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Sridevi: Lesser known facts

TNN | Last updated on - Oct 23, 2018, 10:16 IST

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Why late Sridevi thought 'Himmatwala' success brought her "bad luck"

Legendary actress Sridevi, who left for a heavenly abode on 24th February this year was one of the best actresses the Hindi film industry has ever witnessed. The actress even earned the titled as Bollywood's first lady superstar. In an interview published in the book 'Queen Of Hearts,' the actress reportedly spoke about how the Tamil audience loved to see her in a natural avatar while the Hindi film audience was more inclined towards glamour. While her glamorous roles did bring her commercial success, she termed it "bad luck" as she was then typecast in particular roles that didn't give her the opportunity to showcase her talent.

Speaking about it, she reportedly said that when she did a character role in the film 'Sadma', it did not fare well at the box office. However, 'Himmatwala' was her first hit film and turned out to be a total game changer for her career that went through a major overhaul. The movie went on to garner a lot of praise from the audience. As a result, people started casting her for glamorous roles. But she was determined to prove that she was a good and versatile actor.

The actress who returned to the silver screen after a hiatus with 'English Vinglish' and then 'MOM' both of which garnered immense praises for her grounded performances and even won her a National Award.

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Pic: Sridevi made a painting of Sonam Kapoor from 'Saawariya'

Veteran actress Sridevi’s untimely demise has left everyone reeling in shock. She was not only a talented actress but also had many other skills up her sleeve. One of them was painting and the actress had taken up the art in the last few years. In fact, she had made a beautiful painting of one of her B-town co-stars, Sonam Kapoor.

Apparently, Sridevi made a painting of the actress from her debut film 'Saawariya' where Sonam was wearing a bright blue dress. In fact, this piece of art was going to be auctioned in Dubai for which the veteran actress had stayed back after attending Mohit Marwah’s wedding. Unfortunately, she accidentally drowned in the bathtub in her Dubai hotel room which proved to be fatal. Her last rites took place yesterday and the actress is mourned by fans and celebs all across the country.

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Sridevi was not well while leaving for Dubai, reveals friend

Legendary actress Sridevi’s untimely demise in Dubai had stirred a flurry of speculations regarding her death under mysterious circumstances. While her family and friends slammed those speculating the reasons for the death, it seems there is more to the story. According to reports, Sridevi’s childhood friend Pinky Reddy has reportedly revealed that the actress was not well while leaving for Dubai to attend the wedding function of Boney Kapoor’s nephew Mohit Marwah and Antara Motiwala. Her friend has also allegedly added that the two spoke on phone on the day the actress left for Dubai and thus she became aware that Sridevi was reportedly suffering from fever and was on antibiotics. According to her friend's alleged statements, despite feeling tired, the actress was keen on attending the wedding.

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Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi to make a comeback with husband's film

Sridevi swept all the Best Actress awards for her portrayal of Kajal Varma in the 1997 drama, Judaai. The film, also featuring Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar, was produced by the late Surinder Kapoor, her producer-husband Boney Kapoor's father. 18 years later, Boney is producing a woman-centric Bollywood film for his actress-wife. The film marks the directorial debut of popular ad filmmaker, Ravi Udyawar, who has also scripted the film. A source has been quoted in a Mumbai Mirror report as saying that, "The story had been written with Sridevi in mind. Boney loved it and immediately came on board." Buzz was that Akshara Haasan, daughter of Kamal Haasan, who featured opposite Sridevi in Sadma, will play her daughter in the film. But Boney dismissed the rumours. He was quoted in the report as saying that, "Akshara is not in the film.Yes, it is a woman-centric drama, but not a remake of any film. It is not titled Mother."

While Sridevi is gearing up to face the camera after four years, all eyes are set on her daughter's debut. Read on to know about the special pooja that was performed for her...

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Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi, along with daughter Jhanvi, visited a temple in Andhra Pradesh. Sridevi reportedly performed special prayers for her daughter, a pooja for sarpadosha which is performed for prosperity and health, stated a report on Mid-day.com. The report further stated that the pooja lasted for nearly 45 minutes and both Sridevi and Jhanvi were present throughout. While Sridevi has had a successful comeback in the industry, all eyes are now on Jhanvi Kapoor's Bollywood debut.

Read on to know more about Sridevi's next South film...

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Sridevi: Lesser known facts

According to a report on Bollywoodlife.com, Sudeep has squashed rumours of a liplock with Sridevi in Illayathalapathy Vijay's next film. The film that stars Vijay, Sridevi, Sudeep, Haniska and Shruti Haasan has been making headlines for the star-studded cast. However, for the past few days, rumour mills have been abuzz with reports of a lip lock between Sridevi and Sudeep. But the actor has denied the claims that the reports made and instead raved about the actress and how she is the only one to come close to Amitabh Bachchan.

Let's take a look at some lesser known facts about the Chandni girl...

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Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi was born on August 13, 1963. She was named Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan upon birth. She is the first female actress to have earned the tag of being a superstar. She started her career at the age of four in Thirumugham’s devotional film, Thunaivan. She has also acted as a child artist in the film, Julie. She made her Bollywood debut as a lead star with the film Solva Saavan in 1978.

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Sridevi: Lesser known facts

With films like Himmatwala, Tohfa, Mr India, Chandni, Nagina and Sadma, Sridevi emerged as one of the most sought-after actresses in Bollywood. Jaya Prada was considered to be Sridevi's strongest contender at that point of time. Their fierce competition was one of the worst kept secrets ever. As per a report on IMDB, during the shoot of Maqsad, the actresses couldn't see eye to eye and hence, Rajesh Khanna and Jeetendra had to lock the two actresses in a room hoping it would break the ice. But when the door was opened after two hours, the actresses were sitting in distant corners all by themselves.

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Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi was the first choice for Indra Kumar's Beta. She was supposed to star opposite Anil Kapoor in the film but declined the offer because she had already done a string of films with the actor. The role then went to Madhuri Dixit who became a superstar overnight after the film's success.

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Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi was also considered for a role in Jurassic Park. Steven Spielberg wanted to cast her for a brief role. But she was at the peak of her career in Bollywood then and had rejected the offer. Taking up a Hollywood project would have meant a long break from Bollywood and she was not ready to lose out on her Bollywood projects because of one Hollywood film.

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Sridevi: Lesser Known Facts

Sridevi was director duo Abbas Mustan's first choice to play the female lead in Baazigar. At that point of time, Seema and Priya were supposed to be twins. And Sridevi was supposed to play the double role of Seema and Priya in the film. But directors of the film felt that killing Sridevi would only make Shah Rukh emerge as a villain. They wanted the audience to sympathise with SRK's character and thus they had to bring a relatively unknown actresses to play the part. Kajol and Shilpa Shetty eventually took up the two roles and the makers had to change the script accordingly.

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Sridevi: Lesser known facts

During the '80s, Sridevi was allegedly dating Disco King, Mithun Chakraborty. The two were also rumoured to have secretly tied the knot in a temple. As per a report in Daily Bhaskar, the actress was allegedly not aware of Mithun's marital status and when she realised that he was not going to end his marriage with Yogita Bali, she walked out of his life. It is rumoured that Yogita had also attempted suicide after she got a whiff of Mithun's affair. Sridevi and Mithun never admitted to the relationship.

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Sridevi: Lesser known facts

It was during the same period that Sridevi's affair with Boney Kapoor started hitting headlines. While nursing her broken heart, Sridevi apparently fell in love with Boney Kapoor. But Arjun Kapoor's mother, Mona Kapoor reportedly had no clue about any of this. In an interview to DNA, Mona Kapoor was quoted as saying that, "There was nothing left in the relationship to give it a chance because Sridevi was already with a child. Their rishta was kayam."

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Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Jeetendra and Sridevi emerged as one of the most popular on-screen couple of their times. They were paired romantically opposite each other in as many as 16 films, out of which 11 films were superhit. Films like Himmatwala, Ghar Sansaar, Tohfa and Mawwali established them as the most bankable couple of the decade. Sridevi was also the highest paid Hindi film actress during this time.

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Sridevi: Lesser known facts

When she made her debut in Bollywood, Sridevi was not comfortable talking in Hindi. Her voice was mostly dubbed by Naaz. Rekha had dubbed for her in the film, Aakhiri Raasta. Sridevi dubbed for her dialogues for the first time in Chandni. While Rekha was the original choice for Chandni, and Jaya Prada had initially been offered Nagina, both the films eventually went to Sridevi and helped cement her position in the industry.

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Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi has two daughters that have been named after two famous Bollywood characters - Jhanvi and Khushi. In 2013, the Government of India awarded Sridevi with the prestigious Padma Shri Award. She was also voted 'India's Greatest Actress in 100 Years' in a CNN-IBN national poll conducted in 2013 on the occasion of the Centenary of Indian Cinema. She has also won 5 Filmfare Awards for Best Actress in a leading role.

Top Comment

anabeeb tayyab

2767 days ago

she is an awesome actress very well performer lovely lady really appreciated thanks for sharing her old memories again fashiontrends.pk/celebrities-pakistani/

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Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Why late Sridevi thought 'Himmatwala' success brought her "bad luck"

Pic: Sridevi made a painting of Sonam Kapoor from 'Saawariya'

Sridevi was not well while leaving for Dubai, reveals friend

Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi: Lesser Known Facts

Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi: Lesser known facts

Sridevi: Lesser known facts