Farewell Sridevi

And thus it ends. The end of yet another era in the history or timeline of cinema. It seems funny, even ironical to think of the fact that she had been alive only a few days ago, attending her nephew’s wedding in Dubai. It seems unbelievable that, only 5-6 days back, she had flown out of India, all hale and hearty and excited and eager for her nephew’s wedding. Indeed, if the video footage of the wedding functions were anything to go by, she had been in perfect health, with one of the videos showing her dancing to a song, happily swaying with that famous smile of hers on a radiant face.

Indeed, for a person so full of life and so very colorful, to her last breath, it seems unfair to her great spirit that she perished in a washroom, where she was found lying on the floor, near the bathtub.

As a child, growing up in the 2000s era, movies meant Anil Kapoor (Beta, My name is Lakkhan, Nayak etc), Salman Khan (Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Hum Saath Saath Hai, etc), Govinda (Sandwich: Double Trouble, etc) etc. Then, one day, when I was bored and had nothing to do, I happened to switch on the TV and there she was, as a reporter fond of light colored skaters (a type of frock- like apparel up to the knees) and looking for a house to stay. That was my introduction to her. Her electrifying eyes, her expressions, all had me from the moment I saw them. In case all of you still have not been able to pin point the movie, the movie involved a certain watch which gave its wearer the power to become invisible (by pressing a button) (it sounds very Lord of the Rings-esque, but trust me, it was not exactly that). The one condition upon or while being invisible was that the wearer could not or should not come in front of red light, which would render the wearer visible. If none of you have been able to still guess, then I should tell you the name. It was Mr. India. All of Sridevi’s previous films like Sadma (Kamal Hassan) Chandni etc had displayed her serious, passionate (as well as demure) and that strong and independent side of her.

But it was with Mr. India that she revealed her uncanny (and often perfect or on-point) sense of humor and comic timing with her timeless rendition of Charlie Chaplin at the bar (often called the Charlie Chaplin bar scene). That part where beer comes out of her ears owing to having drunk too much is especially funny. Also, who can forget the scene with the darts where she cleans her left ear with the dart and shoots it towards the board?

Then Judaai happened, and that too, on this day. Yes, on the 28^th of February, 1997, exactly 21 years ago, that this movie, starring Anil Kapoor and Sridevi was released. And it was after Judaai that Sridevi took a 15 year long hiatus to raise her daughter Jahnvi, whose debut film, Dhadak is o be released this year. For 15 long years, she vanished from the silver screen (but not from our hearts) until, in 2012, she marked her comeback with the critically acclaimed English Vinglish, a heartwarming film about a homemaker (Shashi, played by Sridevi) who is often mocked at by her husband for her lack of knowledge of English) who ultimately learns English to deliver a standing-ovation worthy monologue, all in perfect English. She won many hearts with that, thereby ultimately proving that she was still, in every sense of the word, the queen superstar of Indian cinema and a person, who had rightfully earned the epithet of India’s first ever female superstar. Then in 2017, yet another powerful (and this time, gritty) film released, Mom, a film about her daughter (in the movie) who was kidnapped and how she (Sridevi) ultimately got justice for her daughter.

And yet, that was not destined to be her last film. For it is Sharukh Khan’s Zero, in which he curiously portrays a dwarf, which is to be her last and final appearance on the silver screen. Its tentative release date is slated for the 21^st of December, 2018.

Well, I have nothing more to say about this matter anymore, for I find it very hard to come to terms with or believe that Sridevi is truly no more. No more will we get to see that iconic smile, those iconic moves or that grace, combined with an intensity that sparkled the silver screen.

I would also like to offer my sincere and genuine condolences to her entire family, for it is a loss hard to fill. My best wishes to Jahnvi for her upcoming film and who, I hope (as an ardent admirer of her mother) carries her mother’s legacy forward.

Farewell, India’s first ever female superstar.

Adieu.