Soma profiles Sridevi, the Queen of Hearts, exclusively for Different Truths. 

Sridevi was born in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, on 13 August, 1963, to Ayyapan and Rajeshwari. Her father was a lawyer from Sivakasi. Her mother was from Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Sridevi started her career as a child actor, at the age of four, in the Tamil film, Kandan Karunai, in 1967.

The actress who won many hearts with her performances and went on to be recognised as the ‘first female superstar’ marked her debut in the year 1979.

The actress who won many hearts with her performances and went on to be recognised as the ‘first female superstar’ marked her debut in the year 1979. The film was titled, Solva Sawan. Helmed by P. Bharathiraja, the movie starred Amol Palekar, Kulbhushan Kharbanda in pivotal roles along with Sridevi.

Sridevi had received many awards in her career for her performances in a number of films. Sridevi won her first ‘Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil’ for film, Meendum Kokila,  in  1982. And in 1984, she won her first Filmfare Best Actress award for her film ‘Sadma‘ which starred Kamal Haasan as the male lead. Helmed by Balu Mahendra, the film is a remake of his own Tamil film.

After her debut with ‘Solva Sawan‘ in 1979 opposite Jeetendra, the duo was paired several times.

After her debut with ‘Solva Sawan‘ in 1979 opposite Jeetendra, the duo was paired several times.  Sridevi’s bejewelled outfit in the song totally stole the show. The music was composed by disco king Bappi Lahiri.

The actress starred in several films like ‘Mawaali’, ‘Maqsad’ and ‘Justice Chaudhry’ forming a popular onscreen pair with Jeetendra.

While shooting one of the most loved songs of the actress, a rain song ‘Na Jane Kaha Se Aayi Hai’ from the film ‘Chaal Baaz’ she was suffering from high fever. Reportedly, she had a fever of 103 degrees, however, she still completed the shoot.

Sridevi was passionate about her profession and hence she used to put all efforts  while she was working on a film. While shooting one of the most loved songs of the actress, a rain song ‘Na Jane Kaha Se Aayi Hai‘ from the film ‘Chaal Baaz’ she was suffering from high fever. Reportedly, she had a fever of 103 degrees, however, she still completed the shoot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GekbRNgw8r0

The film is the remake of 1973 Indian movie ‘Seeta Aur Geeta‘ starring Sridevi in a double role. The film also starred Sunny Deol and Rajinikanth in pivotal roles.

On 25th February 1983, Sridevi stole hearts with her first commercial Bollywood hit Himmatwala and  was at the top of her game for more than a decade, bagging the rarest role and doing the unthinkable, commanding the same price as the Badshah of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan.

After almost 15 years of hiatus, Sridevi was back to what she loves, doing films. As a middle-class wife in the film ‘English Vinglish‘, Sridevi gave a brilliant performance.

After almost 15 years of hiatus, Sridevi was back to what she loves, doing films. As a middle-class wife in the film ‘English Vinglish‘, Sridevi gave a brilliant performance. She was appreciated for the same from all quarters. She was even nominated for the Best Actress award at most of the award ceremonies, including the Filmfare awards, where she received her ninth nomination for Best Actress. Helmed by Gauri Shinde, the story revolves around a housewife who joins an English speaking class to stop her husband and daughter mocking her lack of English speaking abilities. This was a grand come back.

Her last hindi film was Mom in the year 2017, for which she got the best actress award.

Her death is shrouded in mystery.

On 24th February 2018 , almost 300 film later, in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu,  Kannada and Malayalam, she accidentally drowned in a hotel bathtub, in Dubai. Her death is shrouded in mystery.  Then, she was 54-year-old.

Lalita Iyer’s fourth book, Sridevi: Queen of Hearts, is a fan’s tribute to the superstar of Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood and Mollywood, who went away too soon.

Photos from the Internet