'Death keeps no calendar' and once again the age-old English saying proved out to be painfully true with the passing away of the Bollywood icon Sri Devi. She left perhaps too early, with barely a couple of months of the New Year being past. Apart from three of his silver-screen hits - Himmatwala, Chaalbaaz and Lamhe, this writer hasn't seen much of her but Sri Devi was undeniably ruled an era - fast leading the Hindi movie industry towards a transition.
I still bear in mind, during the early 80's and the mid 90's, the mushrooming small and big video clubs of Dhaka rarely failed from keeping extra copies of her movies in their stocks. But with us, not even as teenagers, it was her view cards, posters and the hit songs played in the audio cassettes which had drawn us closer to her - the effect was magnetic and unforgettable. To cut a long story short, it's difficult to imagine the Dhaka of the eighties without thinking of her.
The Indian movie magazines Stardust and Filmfare would quite often become abuzz with her shootings and gossips surrounding her. However, it was with Sri Devi, the trend of "Female Superstar" commenced in the Hindi Movie industry.
On hearing about the Bollywood icon's death, I couldn't help getting nostalgic. Actors and actresses reach stardom following their performances and hit movies, but beyond that conformist definition they can also become more than superstars simply because of their beauty , smile and appeal - when this writer was barely 11, he found his most prettiest and desirable woman in her. Yes during our school days she was the heartthrob celebrity of many - with or without her super hit movies and songs. In reality, it wasn't much beyond juvenile fantasy surrounding a beautiful actress.
However, it was somewhat fascinating when Sri Devi made her brief comeback through English Vinglish in 2012, an even more amazing to have resurfaced as a model in the fashion industry in 2008. Rather intriguingly, she always seemed to have kept the age factor at bay, and one of the very few female celebrities in the world who was evidently blessed with grace and a mysterious appeal.
I felt the more she grew old, the more she had to offer. Even though, her untimed departure will definitely serve as a shock for many , but Bollywood would have been somewhat empty and dim without her presence , and especially when she had left at a time still glowing. Whatever, death is a reality and more than discovering sadness, we sometimes need to think far beyond the drawn lines. Since this diehard admirer refuses to accept Sri Devi's death as a loss - so death 'will not do us apart'.
The writer is Assistant Editor,
The Daily Observer
