Sridevi: A star on her own terms

At a time when gender-inclusive terms are gaining significance, calling late actress Sridevi – who straddled Indian cinema from the South to the North – the first “female superstar” is old-fashioned. She was definitely an undisputed superstar that Indian cinema had ever seen. She charmed a nation with her talent and ease of acting.

Born on August 13 in Tamil Nadu, Sridevi, or Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan as she was originally named, was elegance personified.

Her effortless charm in front of the camera made her a force to reckon with, especially at a time Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan were the reigning superstars in South Cinema.

To make a mark as a woman actor to reckon with in the highly misogynistic world of Indian cinema amid such colossal figures was no small feat. Sridevi achieved this, putting her in a different league altogether.

She always matched the sensibilities of directors like K. Balachander and Sridhar.

Who could forget her role as a mentally challenged girl in ‘Moondram Pirai’ (1982)? The movie’s climax is hailed as one of Kamal Haasan’s best and Sridevi’s histrionic skills matched his in every frame.

In ‘Moondru Mudichu’ (1976), she dominated over both her co-stars, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.

Her acting was effortless in “Meendum Kokila”, which won her the National award for best actress. Probably it is because of that natural flair for acting that she became the favourite of the Kerala audience too.

‘Kumarasambhavam’ (1969) ,’Kuttavum Shikshayum’ (1976) , ‘Thulavarsham’ with the evergreen superstar of Malayalam cinema Prem Nazir, ‘Alinganam’, ‘Oonjal’ , ‘Akale Akasham’ are some of her notable films in Malayalam.

She even did what Kamal Hassan and Rajanikanth could only dream of, foraying into Bollywood and becoming one of the greatest stars Hindi cinema has ever seen. Her presence always gave a run for money for more established actors like Jaya Prada, Meenakshi Sheshadri and even Madhuri Dixit.

Films like ‘Mr. India’, ‘Himmatwala’, ‘Naagin’, and ‘Chandini’ were rated amongst her most popular ones.

Sridevi’s beauty and style made her the fashion icon for an entire generation. Her outfits in her movies dictated fashion trends among women in the late 1970s and 1980s. Much of India swooned over her ethereal looks in white chiffon in ‘Chandni’.

Her ease in front of the camera and her emotive abilities were her greatest strengths. That’s why she could make a grand comeback through Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish in 2012, after a hiatus of 15 years. And once again, she proved that she was good enough to lead in Bollywood, without much effort.

Her early demise has been a terrible loss for Indian cinema.