It is not hard to imagine Sridevi in her golden shimmery dress and crown capturing the hearts of millions while singing ‘Mai khwabo ki shehjadi, mai hu har dil pe chhayee.‘ However, sadness and shock took over all film lovers on February 24 as India lost one of its legendary actresses, Sridevi. To refer to her in the past tense would be a disservice to the flamboyance of her oeuvre. A repertoire that spans from Malayalam films like Poompatta (1971) to the Bollywood thriller Mom (2017), one can hardly be relegated to the archives, now that Sridevi is no more. Her work makes it impossible to consign her to the realm of the no more. She lives, in the way she swayed or her eyes gleamed or her rounded syllables.
Regarded as India’s first female superstar, Sridevi with her surreal beauty, perfect dance moves and charming smile, was known for her ability to slip into myriad roles but little do we know about her life. Remembering the diva with an exclusive feature ‘Forever Sridevi’, Zee Cinema will showcase excerpts of exclusive rare interviews of industry stalwarts including Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Kamal Haasan, Vivek Oberoi, Jaya Prada and many more taking us through the glorious life of Sridevi. Viewers can catch this during her back to back hits including English Vinglish, MOM, Judaai and Mr. India on Saturday, 24th March, 7:30 AM onwards.
With 300 movies to her credit and an acting career spanning over 50 years, Sridevi aced every role. In one of the exclusive snippets to be showcased on Zee Cinema, Salman Khan had appeared on Zee Cine Awards 2017 and surprised her. He said, “Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay (Kumar), and I have all done many films. Aamir may have done about 50 films – as he does only one film per year; Shah Rukh may have done more than 100 films. Put together, we may have all done about 250-275 films. But amidst us stands a legend who has done over 300 films in different languages. She can be a mother, she can be a child, a singer, dancer and even a Charlie Chaplin. God alone knows how she has managed to do what she has done. But she has done it, and I am talking about none other than Sridevi.”
Amitabh Bachchan exclaimed, “When I started working with Sridevi, she was quite new in the Hindi film industry but had already done wonders in the South industry. She is a powerful actress and it was a pleasure to work with her.” (ALSO READ – Sadma, English Vinglish, Lamhe: Looking back at Sridevi’s 10 legendary performances)
“I am not the least embarrassed or apologetic about my dependence on Boneyji. He is my lifeline. He looks after every little detail in my life. I can’t imagine what life would be without him,” said by Sridevi in a recent interview when asked about her movies being produced by husband, Boney Kapoor.
Forever Sridevi will also showcase handpicked iconic movies of the cine goddess, Sridevi on Saturday, 24th only on Zee Cinema. After a 15-years long hiatus, Sridevi made a come-back with English Vinglish which will air at 7:30 AM. Her performance as the homemaker who is also an entrepreneur is just so powerful that it moves many to tears. English Vinglish swept all the Best Debut Director awards of 2012 for Gauri Shinde and was shortlisted as India’s official entry for the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
The 300th film of Sridevi’s career, MOM for which she received the coveted Zee Cine Award for the Best Actor will air at 10:00 AM. Playing Devki Sabarwal, Sridevi played the role of a mother who could go to any extent to avenge her daughter. She plays a vigilante out to extract revenge from the men who have wronged her teenage daughter. (ALSO READ – [PICS] Reliving Sridevi’s magical journey down south through films like Johnny, Moondram Pirai, Kshana Kshanam)
Judaai, starring Anil Kapoor, Urmila Matondkar and Sridevi which airs at 1:00 PM is the story of a woman who is lured by money to the extent that she even lets her husband marry another woman. Post her husband’s second marriage, she soon realizes the value of her family and works towards winning them back. In the 90s when playing a grey role could have been detrimental to an actress’s career, Sridevi played the part with absolute poise and grace.
The day will wrap up with one of Sridevi’s most memorable movie Mr. India at 4:15 PM. A Sridevi classic that had all the magic thanks to her charismatic personality, her expressive eyes and of course, her dancing skills. Hawa Hawai has her posing as a dancer even though she is at the location for investigative purposes. This song was quite a rage back in the day and has still not lost any fans. Anyway, watch some of Sridevi’s best performances in Forever Sridevi on Saturday, 24th March 2018 only on Zee Cinema