From shy to vivacious at the sound of ‘action’
Neeraja.Ramesh@timesgroup.com
Sridevi was an actor’s actor and a director’s delight. Those in the industry who knew her best attest to the fact that Sridevi was innately shy, facing the camera and with the director ready to roll, whatever inhibitions she may have had would vanish at once: The transformation was instantaneous, only the character remained for the take.
Producer-actor Raadhika Sarath Kumar, who worked on several films with Sridevi, says she could not recall any director asking the actor for a retake. “On the sets of ‘Pokiri Raja’ (1982), we had great fun. She used to tease Rajinikanth, and he, in turn, used to chase us with rubber snakes on the sets,” says Raadhika of Sridevi, who died Saturday at the age of 54.
Raadhika though says Sridevi became a different person when she moved to Bollywood. “She began to keep to herself. When asked why she was aloof, her reply would be she is a heroine who couldn’t be herself even if she wanted to,” says Raadhika.
Khushbu, another star of the 80s, says that after her success, Sridevi began to build a wall around her, allowing only a few into her inner circle. “I was in that inner circle. She always encouraged me. She was a true Tamil superstar.”
When her counterparts of the 1980s had resigned themselves to running around trees, Sridevi decided to step into the sun, taking on roles from directors like Bharathiraja, K Balachander and Balu Mahendra that allowed her to show off her versatility.
Her comic sense especially stood out, leaving the rest of her competition sulking in the melodrama of their typecast roles. Among her memorable comic roles is that in ‘Meendum Kokila’, where she starred with Kamal Haasan, playing a barely educated Brahmin woman who is taken out to a formal sit-down dinner by her husband (played by Kamal). He insists that she use the cutlery and she accidentally sends her food flying directly into another woman’s bosom. Sridevi’s expressions in this scene are adorable.
In her comeback film ‘English Vinglish’, Shashi (Sridevi) keeps rehearsing her lines before she meets the immigration official who asks her purpose of the US visit, she nervously answers “My sister has come to attend my wedding”. What she meant was that she had come to attend her sister’s daughter’s wedding. Such natural acting accompanied with cuteness can be done only by Sridevi, says film critic Subhaguna Rajan. She has been in the company of Savithri, Saroja Devi and J Jayalalithaa, what else to expect when you learn acting from stalwarts.
“She had this innocence which no actor could pull off, even if they tried to. Movies were her life,” says Khushbu.
UNFORGETTABLE MOVIES
GAAYATHRI (1977) As a film that talks about the adult film industry, it was a trendsetter. She plays a woman married to a producer of adult films, who tries to sell provocative footages of his wife. Cast opposite Rajinikanth, a young Sridevi is evocative in the role of a woman who is betrayed and exploited but fights back.
16 VAYATHINILE (1978) The child actor who graduated with this film, delivering a power-packed performance in the K Balachander film. She plays a 16-year-old who is secretly loved by Chappani. But she falls for a city doctor, who actually plans to take advantage of her.
VARUMAYIN NIRAM SIGAPPU (1980) The film depicts the struggles of youth and their disillusionment with society. Sridevi plays the role of a woman who struggles to make her ends meet with no support from her dad
SIGAPPU ROJAKKAL
(1978) Bharathiraja bolstered Sridevi’s acting skills by casting her in a film, which required a nuanced portrayal. She is pitted against Kamal Haasan, who plays an antihero, who preys on innocent women
Neeraja.Ramesh@timesgroup.com
Sridevi was an actor’s actor and a director’s delight. Those in the industry who knew her best attest to the fact that Sridevi was innately shy, facing the camera and with the director ready to roll, whatever inhibitions she may have had would vanish at once: The transformation was instantaneous, only the character remained for the take.
Producer-actor Raadhika Sarath Kumar, who worked on several films with Sridevi, says she could not recall any director asking the actor for a retake. “On the sets of ‘Pokiri Raja’ (1982), we had great fun. She used to tease Rajinikanth, and he, in turn, used to chase us with rubber snakes on the sets,” says Raadhika of Sridevi, who died Saturday at the age of 54.
Raadhika though says Sridevi became a different person when she moved to Bollywood. “She began to keep to herself. When asked why she was aloof, her reply would be she is a heroine who couldn’t be herself even if she wanted to,” says Raadhika.
Khushbu, another star of the 80s, says that after her success, Sridevi began to build a wall around her, allowing only a few into her inner circle. “I was in that inner circle. She always encouraged me. She was a true Tamil superstar.”
When her counterparts of the 1980s had resigned themselves to running around trees, Sridevi decided to step into the sun, taking on roles from directors like Bharathiraja, K Balachander and Balu Mahendra that allowed her to show off her versatility.
Her comic sense especially stood out, leaving the rest of her competition sulking in the melodrama of their typecast roles. Among her memorable comic roles is that in ‘Meendum Kokila’, where she starred with Kamal Haasan, playing a barely educated Brahmin woman who is taken out to a formal sit-down dinner by her husband (played by Kamal). He insists that she use the cutlery and she accidentally sends her food flying directly into another woman’s bosom. Sridevi’s expressions in this scene are adorable.
In her comeback film ‘English Vinglish’, Shashi (Sridevi) keeps rehearsing her lines before she meets the immigration official who asks her purpose of the US visit, she nervously answers “My sister has come to attend my wedding”. What she meant was that she had come to attend her sister’s daughter’s wedding. Such natural acting accompanied with cuteness can be done only by Sridevi, says film critic Subhaguna Rajan. She has been in the company of Savithri, Saroja Devi and J Jayalalithaa, what else to expect when you learn acting from stalwarts.
“She had this innocence which no actor could pull off, even if they tried to. Movies were her life,” says Khushbu.
UNFORGETTABLE MOVIES
GAAYATHRI (1977) As a film that talks about the adult film industry, it was a trendsetter. She plays a woman married to a producer of adult films, who tries to sell provocative footages of his wife. Cast opposite Rajinikanth, a young Sridevi is evocative in the role of a woman who is betrayed and exploited but fights back.
16 VAYATHINILE (1978) The child actor who graduated with this film, delivering a power-packed performance in the K Balachander film. She plays a 16-year-old who is secretly loved by Chappani. But she falls for a city doctor, who actually plans to take advantage of her.
VARUMAYIN NIRAM SIGAPPU (1980) The film depicts the struggles of youth and their disillusionment with society. Sridevi plays the role of a woman who struggles to make her ends meet with no support from her dad
SIGAPPU ROJAKKAL
(1978) Bharathiraja bolstered Sridevi’s acting skills by casting her in a film, which required a nuanced portrayal. She is pitted against Kamal Haasan, who plays an antihero, who preys on innocent women
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