Value system kept Sridevi in check

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Sridevi flanked by daughters Jhanvi and Khushi, and husband Boney Kapoor

She was drop dead gorgeous as she strutted down the ramp to major applause. Who would have thought she would look so striking even in an Herve Leger dress considering we were only used to seeing her mostly in traditional Indian avatars?

When I asked her to be my showstopper, she agreed with humility and grace. Backstage she was charming, had no starry tantrums and was very accommodating. I was bowled over not only by her striking appearance but even her personality. Her daughters surrounded her and their relationship with her seemed what a mother-daughter relationship should ideally be like.
I enjoyed seeing Sridevi in the role of Shashi in English Vinglish. It was a compassionate one where today’s family scenario was well reflected. As a comeback role Sridevi fit in beautifully, having re-invented herself as a mother and not trying to compete with what she was 15 years ago. “I felt for the character; the role moved me. It was a universal subject that involves a mother, a wife, a husband, children and even the older generation,” she said, when I asked her how come she chose this as a comeback role, considering the fact that she had an option to play a glamorous diva.
I noticed the audience in the
theatre and sure enough the age group varied from a child to a 70+ person. In the role as Shashi,
she appealed to everyone. “I was surprised how the movie was accepted and lauded,” she said humbly.
“Fifteen years is a long gap. How did it feel to go to a studio and relate to a camera once again?” I asked her. She paused, then said, “I felt no gap. I am surprised that 15 years have passed. It’s like the blink of an eye. It felt like it was just the other day. Except that today I have two beautiful daughters in their teens to remind me how time has flown,” she said.
After the premiere, she heard from her daughter that some of her teenaged friends said sorry to their mother. “Even husbands,” she said, “Even they paused to think, ‘Are we taking our wives for granted?’ The role was a satisfying one and carried a message back home.”
I agreed with her. I was watching the movie with my teenage son and wished my daughter were there too.
Sometimes one can go on as a mother and be completely taken for granted. I asked her if this was going to be a one time in a movie for her or are we going to keep seeing the Bollywood superstar again on the silver screen? “I don’t know Queenie,” she said, “This role landed in my lap. I don’t believe in planning. If something comes along, who knows…” she giggled like a young girl.
“I have led a very grounded life. Even when I became a child star my parents kept me grounded. And as I grew
up they stressed on a very normal life with a good value system. That was probably the secret to my success,” she said. I had already noticed that during my interaction with her.
“I wished my mother had lived longer,” she said, narrating the story of how she had taken her mother to the United States for treatment for cancer. “It was the wrong decision,” she lamented. We talked about what could have been different otherwise, but she admits that there are no guarantees for anything in life.
“However, I cherish her memory and do my best to try and inculcate the same values in my children — all that I have learnt from her,” said the beautiful Sridevi, who not only radiates beauty but also is a sensitive soul. You can see that through those magical and expressive eyes — the same ones that have stolen the hearts of many once again.