Back in the day,when Sridevi was ruling half the roost in Hindi cinema,I found myself veering towards the other half,on which perched Madhuri Dixit. Back in the day,when Sridevi was ruling half the roost in Hindi cinema,I found myself veering towards the other half,on which perched Madhuri Dixit. To me,Sridevi was over-the-top and squeaky,just the way southern sirens had to be,to hold their own against their rouged-for-fairness male counterparts. She brought to the north the twin attributes that still belong to certified south-of-the Vindhyas bombshells: heaving buxomness,and breathiness,a combination thought to make most men jelly-like. Sridevi came up north after a long successful stint in the south,and conquered. But it was not a complete conquest,because there was always Madhuri,weighing down the same plank,on the other side. These two divas started off in the Bollywood of the 80s,Sridevi slightly ahead of Madhuri,and went on to own the '90s. They divvied up A listers. They had fans who bought tickets only to see their songs. They boosted the careers of weaker male co-stars. Then they got married,had babies,and vanished. After them,there were Juhi and Kajol who had the same capability,of facing the camera minus self-seriousness. But even though Kajol proved she could open a movie in her own right,neither she nor Juhi made audiences delirious,they way Sridevi and Madhuri did. Now both are poised on the verge of a big return. Madhuri has been dipping her toe in television,and waiting for her films to get started (we will forget,at this point,her disastrous comeback in Aaja Nach Le). Sridevis first film,after a long,long gap,is out shortly,in which she will learn English vinglish,and show us if shes still got what it takes to be a leading lady. At her peak,Sridevi was in every way a formidable rival to Madhuri,who started off pimply and awkward and unaware of her sexiness,as befitting a Rajshri debutant. Madhuri struggled her way to stardom through the lucky contrivance of a chartbuster number,Saroj Khans moves,and a movie (Tezaab) stuffed with masala: Sridevi was already a star when she arrived in Bombay,and carried on just the way she started. Both were in the right place at the right time. Both found mentors and directors and co-operative co-stars,and both stayed at the top of their game for over a decade. If you look at their most popular roles,there was a lot of singing and dancing (both were terrific dancers) and acting. But,and this is the crucial thing,there was also a lot of laughter that they generated by themselves. Through scenes and lines that were written for them because both had the capacity to be funny,and make us laugh. And it is in this sphere,where laughter became key,Sridevi was capable of sending herself up with such force,that she became an unstoppable fount of mirth. That is a gift only the very gifted comics have. Im not talking here of comedians whos only job is to come on,slip on a banana peel,and disappear. Im talking of actors in central roles who can engage in the tough business of creating unforced hilarity. And that doesnt happen until you can divest yourself of your self-image. Laughter,whether it comes from classy word-play or the more rumble-tumble physical sort,is never lofty; it is down there,where all of us live. Can you be silly without wondering about your stardom? Can you not only mimic,but channel something deep within yourself? All right then,you can be funny. In the unforgettable Mr India,Sridevi plays a journalist. A Bollywood journalist is usually played for the dumbest of laughs,so well discount that aspect. But in the way she she went zip-zap-zoom across the room whether she was with the invisible Anil Kapoor or that hoot-of-a-villain Amrish Mogambo Puri,or swayed to that steamiest of songs in flimsy blue chiffon,she made sure we couldnt think of anyone else in that role. And oh,did she make us laugh till our sides ached,in some of those scenes. One of my favourite throwaway Madhuri moments came in the same film in which she asks that immortal question (the film was Khalnayak,and we knew the poser was entirely rhetorical,everyone knows whats beneath a choli,but a prosaic answer would have ruined the song,no?). So there she is with bad boy Sanjay Dutt,looking at herself in the mirror,and looking at him looking at her,and she answers one of his questions with an entirely un-rhetorical word. It is a marvel,that moment,melding a stunning womans consciousness of herself and being able to stand besides that self,all at the same time. Sridevi didnt have too many subtle moments like these. Her comic skills were utilised more on the surface in practically all her work in Hindi cinema (except when you see her in Sadma,or in the vastly-superior Tamil original Moondram Pirai),in which she showed she could mask her sexiness,be unaware of it without discarding it,and be genuinely funny. Can Sridevi make us crack up all over again? That is the question. shubhra.gupta @expressindia.com
