Sridevi’s death anniversary: Lesser-known facts about India's first female superstar

Sridevi made her acting debut as a child artist and went on to become an inseparable part of Indian cinema, establishing herself as the industry’s first female superstar. She impressed the critics and audience with her spectacular acting skills, her unique style statement, and bubbly personality.

On Sridevi’s death anniversary, we look at some interesting facts about the late actor that will surely leave you surprised.

Her real name wasn’t Sridevi

Born on August 13, 1963, Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan took the name of Sridevi after she began acting.

Started her career at the age of 4

She began her career at the age of four with the film ‘Thunaivan’. In a career spanning over five-decades, she worked in 300 films – ‘Mom’, being her last. The movie won her a posthumous National Film Award for Best Actress.

Sridevi rejected a Steven Spielberg film

Sridevi was reportedly offered a role in Steven Spielberg’ ‘Jurassic Park’. However, she turned down the role as it wasn't a starry one and if she taken it up, it would have meant taking a hiatus from Bollywood. At that time, Sridevi was at the peak of her career and chose to reject the offer.

At 13, she played Rajinikanth's stepmother

Sridevi and Rajinikanth co-starred in nearly 22 films. She did her first film with the superstar at the age of 13, 1976 movie 'Moondru Mudichu', where she played the role of his stepmother.

Sridevi didn't know how to speak Hindi

When Sridevi transitioned into Hindi films, it wasn't easy for her since she did not know how to speak the language. Actor Naaz would often dub for her, and even Rekha dubbed for her in the film ‘Aakhiri Raasta’. Sridevi first started dubbing her dialogues in ‘Chandni’.

Sridevi- the artist

Did you know Sridevi was quite the painter? She had made a painting of Sonam Kapoor as her character from 'Saawariya'. It was supposed to be auctioned after Mohit Marwah's wedding in Dubai. However, the actor days died a few days after the wedding.

A playback singer and producer

Sridevi was the playback singer in ‘Sadma’, ‘Chandni’, ‘Garajna’ and ‘Kshana Kshanam’. She has also produced ‘Shakti: The Power’ which starred Shah Rukh Khan. Sridevi was also supposed to act in the film, but at that time she was pregnant with her second child.

Filmy connections

Sridevi named her daughters Janhvi and Khushi after names of the heroines in her producer husband Boney Kapoor’s films ‘Judaai’ and ‘Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai’.

Padma Shri Award recipient

The Government of India awarded Sridevi with the prestigious Padma Shri Award in 2013. The same year, she was also voted 'India's Greatest Actress in 100 Years' in a CNN-IBN national poll conducted in 2013 on the occasion of the Centenary of Indian Cinema. She has also won 5 Filmfare Awards for Best Actress in a leading role.

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