen in ‘Puli’ in 2014.
She played a challenging role in ‘Mom’ which was released in July 2017. She has been nominated for 8 Filmfare awards of which she won six awards. She has received a number of awards and honors for her marvelous contribution to the Indian Film Industry. She made her debut as the fashion model in 2008. She modeled for two designers Priya and Chintan at Lakme Fashion Week. She has also appeared in covers of several fashion magazines. In 2007, she was featured on the cover of ‘Hi Blitz’ with the tagline ‘The Goddess Returns’. She appeared on the cover of ‘Vogue’ which was mentioned in various newspapers.
Sridevi married film producer Boney Kapoor on June 2, 1996. Boney and his first wife Mona Shourie Kapoor had accommodated Sridevi in their home during Sridevi’s stay in Mumbai. At that time Boney and Mona had been married for several years and had two children Arjun and Anshula. Mona Kapoor stayed in Boney Kapoor’s parents home for 10 years after the divorce to give her children a sense of family. Boney Kapoor and Sridevi have two daughters: Jhanvi and Khushi. Actress Sridevi died due to accidental drowning in a bath tub in her hotel on February 24, 2018. It was earlier reported that she died due to cardiac arrest. Dubai Police have issued the forensic report on Sridevi’s death to her family. Actress Sridevi died due to accidental drowning in a bath tub in her hotel on February 24, 2018. It was earlier reported that she died due to cardiac arrest. Dubai Police have issued the forensic report on Sridevi’s death to her family.
