As homage pour in for actor-nonpareil Sridevi from all over India, the South Indian cinema industry, where the superstar made her debut as a child artiste and moved on to prove her mettle as a female lead, fondly remembers the departed actor. She faced camera well before being enrolled in a school. Sridevi was a tender four-years-old when she acted in the movie ‘Thunaivan’. She had barely into her teens when she did her first female lead role in ‘Moondru Mudichu’. Both Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan (the latter’s was a cameo) starred in the movie.
It was in director Bharathiraja’s debut film ’16 Vayathinile’, again the trio Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan and Sridevi were in the lead, Sridevi epitomized a rural teenage girl with her adolescent dreams through ‘Mayilu’ character. It turned out to be one of the beloved female characters in Tamil cinema history. This film went to Bollywood as ‘Solva Sawan’, only Sridevi retained her role in the remake. Till 1986 she acted in around 70 films in Tamil. She fell short of a century only by a score of films in Telugu. She acted with veterans Nageswara Rao and NT Rama Rao, and also with Nagarjuna, son of Nageswara Rao. There were 23 Malayalam films some 6 Kannada movies to complete her South cinema credits. She was an established and proven actor when she set foot in Bollywood, and the rest is history.
Image Credit: Movie – Sadma
Even though she moved to Bollywood, the South Indian fans and film fraternity always remembered her fondly, they were proud of her success in ‘Hindi Cinema’. Now the news of her untimely death has devastated many here. A visibly shaken Kamal Haasan said, “Sridevi Kapoor’s astounding talent was not luck. It was well deserved and she worked for it from her childhood. I’ve known her from her teens. She was still a child when she came to work with me and Mr. Balachander, my mentor, who sometimes gave me the responsibility of working with her, correcting her acting and shaping even her dance moves. When she came, she was not as talented as she later emerged out to be. But she learned every day. I was astounded by her climb. And every step of it, she worked for”.
Image Credit: Movie – Moondru Mudichu
On the demise of his close friend, Rajinikanth said, “I’m still not able to believe it’s true. I’m yet to come terms with the sudden death of Sridevi ji. It’s quite shocking. Boney Kapoor and I went for a dinner in Chennai only three months back. She’s a very close friend and our friendship was 40 years long since she acted in my second film. No one can fill the void she has left behind. I express my heartfelt condolences to her family.” In his tweet Nagarjuna said, “I have been trying all morning to gather myself to face the truth of dear #sridevi leaving us, trying to believe it’s just a bad dream/memories of her just keep coming back and I don’t know whether to smile or cry. We love you, dear Sridevi.”
The South Indian film industry is mourning its beloved daughter’s death. Almost all the big names in the industry have reached Mumbai to pay their last respects to the unforgettable actor who with her sparkling eyes and unmatched acting acumen memorized millions. Sridevi will be remembered and revered as long as there is cinema in the South.
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