Like most people who woke up to this news today, I thought it was a hoax. The whatsapp groups were flooded. And so was the Facebook Newsfeed. Few searches on Google confirmed it. When I switched on the news channels, it was so real.
In sapnon ki tasveeron se, in yaadon ki zanjeeron se Apne dil ko kaise, hum azad kareinge
When I was in school, my elder sister and her best friend had a fan club of Sridevi Vs Madhuri Dixit respectively. I guess our generation was lucky enough to have two reigning female superstars. I usually copied my sister for everything. But this was one of the times I would make my own choice.
“I like Madhuri Dixit even more than Sridevi”. I would say. Hum Aapke Hain Kaun was my favourite movie. And Salman Khan was my favourite hero.
My earliest memories of Sridevi’s movies is of my sister telling me the story in a nutshell. I watched them much later in life. Or probably I had watched them when I was younger. But I understood them much later. Because they were all so meaningful.
Sachcha Koi Sapna Deja Mujhko Koi Apna Deja
A child will not understand the meaning of this song. When you grow up, you would understand how loneliness will make you crave for just anyone…Yes. Anyone!
Koi Kash Dil Pe Zara Hath Rakh Le Mere Dil Ke Tukdoh Ko Ik Sath Kar Le
Was it just me who sympathized more with Vinod Khanna in the last scene?
Main to hoon pagal munda, tu hai meri soni kudi. Yaaaah
Army was one of those movies that was not as famous as her other ones. But I just loved this song! There was another movie called Mr. Bechara. Again one of the lesser known ones. It would come on television frequently . I loved that one too. It had a funny song, “Lage mujhe sundar har ladki. Ho paise wali ya kadki.” I liked that song also because I believed that Sridevi finds all girls pretty. She would find me pretty too if she ever meets me.
Another not so famous movie that I would watch on television was Aulaad! I used to feel so bad for both the mothers. I don’t even remember the ending.
When Laadla had come out, I had learnt something new. “You understand. You better understand!” Whenever I would fight with my sister I would end the argument with that statement. I had loved the last scene of the movie when Sridevi becomes all domesticated, wears a sari and says to Anil Kapoor while handing over a tiffin box “Shaam ko ghar jaldi aayega”. (I was too young to be a feminist then)..
But I think my favourite movie of Sridevi remains Lamhe.
Tera man tarsa re, paani kyun barsa re, tune kisko yaad kiya
“Anil Kapoor loves Sridevi. She dies. Then her daughter grows up and falls in love with him!” – My sister had told me the story.
“What!” I had replied. Way ahead of its times, this was a masterpiece! Every scene was a visual treat. It was again one of those movies I watched and understood after becoming a teenager. No woman from our generation had completed school without dancing to ‘Morni baga maa bole aadhi raat maa’.
I love all the songs from that movie. They are in my pen drive. And downloaded from Gaana too. For me ‘Kabhi main kahoon’ would be one of the most romantic song ever.
Beauty. Acting. Dancing. Grace. Can any actress of this generation even compare?
Hotho se honth mile na bhale chahe mile na bahe bahon se, do dil zinda reh sakte hain chahat ki bhari nigaho se
The answer is No. They can wear the skimpiest clothes possible. And do a 100 kissing scenes. They will not look half as sensuous as Sridevi in her plain red sari and white sari.
Actresses do a come-back after a break. Their movies are at best forgettable. Sridevi gave us English Vinglish.
“Mujhe pyaar ki kami nahi hai. Bus thodi izzat chahiye.” Every woman could relate. Navrai majhi became the national wedding anthem.
I had to write a review for Mom. I had watched it within a day of release. When I wrote the first draft of the review, I had gone completely carried away by Sridevi’s performance. I had written that the scene in which she sees her daughter in the hospital for the first time should be shown in acting schools as a lesson on how to emote grief. I had dedicated some two – three paragraphs on how Sridevi is the best! Nobody can match her in any way! I was asked to rework. I had completely overlooked the word limit and spoiler consideration! But such is the impact Sridevi had on everyone.
Why did she have to go?
Main vaapas aaunga mai vaapas aaunga, jaa rahaa hun mai yahaan jaan apni chhod ke
My heart goes out to her young daughters whose lives have not even begun yet. Mona Kapoor had also passed away just before Arjun’s Kapoor debut release. The same thing happened to Jahanvi.
Judaai judaai kabhi aaye na judaai.
The people who are commenting about drugs, surgeries, pressure to look slim that “killed her”, please have some respect. She has not even been laid to rest yet. She is not alive to refute you or speak for herself. Just because she is famous does not mean her death is for you and me to analyse. She is a person who died. Leaving behind a family.
Bijli girane main hoon aayi, kehte hain mujhko hawa hawai
Sridevi ji, you will be the only Diva for me, and for millions of others. Your eyes. Your smile. Your face, your grace. Your dance. Your movies. You acted at a time when people used to comment on how some heroines look better in Indian vs Western. You were exquisite in both. Your acting was mesmerizing in the last two movies of your life, as it was 10-20 years ago. You played your age. And you did it beautifully. You had beauty. You had substance. You had talent. You were born to shine.
I had blogged after Reema Lagoo ji had passed away. I will say it again. Everything good associated with my childhood is gone.
Ye lamhe ye pal hum, barson yaad karenge, yeh mausam chale gaye to, hum fariyaad kareinge.