When I was growing up in the 1980s in India, Sridevi was a very big star in the Hindi film industry. In a decade marked with kitsch aesthetics and uninspired plotlines, she may as well have single handedly made the decade worth remembering. And this is not just for her atypical portrayals of the film heroine, but also the effortlessly feminist content she pulled off.
My first memory of Sridevi’s is watching her in Nagina. In the film she plays the role of a dutiful wife and daughter in law, who is in fact, the original super hero. A shape shifting snake woman who can take on any form she desires. Her alt personality protects her family from any possible harm that may come to them, without their even knowing about it. And when push comes to shove, she makes no qualms about making open threats to the tantric, also played expertly by Amrish Puri, to back off.
Then there is of course, Chaalbaaz, where she plays a double role of a docile, repressed woman and a street smart one, who is not about to take anybody’s B.S. Separated at birth, the twins find themselves leading markedly different lives, which shapes their personalities. The fun starts when their situations get exchanged. How the hyper confident counterpart deals with her sister’s tormentors makes the film most memorable.
In both these films, the characters make an interesting point. The more socially acceptable role for the woman is one where she is docile. But with that personality, she is unable to take on her enemies. It is only through her alter ego (of sorts) is the heroine able to save the day. Even in Mr India, where Sridevi’s character, Seema, is far more atypical, as the journalist who is not about to let a bunch of noisy kids disturb her when she is trying to work, she still does a fun role play just to suss out the secrets of the bad guys. It is interesting that in Mr India, she also falls head over heels in love with Anil Kapoor’s alter ego, the invisible man Mr. India, who is out to do good for the world.
While the contrasting or changing characters are less evident in other films, it was a running theme in a number of other Sridevi films too. In Chandni she masterfully shows a change in personality that an effervescent young woman undergoes after suffering a heartbreak to a much more mellowed down version of herself. So much so, that when her two suitors who meet her at these different stages of her life compare notes on her, they are almost talking about two different people, even though they are in fact in love with the same person.
In Khuda Gawaah, Sridevi again plays the role of both a long suffering mother and a spunky daughter. In Lamhe, too, she plays both the object of Anil Kapoor’s character’s attentions and his much younger pursuer years later. Sridevi’s ability to switch between different characters remained a defining highlight in these films as well.
In majority of these flims, Sridevi played the dominant or at least an equal role to the male star, a phenomenon that got diluted as we moved into the 1990s.Consider this. The next big female star – Madhuri Dixit – gave probably the biggest hit of her career in the form of ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun’, a tale of extended family with stereotypical characters that might have entertained, but were not comparable to the roles Sridevi had played. Which, is not to say the Dixit did not do any solid films with meaty roles, only that Sridevi’s withdrawal from movies coincided with increased conservatism in a number of major hindi films.
I now wonder if the 1980s would have been more run off the mill for the Hindi film actress if it were not for Sridevi’s high popularity. It is hard to say, but one thing is certain: for little girls growing up in the 1980s, Sridevi’s characters were a good starting point. Never mind the excessive makeups and wild dresses that defined the decade. And for that, thank you. You will be missed.
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