Sridevi@50: 10 things you didn't know
1.Sridevi was the second choice for two of her most important films - Nagina was to be made with Jaya Prada and Chandni with Rekha.
2.Hrithik Roshan had his first speaking role opposite Sridevi, in Bhagwan Dada which starred his father Rakesh Roshan and Rajinikanth and in which he had a small role as a child artist.
3.Sridevi also sang playback in a handful of films, including Sadma (Ek Dafa Ek Jungle Tha with Kamal Haasan) and Chandni (the title song with Jolly Mukherjee).
4.Sridevi spells her name Sreedevi but has never had it corrected in film credits and magazine articles.
5.When Sridevi first started out in Bollywood, she couldn't speak Hindi and had her voice dubbed, mostly by yesteryear actress Naaz. Rekha dubbed for Sridevi in 1986 film Akhree Raasta. Sridevi began using her own voice after Chandni.
6.Sridevi and Jaya Prada were arch-rivals and shared frosty relations. While shooting 1984 filmMaqsad, actors Rajesh Khanna and Jeetendra reportedly locked Sridevi and Jaya Prada into a make-up room in the hope they would make up. They unlocked the door two hours later to find the actresses sitting at opposite ends in stony silence.
7.Sridevi was originally cast in a dual role in Baazigar but the role was rewritten and cast with Kajol and Shilpa Shetty because the makers felt viewers would not sympathize with Shah Rukh Khan's character if he "killed" Sridevi.
8.Sridevi shot for the hit song Na Jaane Kaha Se Aayi Hai from ChaalBaaz with a fever of 103 degrees. Her performance won her a Filmfare Award for Best Actress.
9.Sridevi's father died while she was shooting Yash Chopra's Lamhe in London. Professional to the core, she flew home and then returned to work to shoot a comedy sequence with co-star Anupam Kher. 10.Sridevi's first encounter with K Raghavendra Rao, the director who made her a star, was as a child actor when she was hit by a car while filming a scene that required her to cross a road. Her injuries were minor but Mr Rao, then an assistant director, carried the young Sridevi in his arms to the doctor. Years later, he cast her in Padaharella Vayasu which made her a Telugu star, and then in Himmatwala which made her a Bollywood star.
Sridevi Turns 50!
Hard to believe but the incandescent ageless diva of Indian cinema turns 50 today. Even those who are not her fans would agree that Sridevi looks not a day older than 40. Her husband Boney reveals the secret of her agelessness. He laughs, "In our home, I eat both her and my share. Jokes aside, Sri eats healthy, lives healthy and exercises regularly.
In fact, she doesn't miss her exercise regime at all. If you say her face glows it's because she's happy and content."
It was during one of her strict work-out regimes that Sridevi injured herself. Recounts Boney, "Last month when we were in Switzerland, Sri slipped and fell in the rain-soaked rocky pathway while jogging in Switzerland. Her right knee was hurt.
She again hurt the same knee in New York this month when she got up in the dark in the hotel room. This time there was a lot of swelling. We had to postpone our return trip to India. So I think we've travelled enough and we don't intend to go anywhere for her birthday, unless our two daughters have some plans. Then we just have to obey blindly."
Says the proud husband, "This has been a very fulfilling year for Sri. She did English Vinglish. And to my mind that was one of her finest performances and the finest performance of the year.
She deserved a lot more recognition for it than she got. But we aren't complaining. The kind of love and affection that she gets from her fans is just so heartwarming." And now English Vinglish goes further on Sridevi's birthday.
The film's producers Eros International are readying the film for release in Japan, South Korea and Taiwa
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