(1963-2018) Remembering Sridevi

The first female superstar of Hindi cinema charmed generations of cinemagoers with her beauty, grace and unmatched talent. Neeti Jaychander takes a look back at her illustrious life

- Neeti Jaychander

The year was 1992. The film: Khuda Gawah with superstar Amitabh Bachchan. Crowds flocked to the theatre, but the real scene-stealer of the mega grosser was its doe-eyed leading lady, who played a double role. Even as the film industry was agog with her ability to draw in the masses, the then up-and-coming actor Salman Khan said in an interview to Filmfare, “It’s good to work with an actress like Sridevi, but I’m scared. She has the reputation of finishing off the hero with her performance!” Such was the magic of Sridevi, India’s first female superstar, who mesmerised audiences for 50 years since her debut as a child star.

The child, the artiste