Stories Trending

Sridevi: 10 lesser known facts

Sridevi - Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan

Legendary actress Sridevi breathed her last on Saturday evening at Dubai. Forensic doctors in Dubai declared that the actress died of an accidental drowning.

Here are some lesser-known facts about the veteran actress, who was an undisputed queen of Indian cinema for over 4 decades.

  • Born on August 13, 1963, Sridevi’s real name was Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan.  
  • She made her acting debut at the tender age of 4 with the Tamil movie Thunaivan in 1969.
  • In Tamil, Sridevi is remembered for her films with Kamal Haasan. The actress shared a terrific onscreen chemistry with the Ulaganayagan. The duo looked stunning together and they ruled Kollywood in the 1970s and 1980s. Incidentally, both the legendary stars stepped into cinema as child artistes.
  • Sridevi has done nearly 20 films with Superstar Rajinikanth. Interestingly, in their first film together, Moondru Mudichu, she played as Rajinikanth’s step-mom, when her real age was barely 13!

When Sridevi was paid more than Rajinikanth

Tamil movie Moondru Mudichu was Sridevi’s first film as a heroine. The actress was paid higher than Rajinikanth for the movie. In an interview, she had revealed that her salary was Rs. 5000. Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, who were her co-stars in the movie were paid Rs.30,000 and Rs. 2,000 respectively.

  • In Bollywood, the Sridevi-Anil Kapoor Jodi holds a special place among the audiences. Sridevi’s films with Jeetendra were also superhits. She has done 13 films with Anil Kapoor and 16 with Jeetendra.
  • During her entry to Bollywood, Sridevi was not proficient in Hindi. Dubbing for her characters was given by actors Rekha and few others. Chandini was the first film for which Sridevi dubbed herself in Hindi.
  • Her first film in Bollywood, Solva Sawan, failed to create a stir. However, a few years later, she starred opposite  Jeetendra in Himmatwala, which went on to become a blockbuster.
  • Sridevi, the first lady superstar was the highest paid Bollywood actress from 1985-1992.
  • Following her rise to fame, she was approached by Hollywood director Steven Spielberg to play an important role in Jurassic Park. But the actress turned down the offer as she did not want to take a break from Bollywood.
  • She was offered a dual role in Baazigar. After she turned down the offer, Kajol and Shilpa Shetty were roped in to play the respective roles.
  • Following her marriage to Boney Kapoor in 1996, Sridevi was on a break for over 15 years.
  • With the 2012 film English Vinglish, Sridevi made a strong comeback.
  • She was later offered the role of queen Sivagami in Baahubali. She declined the offer but was seen in the role of a queen in Puli.
  • Sridevi had won 5 Filmfare Awards for Best Actress in a leading role.
  • In 2013, Sridevi was awarded the Padma Shri award by the Government of India.

The actress has left her fans with one last chance to catch a glimpse of her on the silver screen again. Sridevi who was last seen in the Bollywood flick Mom (2017), and has also acted in Shah Rukh Khan’s next release Zero, in which she essays a cameo role.

Her elder daughter Jhanvi Kapoor is all set to make her Bollywood debut in the movie Dhadak opposite Shahid Kapoor’s brother Ishaan Kapoor.