Though he himself is widely regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of Hindi cinema, Shekhar Kapur has never missed an opportunity to express his admiration for his beloved cinema icon and favourite collaborator, legendary actor Sridevi. Despite joining forces only twice in their careers, the impact of their movie Mr India (1987) on the country’s cinematic landscape was so profound that its ripples are still felt even now, over three and a half decades later. The other film they worked together was Joshilaay, which Kapur left mid-way.
Recently, he took a trip down memory lane, recalling his experience working with the “first female superstar” of Indian cinema. Dubbing her a “fiercely loyal” artiste, he maintained that her contributions to their project went beyond her performance, as she threw her weight behind him when the film faced hurdles as well. Sharing a photo of the two of them majestically posing for a dance number atop a hill, Kapur noted, “This was my first day of shoot with Sridevi ever. We were shooting a song in Mahabaleshwar. When she started dancing, the world stopped for all of us. The only thing that moved was Sridevi, dancing.”
He continued, “We all just gawked. It was like another being had descended amongst us. I even forgot to say ‘cut!’ Like everyone else in the set, we were too mesmerised by Sridevi’s dancing.”
Heaping praise on her, he noted, “There were other things about Sridevi that are not spoken about. She was fiercely loyal. When the film got into trouble, she took any chance she got to protect me and speak about how incredible I was. She took it upon herself to fiercely protect her director.”
He added, “Yet, behind her stardom and her incredible talent lay such innocence and vulnerability. She would use not only her talent to perform, but also bring to it her vulnerability and innocence. As if the only person she would express her inner feelings to was the camera; her protector in a way. That’s why she was such a star: she was not afraid to reveal her inner self to the camera.”
