Thunaivan (Scene to scene)

One morning in 1967, little Sridevi was staring curiously into the eyes of a movie camera. The camera stood staring back at her. It must have been love at first sight; perhaps both realising that this was going to be bond for life. The film Thunaivan was what made Sridevi lord Murugan in her debut. In an interview with Filmfare in 1992, the actress recalled the first day of her shoot: 

'I was hiding behind my mother's pallu. But she said, "Pappi, there's nothing to be afraid of." I believed her and that was it. I've never had a break after that.'

Veteran actress Sowcar Janaki, who played Maragatham in Thunaivan reveals that some people in the film's team were a bit sceptical about a girl playing the male god Murugan, but once Sridevi's makeup was done, they were all mesmerized. Giving us the first glimpse of the child-star on the film set, Janaki gushes, 

'There was something magnetic about her. I kept telling everyone, "Just look at her eyes!" She was beyond perfect.'

And if you thought the four-year old would throw no star tantrums, think again. The director was keen on getting her head shaved for the role but Sridevi burst out wailing and wouldn't let anyone touch her hair. Even Rajeswari seemed reluctant and kept insisting that her daughter couldn't go to school with a tonsured head. Janaki recalls, 

'I then suggested that she wear a wig. That finally calmed her down.'

Sridevi's scene in the movie is hardly three minutes long, but the effect is unquestionable. Her expressions as she interacts with the infant are priceless, her body language as she tolls the temple bell impeccable, her saucer-like eyes emoting every line, magnetic. A four-year old child can hardly act; she merely reacts. And yet Sridevi's responses are so astonishingly accurate that everyone realized here was a startling discovery. Sowcar Janaki echoes these sentiments:

'Even at that tender age, she was improvising. The director would sometimes appear intimidating, but Sri was hardly scared, instead she would make her eyes large and react with greater energy. She only had to be told once what to do and she would deliver.'