On the 7th anniversary of Sridevi’s passing, filmmaker Pankaj Parashar, who has directed the legendary actress in Chaalbaaz (1989) and Meri Biwi Ka Jawaab Nahin (2004), spoke to ETimes, reminiscing about her unparalleled talent, dedication, and impact on Indian cinema. Comparing her to Sachin Tendulkar, Parashar talked about her early start in the industry and the immense hard work that set her apart.
What set Sridevi apart from the rest?
I’ll compare her to Sachin Tendulkar. He started playing cricket at a very early age. He had his brother and family pushing him. There’s an inborn talent that life gives you. The other thing is hard work. I met Sridevi when she was 24 years old. She had already done 250 films by the time I cast her in Chaalbaaz. Forget the talent, imagine the hours of hard work she had put in. She could analyze a scene in a flash, give me variations, and perform perfectly. That’s what set her apart. When I did Rajkumar (1996) with Madhuri Dixit, she had done 15-20 films before that. There’s a huge difference between 20 and 250.
Both actresses had stardom in their own right. Madhuri also became number one. She had her sweet smile and her dancing was something else. Madhuri had zero ego even when she was at the top. One day, I was shooting a song with Saroj Khan. I asked, “Who’s the best dancer you’ve worked with?” Madhuri thought Saroj would take her name. But Saroj said, “Vyjayanthimala. She did not need rehearsals. I’d show her a step and she’d do it.” Then I asked, “What about Sridevi?” Saroj answered it diplomatically saying, “Madhuri is technically fantastic. She has the talent and has been training from the age of 3-4. But Sridevi plays with her face. Nobody could do it.” There’s a small music piece in Chaalbaaz where young Aftab Shivdasani puts on a tape recorder and says, “Didi naacho na. Aap ko achha lagta hai naachna.” It’s a 90-odd seconds piece. Sridevi has given five expressions in one shot. Neither Saroj nor I had instructed her to do so. She was making faces at Aftab and dancing. I don’t know from where she would bring those expressions. I said to her, “You did something fantastic.” She said, “I don’t know.”
How did you see her comeback with English Vinglish and Mom?
It was good to see. Otherwise, she used to make paintings. She was a good painter. She had made a painting of Michael Jackson. I used to tell her, “You are a mountain of talent and you’re doing paintings at home?” She said, “Bring me a good script and I’ll do it.” So, I was happy to see her work in Mom.
Your favourite film of Sridevi?
Sadma, the original one. Kamal Haasan once told me that she had become conscious while doing Sadma’s Hindi version because she knew where she was scoring. Of course, it was Kamal’s interpretation. She was working with a legend like Kamal Haasan at the age of 16-17. If you watch Sadma, you’ll see that 90-95% film belongs to Sridevi. Kamal took the film away from her in the last 5%.
She never let her schooling interfere with her education. It’s a clever statement. It means what’s taught at school dumbs you down. That’s schooling – what subjects you’re good at or bad at. Education is what happens in the world outside school. She had no schooling. She learned from the world. I used to tell her about this observation and she used to laugh about it.
How was Sridevi?
We were shooting Meri Biwi Ka Jawab Nahin which never got completed or whatever. We were shooting a courtroom scene at Essel Studio. She had a vanity van. She used to stay in Lokhandwala. Reaching Essel from Lokhandwala in traffic would take one and a half hours. She would take my assistant with her after the shoot and rehearse with him the next day’s scenes. This was after Chaalbaaz. She didn’t need to do that but she did that hard work.
Tandav in Chaalbaaz
I never narrated Chaalbaaz to her. We never had a bound script. So, she would ask, “What are we shooting tomorrow?” And I would brief her. When I told her about Tandav, she asked, “What is the situation in the film?” I briefed her about the situation. It was Anju’s character doing the Tandav. She asked, “How can Anju dance? She is so shy.” I said, “When Anupam Kher sees her dancing, that’s only when he would whip her.” She argued, “No, she is so scared that she’d never dance in her life.” So, it got me and Saroj thinking. Anupam had arrived on set, the junior artists were getting ready. I told Sridevi, “If you go to a festival of a goddess, you’d see a some girl start dancing when drums etc. are played. Uss mein Devi aa jaati hai na?” I told her that there would be intercuts between her shots and shots of Shiva. And we have established that your character likes to dance ever since you were a child so it won’t be a problem. Then she asked, “Mujh mein devi aati hai ya shiva?” Because that’s different. Here, Saroj rescued me, saying, “Shiva. Hence the Tandav.” It’s when you’re at the peak of it you realize that you’re in trouble. You have to show the split personality of Shiva and Anju in your performance. Sridevi liked this and she did the Tandav. She showed a mixture of self-pity and fear.
