Mai of Bollywood

Hardly had India recovered from the Chandni hangover that Sridevi served a lethal cocktail of twin sisters. Double the actress, double the fun. Pankuj Parashar's rambunctions Chaalbaaz. A defining triat of every superstar's their power to convert film-makers into such fanboys that they yearn to create a shrine to them. For Parashar, that moment had happened when he had first seen Sridevi performing live at the Mr. India mahurat. His eyes were transfixed on her as she dazzled on that stage. As the act ended, the diva had walked past him and something had stirred inside Parashar. He recalls:

'I don't know what it was, but I just kept looking at her and telling myself that I want to work with her.'

As soon as producer Purnachandra Rao rang up him to do a 'stylish film', Parashar suggested a remake of Seeta Aur Geeta with Sridevi. Rao was game and Parashar was soon seated opposite Sridevi to give a narration. Having hardly scripted anything yet, he simply blabbered his own version of the twin saga. The director remembers:

'I even told Sri that this film will win her the Filmfare Award for best actress. She smiled and said, "Every film-maker who comes to sign me, tells me the same thing!"

This Sridevi he was meeting now was no longer just the Mr. India superstar he had encountered at the mahurat. She had become the Mai of Bollywood. Parashar shares:

'Everyone had started addressing her as Mai. That was the kind of power she was wielding in the industry now. I was once having lunch with Vinod Khanna, Amrish Puri and Shatrughan Sinha on a film set, when all three suddenly stood up with respect. I heard voices saying, "Mai aa gayi", and saw Sri entering the room. That was the level of stardom.'