Sridevi: Bollywood’s queen bee of the '80s and '90s

Veteran Bollywood actress and Padma Shri awardee Sridevi, who had an illustrious career spanning over four decades, passed away . She was 54.

Sridevi, known for her ver’satility as an actor, made her Bollywood debut in 1978 with ‘Solva Sawan’. But it was only after five years with Jeetendra-starrer ‘Himmatwala’ that she gained commercial success.

Before her entry into Bollywood, the actress had been a known face in South Indian films. She made her debut as a child artist in Tamil film ‘Thunaivan’ in 1969. She also worked in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films. Sridevi's beguiling eyes, scintillating screen presence and acting prowess soon made her one of the most sought-after actress in the Hindi film industry. While films like ‘Mawaali’ (1983), ‘Tohfa’ (1984), ‘Mr India’ (1987) and ‘Chandni’ (1989) kept her at the top in the box-office game, her outings like ‘Sadma’ (1983), ‘ChaalBaaz’ (1989), ‘Lamhe’ (1991), and ‘Gumrah (1993) earned her critical acclaim.

She went on a hiatus for 15 years after starring in home production ‘Judaai’, co-starring her brother-in-law Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar. It was director Gauri Shinde's ‘English Vinglish’ in 2012 that marked Sridevi's comeback. Her nuanced performance as a middle-class woman, learning to speak English to feel accepted by her family, won accolades, and the film was also a commercial success. Last year, she was seen in revenge-drama, ‘Mom’, opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna. She also shot for a special appearance in superstar Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film, ‘Zero’, which releases in December.

Sridevi was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour, in 2013.

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