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Sridevi Kapoor (born Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan; 13 August 1963 - 24 February 2018) was an Indian actress and film producer who starred in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada films. Regarded as Indian cinema's biggest female superstar, she was the recipient of a National Film Award, two Filmfare Awards and three Filmfare Awards South. Sridevi ranked among the highest-paid actors in the 1980s and 1990s and is considered to be one of the most popular actresses of Indian cinema. Sridevi made her debut as child artiste with the 1967 Tamil film Kandan Karunai at the age of 4, and started her acting career in lead role as a child with M. A. Thirumugam's 1969 devotional Tamil film Thunaivan and continued to act as a child artist in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films.

In 1976, Sridevi started her first leading role in the Tamil film Moondru Mudichu directed by K. Balachander. She followed it with a number of films with Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. Sridevi's first release of 1977 was Gayathri, followed by Kavikkuyil and 16 Vayathinile, where she played the role of a young girl who is caught between her two lovers. She also starred in the movie's Telugu remake Padaharella Vayasu in 1978. Her subsequent notable films included Bharathi Raja's Sigappu Rojakkal, S. P. Muthuraman's Priya, Karthika Deepam, Johnny, Varumayin Niram Sivappu and Aakali Rajyam. She acted with N. T. Rama Rao in Bobbili Puli, Justice Chowdhary and Aatagadu. She acted alongside Sivaji Ganesan in Sandhippu, Kavari Mann and Pilot Prem Nath. Sridevi made her debut as child artiste in Kannada with Bhakta Kumbara (1974) directed by Hunsur Krishnamurthy. Her other films as a child artist in Kannada included Bala Bharatam and Yashoda Krishna. She was also a part of Hennu Samsarada Kannu (1975), directed by A.V. Sheshagiri Rao. Sridevi also acted opposite Ambarish in Priya (1978), produced by S. P. Muthurraman. She made her debut in Malayalam films with Kumara Sambhava in 1969 as child actor, followed by I. V. Sasi's Abhinandanam. Her notable films as the lead heroine in Malayalam were Thulavarsham, directed by N. Sankaran Nair in 1976 and M. Masthan's Kuttavum Shikshayum a remake of the Tamil film Pennai Nambungal with Kamal Haasan starring opposite her. She next started in the Malayalam release was Satyavan Savithri. In 1981, she starred in the Tamil film Meendum Kokila which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Tamil. In 1982, Sridevi starred in Moondram Pirai playing a woman suffering from amnesia and went on to win the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress. She was paired with Kamal Hasan in 27 films across languages. Sridevi's notable Telugu films include Konda Veeti Simham, Kshana Kshanam, Vetagadu, Sardar Paparayudu and Bobbili Puli. With A. Nageswara Rao, she appeared in movies such as Mudulla Koduku, Premabhishekham, Bangaru Kanuka and Premakanuka as well as with Krishna in Kanchu Kagada, Kalavari Samsaram, Krishnavatharam, Burripalem Bolludu, Khaidi Rudrayya. She acted with Cheeranjeevi in Jagadeka Veerudu Atiloka Sundari, S. P. Parasuram. Her performance in the 1992 Ram Gopal Varma directed Kshana Kshanam opposite Venkatesh, won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress - Telugu and Andhra's Nandi Award for Best Actress. Sridevi made her debut as a heroine in Hindi films in Solva Sawan in 1979. Four years later she was signed to star opposite Jeetendra in Himmatwala. The film released in 1983 and became one of the biggest blockbusters of the year. It established Sridevi in Bollywood and earned her the famous sobriquet 'Thunder Thighs'. Her dance number "Nainon Mein Sapna" became a rage with Rediff stating that "the water pots may have dominated most frames in "Nainon mein sapna", but it was Sridevi's bejewelled outfits and headgears that stole the show". The following year Tohfa released and turned out to be the biggest hit of 1984. The film established Sridevi as one of the leading actress of Bollywood. with Filmfare magazine declaring her "Unquestionably No.1" on their cover. The pair of Jeetendra-Sridevi did 16 films together of which Himmatwala (1983), Jaani Dost (1983), Justice Chaudhry (1983), Mawaali(1983), Akalmand (1984), Tohfa (1984), Balidaan (1985), Aulad (1987), Suhagan (1986), Ghar Sansar (1986), Dharm Adhikari (1986),Sone Pe Suhaaga (1988) were successful and Aag Aur Shola (1986), Himmat Aur Mehanat (1987), Sarfarosh (1985) were flops Sadma released in 1983, brought Sridevi critical acclaim. A remake of her Tamil film Moondram Pirai, Sadma is included in iDiva's list of '10 Must Watch Movies That Weren't Blockbusters'. She also acted with A. Nageswara Rao's son Nagarjuna - like Aakhari Porattam, Govinda Govinda and Khudah Gawah. She has played heroine to both Dharmendra and his son Sunny Deol. Sridevi's performance as a child-woman suffering from amnesia was called by Indian Express "a milestone in her illustrious career". Sridevi also featured in the Mid Day list of 'Challenging Roles played by Bollywood Actors' describing her act in the film as "her best performance ever". In 2012, Adil Hussain, Sridevi's co-star in English Vinglish revealed that he became a fan of the actress after watching her in Sadma. The Sridevi-Kamal Hasan pair also appeared on the CNN-IBN 2012 list of 'Greatest Romantic Couples on Celluloid'. The film won Sridevi her first Filmfare nomination for Best Actress. Sridevi had successful pairing with Rajesh Khanna in films such as Naya Kadam (1984), Maqsad (1984), Masterji (1985) and Nazrana (1987). In 1986, came the snake fantasy Nagina which saw Sridevi play an 'ichhadhaari naagin' or a shape-shifting woman. The film turned out to be the second biggest blockbuster of the year, with Box Office India stating that Sridevi remained "the undisputed No.1". It was also named one of the best snake fantasy films by Yahoo. Times of India ranked Nagina as one of the 'Top 10 Snake Films of Hindi Cinema'. Sridevi's climax dance number 'Main Teri Dushman' also remains one of the best snake dances in Bollywood with Desi Hits calling it "one of Sridevi's most iconic dance numbers...that still gives fans goose bumps" and iDiva describing it as "the stuff of movie legends". Besides Nagina, 1986 also saw Sridevi giving box-office hits in Subhash Ghai's multi-starrer Karma and Feroze Khan's Janbaaz. According to CNN-IBN Bollywood Blockbusters, "Sridevi's popularity grew so much that despite having a guest appearance in Janbaaz, she completely overshadowed the film's lead heroine Dimple Kapadia". After an eight-year absence from film, Sridevi starred in English Vinglish (2012), a comedy-drama from debutante director Gauri Shinde. In the film, she played Shashi Godbole, a housewife who enrolls in an English-speaking course after her husband and daughter's mocking of her English skills. The film and Sridevi's performance received positive response. The Times of India called it "easily one of the best films of 2012" and Sridevi's performance "a masterclass for actors." Raja Sen of Rediff found the film "a winner all the way [...] Sri excels in fleshing out her character", and critic Subhash K. Jha said Sridevi "makes the contemporary actresses, even the coolest ones, look like jokes...If you watch only two films every year make sure you see English Vinglish twice!" Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN wrote Sridevi delivers "a performance that is nothing short of perfect [...] It's warm and fuzzy, and leaves you with a big smile on your face." "Sridevi doesn't miss a beat. Her performance is a triumph", added the critic Anupama Chopra. Komal Nahta said she "makes the best comeback in Bollywood history and delivers a landmark performance." With the success of English Vinglish, Sridevi became the only actress in Bollywood to make a successful comeback as a leading lady after marriage and a long hiatus. Shinde featured her in the Financial Times 2012 list of '25 Indians To Watch'. She topped Rediff.com's annual listing of the "Bollywood's Best Actresses" in 2012; the website wrote English Vinglish "is a simple film where things are credible, never melodramatic" and Sridevi "always judges the tone right. It's the sort of performance younger actresses [...] should learn from." Sridevi was declared the most-admired Bollywood actress of 2012 in a mobile survey conducted by Vuclip, the world's largest mobile research company. She was nominated for several awards, including her ninth Filmfare Best Actress nomination. Following an appearance during the song "Apna Bombay Talkies" in the film Bombay Talkies (2013), Sridevi starred in the Tamil fantasy action adventure film Puli (2015). Sridevi was next seen in her home production titled Mom (2017), which marked her 300th film. In the thriller film, she played a mother who sets out to avenge the rape of her daughter. Sridevi said that as a mother and an artiste, she empathized with her character's rage, and found it hard to be in a normal state during the filming. Mom was released on 7 July 2017 to generally positive reviews, with critics widely appreciating Sridevi's performance. The Times of India and The Indian Express added Sridevi "demonstrates why she is the high-priestess of Indian cinema" and that she "needs only a twitch or a glance to prove that she is a powerhouse and there are several scenes she lifts by just being there." For her performance, Sridevi received the National Film Award for Best Actress and earned nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress and Screen Award for Best Actress. At the time of her death, Sridevi was not shooting for any upcoming films; her last on-screen appearance will be in Anand L. Rai's upcoming film Zero (2018) in a cameo.
Sridevi