Sridevi, an icon of Bollywood who made sari the sexiest dress of the era passed away on 24th February 2018. Mesmerizing her audience for over five decades with her strong performance she had a massive fan base from all over the world. She started her career as a child artist and evolved to one of the best in industry.
Here are some most interesting facts about Sridevi that that very few people knows:
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1. Birthplace and family background
On 13 August 1963, Sridevi was born in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu. Her father, Ayyapan belonged to Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu and mother, Rajeswari was from Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Her father was a lawyer and she one sister and two stepbrothers.
2. Original name of Sridevi
On screen, she was called as Sridevi but her real name was Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan.
3. Debut as child actor
Thunaivan in 1969, directed by M.A. Thirumugham was her first movie in which she appeared on the silver screen for the first time. She was only 4 years of age at that time.
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Her mother or sister Srilatha always used to accompany her to film sets during shooting during shooting of her films between 1972 till 1993.
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4. She played Rajinikanth’s stepmother role in a Tamil film Moondru Mudichu, in 1976.
In that movie Sridevi was paid more than Rajnikanth.
5. Debut in Bollywood
Sridevi made her Bollywood debut in 1979 with Solva Savan and her popularity rose with each passing year.
6. When Rekha dubbed for Sridevi
Being born in Madras, she had mostly worked in South Indian movies that is why she faced difficulty while speaking Hindi. So, Rekha dubbed for her in several movies. Apart from Rekha, former actress Naaz also used to dub for Sridevi.
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7. Sridevi was fluent in Tamil, Telugu, English and Hindi
Chandani was her first movie in 1989 in which she dubbed her dialogues in Hindi.
8. Sridevi actually spelled her name as Sreedevi, but she never really corrected the spelling.
9. While shooting for the song ‘Na Jaane Kaha Se Aayi Hai’ she was down with high fever (103 degrees).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvWq4srgaHg
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10. When she lost her parents
In 1991 while Sridevi, was shooting for Lamhe her father died. She was not with father when he died in 1991. Four years later in 1995, she lost her mother due to complication during brain tumor operation.
11. Sridevi was the highest-paid Hindi actress from 1985 to 1992.
12. Was offered a role in Hollywood film ‘Jurassic Park’
In 1993, Steven Spielberg offered her a role in his iconic film Jurrasic Park. Sridevi was at peak of career at that time so refused it saying it will not suit her status.
13. Sridevi was the first female actor who gained the superstar title.
She had worked in 300 films in 5 decades of her acting career.
14. Refused to work in Beta and Darr
Sridevi was offered role in Beta in 1992, but she rejected it saying she has already worked with Anil Kapoor in many movies. And in 1993 she also rejected Juhi Chawla’s role in Darr.
15. She had received many marriage proposals from the Rich American and British-Indian families at her peak of career.
16. Married producer Boney Kapoor in 1996
Sridevi had an affair with Boney Kapoor and the duo got married in a simple temple wedding in 1996.
They have two daughters together.
17. Daughters name after heroines character
She named her daughters Janhvi and Khushi after the names of the heroines in Boney Kapoor’s films “Judaai” (1997) and “Hamara Dil Aapke Pass Hai” (2000).
18. Honoured with Padma Shri
In 2013, Sridevi was honored with the fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri from the Government of India.
19. Sridevi has won 5 Filmfare Awards for Best Actress in a leading role.
Sridevi receives the Filmfare Best Actress Award (1990) from Amitabh Bachchan for ‘Chalbaz’. filmfare
20. Sridevi as a playback singer
She worked as a playback singer in Chandani, Sadma, Kshana Kshanam, and Garajna.
21. Sridevi and Salman Khan bonded over painting
Same passion connects two people and this happened with Salman Khan and Sridevi. She had stopped painting but Salman Khan encouraged her to paint again. Guess what, her painting thoughts impressed many people internationally.
22. Sridevi was a complete vegetarian.
23. Sridevi as a producer
Her movie, “Shakti: The Power” (2002) in which she was supposed to play the role of lead actress was given to Karishma Kapoor as she was pregnant with her second daughter Khushi at that time.
The film was produced under the banner Sridevi Productions.
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24. The sudden demise
On 24th February 2018 Sridevi died due to accidental drowning in hotel bathtub following loss of consciousness, in Dubai. She was there to attend a family wedding.
25. Sridevi will be seen in her last on-screen appearance in Shah Rukh Khan’s Zero (2018).
Rest In Peace Sridevi.
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