Sridevi The South Years

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Arguably one of the greatest actresses in the history of the Hindi film industry, Sridevi set the screens alight for over 40 years. Embracing every one of her varied characters, whether in comedy, action, romance or drama, her performances gave off an energy that made every dialogue and movement of hers unforgettable.

Very few people, however, know that it was her extensive work in the South Indian film industries that made her performances feel effortless. She learned under the tutelage of legendary actors like M.G. Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa, N.T. Rama Rao, Gemini Ganesan and Sivaji Ganesan. Her working with legends like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan and Chiranjeevi, assured that Sridevi was destined for greatness. This book looks at her early career as a child artist and leading lady before she became a household name in North India. Interspersed with interviews and insights from leading filmmakers and journalists who have worked with Sridevi, this book is a glimpse into the making of India's first female superstar.

Whenever I think of Sridevi, I think of a child. I wasn't much older either. But I found her innocence worthy of exploration and training. She had that quality, something the Japanese call shoshin, which means the open mind of a student willing to learn. I was a child artist myself, and we were brought up in a celluloid cage. We were parrots. We could say things, repeat things they didn't expect us to say. So that's what it was. I understood it and I passed it on to her.

This book began its journey as a conventional Sridevi T biography. That's what I set about to write. What a great book it will be, I thought. I mapped it all out. A series of interviews with her co-stars and directors in Mumbai, a few customary visits to the National Film Archives of India, revisiting all her films twice over and then, the part I was most excited about-a trip down south to explore her roots. And then, it all began to unravel.