Leena Gs

This path breaking thriller by Bharathi Raja featured Kamal Haasan and Sreedevi in the lead roles. The story centers on a psychologically disturbed, handsome businessman who lures fickle women and kills them mercilessly. He falls in love with an unsuspecting sales girl Sarada, who is the total opposite of the kind of women he had come across, most of his life. After they get married, the girl discovers the truth about him and tries to escape from his clutches. Kamal Haasan as the maniacal hero was outstanding. Sreedevi as the god fearing and sweet Sarada was lovely. The fear that she evokes through her frightened expressions, when she discovers the horrors in her husband’s home, gets transmitted to the audience as well. The climax chase scenes keep us on the edge. The movie also featured the two evergreen duets – “Ninaivo oru paravai” and “Intha minminikku kannil oru” – by Illaiyaraja.

K. Raghavendra Rao’s commercial, comic caper paired Sridevi opposite megastar Chiranjeevi. It told the story of the daughter of the King of Gods, Indraja who losses her magic ring during her visit to earth and hence unable to return back to her heavenly abode. The ring accidentally ends up in the hands of the hero Chiranjeevi. He is a kind hearted person who looks after a few orphaned kids (including the then famous siblings Shalini and Shamili). The heavenly girl lands at his door and tries desperately to get her ring. It’s an amusing movie with the godly Sridevi talking in classic Telugu and Chiranjeevi mistaking her for being demented. Their calling each other – Maanava and Thingara Bujji can never be forgotten. In the middle of all this you also have a bunch of villains led by Amrish Puri – an evil Taantrik. It is a rollicking fun ride interspersed with lovely songs by Illaiyaraja and elegant dances choreographed by Prabhu Deva. You got to watch the Abbani Theeyani Debba song which is the original version of the Dhak Dhak song in Hindi. What a huge difference and how wonderfully elegant and cute the Telugu version is, compared to the sexy Hindi adaptation. Sridevi looks ravishing and her act iss sweet while Chiranjeevi’s is an admirably, understated performance. They form a great pair and compliment each other awesomely. Watching this merry movie is like all hell breaking loose, with no time to think. To enjoy this movie - dont think too much. Just let go with the uproarious roller coaster and laugh out loud.

Kalyug, directed by the eminent Shyam Benegal, was produced by Shashi Kapoor. It remains one of the most complex and modern takes on the epic Mahabharat. It’s the tale of viscious competition between two business families who are actually related to each other. The warring cousins would go to any length to win the battle of business. There are no good or bad here, everyone are grey in this plot. Caught in between them is a hapless orphan Karan (subtly donned by Shashi Kapoor) who works for one group while his step-brothers are on the opposite side. It had a fanstastic star cast who fitted the bill to the T - Shashi Kapoor, Rekha, Raj Babbar, Supriya Pathak, Anant Nag, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Sushma Seth, Victor Bannerjee, Reema Lagoo, and A.K. Hangal. A compelling watch.

It was the last memorable movie of Sreedevi in Tamil before she shifted base to Hindi. This Balu Mahendra film is a cult classic of Indian Cinema. A simple school teacher Seenu (Kamal) rescues a young woman (Sreedevi) from a brothel. The girl only has the memory of a child and has no idea who she is. He names her Viji and looks after her caringly. He also tries to bring her lost memory back through various treatments. The story is about how their relationship develop with time and what happens later. It was cuteness overload without being over the top. Sreedevi was just perfect as the child woman without an inch of over acting. Kamal Haasan was totally authentic as the simple guy. I have never seen another pair whose eyes speak so much. The character of Silk Smitha added oomph to the story. Every scene involving Kamal and Sreedevi was memorable, oozing with easy chemistry. Every song of Illaiyaraja was beautiful - be it Kanne Kalaimane, Poongattru, Vaan engum , Ponmeni or the totally uproarious Munbu oru kalathila (the story telling song). Added to it was the breathtaking cinematography. Till date no one has managed to capture the beauty of the hills of Ooty like Balu Mahendra in Moondram Pirai. The movie also had another delightful litte character who was huge a favourite of mine - Subramani, the charming puppy whose adorable camaraderie with Sreedevi was noteworthy. The very patient and caring grandma next door was another memorable character. This is one movie were both Sreedevi and Kamal seem to have had maximum fun. At times its like they were totally freaking out. Cant get over the rib-tickling, story telling song sequence where both just let their hair down and turned it into a genuine laugh riot that was absolutely infectious. How I wished for the cute world of Seenu, Viji, Subramani and Gradma to never change. But the director had other ideas. While Sreedevi in this movie was the unstoppable river rushing forward with full force, Kamal was like a gentle breeze. In the climax, Kamal Haasan encompassed the entire movie, with his heartbreaking act which I never had the guts to re-watch, ever again, after my first time. It is a movie that cannot be missed by any movie lover.

This was Bharathi Raja’s directorial debut. It was about the coming of age story of a dreamy, teenage girl Mayil (Sreedevi) who learns about the harsh realities of life, the tough way. She matures into a wonderful woman, who finally understands true love. A young Sreedevi stood up well against both Rajinikanth (as the totally wicked Parattai) and Kamal Haasan (as the awe-inspiring Chappaani) who had the meatier roles. The movie was a true reflection of rural Tamil life and full of interesting characters. The maestro Illaiyaraja scored some lovely songs which matched the mood of the film and were huge hits. Be it the funny ‘Aattukutti muttaiyittu’ or the playful ‘Manjakulichu’ or the melodious ‘Senthoora Poove’ or the lively ‘Sevvanthi poomudicha’ or the rural ‘Solam vidhaikkayile’ - every song was perfect in its own way.

36 Chowringhee Lane was the directorial debut of the talented Aparna Sen and produced by Shashi Kapoor. It follows the lonely life of an Anglo-Indian school-teacher Violet (played so wonderfully by Jennifer Kendal - Shashi Kapoor's wife) who resides at 36 Chowringhee Lane in Calcutta. Violet's life takes a positive turn during a chance meeting with her former student and her boyfriend. With her permission they start using her home for the guy's upcoming novel. She becomes very close to them and considers them as her family. But then she realises that all that glitters is not gold. It’s a simple yet poignant tale of how people take advantage of someone's trust and love and how depressing loneliness can be.

This is a little gem from Ram Gopal Verma (RGV) with Sridevi and Venkatesh in the lead roles. It’s a series of misadventures than happens in the life of a middle class, working girl – Sathya - when she accidentally gets caught in a double cross among a group of bank robbers. She is helped by a complete stranger – Venkatesh, who is a petty thief. The gorgeous Sridevi and the handsome Venkatesh wear only two simple costumes throughout this movie. But then RGV gives them every kind of stunning costumes in the dream songs that keep popping up every now and then. Paresh Rawal as the eccentric villain is both funny and terrifying. The action sequences in the climax are very well made. It’s a complete entertainer that will leave you with memories of the remarkable histrionics of Sridevi, the lovely song and dance numbers enacted cutely by the lead pair and the elegant costumes. A madcap adventure which will make you smile, for sure.