Sri Devi: Breaking The Age Old Stereotype In Bollywood!

By Author: Preeti Jagwani
Total Articles: 18

One actress who has proved that age doesn't matter when it comes to acting, with her comeback in films after staying away for about two decades, is Sridevi. In 2012, when she made a comeback on the celluloid with the film, English Vinglish, she had probably made the history in Bollywood. That was for the first time, we saw a 49-year-old super successful heroine, who left her career to become a housewife, makes a comeback in a lead role. Her portrayal of a simple sari-clad middle-class Marathi homemaker, who is conscious of her weakness of not knowing spoken English in a world where such persons are not treated well, won her many more fans than ever before.

Sridevi born as Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan started her career as a child actor in the film Julie in 1975. Her first adult role came just after one year at the age of 13 with the Tamil film, Moondru Mudichu in 1976. Thereafter, she appeared in many Tamil and Telugu films and within a span of few years, became one of the top actresses down South. Sridevi made her Bollywood debut as a lead heroine in 1978 with the film Solva Sawan where she was cast opposite Amol Palekar. The film which got her noticed in the Hindi film industry was Himmatwala in 1983. This film where she was seen opposite Jitendra went on to become a cult movie in the history of Indian cinema. Other notable films of her career are, Mawaali, Tohfa, Naya Kadam Nazrana, Mr. India, Waqt Ki Awaz, Chandni, Sadma, Nagina, Chaalbaaz, Lamhe, Khuda Gawah opposite Amitabh Bachchan, Ladla and Judaai.

Sridevi has been awarded the Best Actress award four times for Lamhe in 1992, Chaalbaaz in 1990, Kshana Kshana in 1991 and Meendum Kokila in 1982. In 2103 she was bestowed upon with Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India. Judaai in 1997 was the last film, she did before bidding adieu to the film industry. After almost one and a half decades, she made a comeback with a bang. Her knockout performance in English Vinglish won her many accolades and awards. For her bang on performance, she even received a standing ovation from the audience during the film's screening at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. Last year, the actress was seen in the Telugu film Puli, where she played the role of a tyrant.