We all know about Mr India, Chalbaaz, Sadma, Chandni and Lamhe… Whenever Sridevi is mentioned, these iconic films are bound to be referenced. But Sridevi was capable of much more than meets the sigh. She is the only living or non-living actor I know who could shine in the tackiest of films. Kichad mein kamal. Slush mein Sridevi? You got it. She could fling a feast of expressions into the most mundane of movies. Here, we are looking at Sridevi in her less-celebrated film.
1.Kshana Kshanam in Telugu directed by that diehard Sribhakt Ram Gopal Varma (who once sneered enviously, “Why did she have to marry HIM?”). In this rugged road movie, Sri played a chick on the run with Venkatesh while a bunch of goons led by Paresh Rawal chased her down. I have not seen any actress do the damsel-in-distress act so convincingly. When the goons swoop down on her she gives those cute-fright looks of a child being pursued by goblins. We know nobody could hurt this adorable child-woman, and she knew that we knew.
2. Army: Even in the worst of circumstances—and it couldn’t get any worse than the ceaseless string of armpit-level potboilers she did in the South with Jeetendra in the 1970s and 80s—Sridevi dazzled.
I once asked her how she managed to do so-so in-it in potty-boilers like Justice Chowdhary, Jaani Dost, Mawaali and Akalmand; she rewarded me with her girlish laughter and said, “I don’t think of it as good films and films. That is for you, the audience, and the critics to decide. For me, they are all equally important. I give the same level of concentration. If I am on the sets, I completely block out all thoughts of what my daughters must be doing or whether Boney has eaten his lunch.”
This explains why a film like Army, reeking of retro-rancidity, was so remarkable. In the feverishly fatuous film, Sridevi played Sanjeev Kumar from Sholay. A prettier version, and with hands intact (hence arm-y, get it?) Sri was stunning as she led a five-man …errrr….army of avengers seeking to annihilate villain Danny Denzongpa for murdering Sri’s husband played by Shah Rukh Khan.
This was the only film that brought Sri and Shah together. And this was the only time he agreed to paste a moustache on his face to look convincing as her spouse. “I would have stuck on a beard and five moles on my cheeks and pillow on my tummy to be cast opposite her,” he enthused.
We feel for you, Shah Rukh.
In Army, Sri had a meltdown sequence where she had to first laugh at her husband’s inert figure, thinking he was playing a prank on her, and then shriek in pain as she realizes that he is actually dead . It is among the most dramatically effective moments in the history of Indian cinema, alas , embedded in a film so trashy it gives trash a bad name.
3. Speaking of Sri in slush, try Judaai, directed by the late Raj Kanwar (nice guy) and produced by Sri’s darling husband Boney; it is a textbook on politically incorrect filmmaking, with Sri playing a human banshee screaming and swearing at her working-class husband Anil Kapoor until he marries the moneyed Urmila Matondkar. There is a sequence where the repentant wife goes back to her old home when things are normal…Sri’s expressions of regret and remorse blow the screen apart.
Sridevi was the power of a performing tornado. She took over the screen and led audiences into a world of wondrous emotions, all duly processed for ingestion. I remember her in Laadla (again directed by Raj Kanwar and co-starring Anil Kapoor), where she played a rich, spoilt magnate of a company. The way Sri dominated the screen, she actually made Kapoor look like her minion.
4. In Laadla, Sri had taken over a role earmarked for Divya Bharti, who suddenly tripped and died. Who was to know Sridevi, too, would be snuffed out suddenly under very mysterious circumstances? We still don’t know why she had to go so abruptly. But we do know that every time we see her in the two abominations Chand Ka Tukda and Chandramukhi with Salman Khan (I watch them, trying to obliterate her co-star by shutting one eye) where she played the title roles (of course, what else!), we suddenly felt kinder towards her co-star’s performing abilities. Sridevi exuded a kind of beauty that made those around her look better than they actually were. Boney Kapoor would vouch for that.
5. Heer Ranjha: Okay, so this take on the legendary love lament was not as successful as Chetan Anand’s Heer Ranjha. But by jove, did you see Sridevi as Heer? Far more radiant and unforgettable than Priya Rajvansh in Chetan Anand’s classic. Heer Ranjha was an ambitious film featuring Sri with her future brother-in-law Anil Kapoor and a terrific music score by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. But the film didn’t work. See it now for Sridevi’s ethereal beauty and her irresistible screen presence. When she sings ‘Rab ne banaya mujhe tere liye’ in Lata Mangeshkar’s pristine voice, time really stands still. I kid you not! Sridevi possessed this unique ability to rise above the most banal of scripts. She didn’t need direction. All she needed was to be told which way the camera was placed. And she was off.
