‘After Chandni And Lamhe, Darr Would Have Been An Ordinary Character For Me’

‘If
I’m
playing
Shah
Rukh
Khan’s
role,
then
of
course,
I
would
have
loved
to
do
it.’

Even
when
she
was
at
the
top
of
her
game,
Sridevi
never
took
it
for
granted.

“I
was
busy
with
my
films.
I
never
relaxed.
I
never
thought,
‘Aah
I’m
at
the
top
and
nobody
is
there
behind
me.
All
the
time
I
used
to
be
on
my
toes,”
she
had
told

Dinesh
Raheja,
then
the
editor
of

Movie
magazine.

We
look
back
at
Sridevi
on
her
seventh
death
anniversary
on
February
24
with
a
throwback
interview
from
1994.

This
was
when
Sridevi
could
look
back
on
years
of
domination
over
Hindi
cinema
but
also
a
time
when
she
was
fighting
to
keep
her
career
at
an
even
keel.

You
have
already
achieved
today,
what
most
people
aspire
to
in
a
lifetime.
Now
what?
Are
you
complacent
and
coasting
or
still
in
the
midst
of
the
battlefield,
fighting
against
the
odds
and
seeking
creative
fulfillment?

My
attitude
is
not
that
I
have
to
be
here,
so
let
me
do
films.

Today,
if
I
wanted
to
do
films
just
to
keep
myself
busy,
I
could
have
signed
15,
20
films.

But
I
don’t
want
to
do
that.
I
want
to
do
very
good
films,
not
lots
of
films.

Rekha
was
No.
1
only
for
a
short
while
during
’80-’81,
Hema
Malini
reigned
from
’73-’79,
while
you
had
the
longest
spell:
’83-’91.
How
did
it
feel
to
be
on
top
for
so
many
years?

To
be
very
honest,
I
never
thought
about
it
at
all.
Maybe
you
don’t
believe
it.

Because
I
was
busy
with
my
films.

I
never
relaxed.
I
never
thought
‘Aah
I’m
at
the
top
and
nobody
is
there
behind
me.
All
the
time
I
used
to
be
on
my
toes.

Are
you
still
on
your
toes?

Yes,
of
course.
Till
I
am
in
this
industry,
I
have
to
be
on
my
toes.

How
would
you
react
if
they
were
to
say
that
Madhuri
Dixit
and
Juhi
Chawla
are
racing
ahead?
Would
it
spur
you
to
prove
a
point?

No,
I’ve
no
points
to
prove.
Right
now,
all
I
am
interested
in
is
signing
a
good
film.

If
I
ask
you
what’s
your
number
today,
what
would
your
answer
be?

Why
should
I
say?
Everybody
knows
where
I
stand
now
(laughs).
I
do
not
bother
about
these
things.

In
a
recent
interview,
Anil
Kapoor
has
gone
on
quote
to
say
Juhi
is
No.
1
now.

He
is
entitled
to
his
opinion.

At
one
time,
Boney
Kapoor
said
he
would
never
plan
a
film
with
anybody
but
you.

I
am
flattered.

But
now,
he
has
signed
Juhi
for
his
latest
home-production
(the
film

Loafer).

That’s
fine.
See
we
made

Mr
India,
it
took
three
years.
Then
we
made

Roop
Ki
Rani…
That
look
five
years.

So
now
let
us
give
each
other
a
break,
so
he
can
make
a
quick
film
and
I
can
make
a
quick
film
too.

Do
you
lament
the
fact
that
when
an
actress
has
matured
and
is
in
peak
form,
like
you
are
now,
she
doesn’t
get
the
kind
of
roles
she
deserves?
There
is
a
lot
of
emphasis
on
youth
and
new
heroines
in
this
industry.

Look,
there
is
a
phase
in
one’s
career,
the
song
and
dance
phase.
It’s
over.

It
is
followed
by
the
phase
performances

ke
liye,
when
they
write
the
characters
only
for
you.

I
don’t
think
that’s
wrong
because
if
in
the
beginning
itself
you
start
crying
and
doing
roles
that
call
for
histrionics,
later
there’s
nothing
challenging
left
to
do.

You’ve
done
a
lot
of
challenging
work
with
Yash
Chopra
in

Chandni
and

Lamhe.
Why
didn’t
you
do
his

Darr?

Look,
after

Chandni
and

Lamhe,
I
feel

Darr
would
have
been
an
ordinary
character
for
me.

If
I’m
playing
Shah
Rukh
Khan’s
role,
then
of
course,
I
would
have
loved
to
do
it.

The
character
Juhi
played
was
new
for
her
and
so
it
was
good
for
her.

But
for
me,
it
was
something
I
had
done
many
times
before.

Talking
about
challenging
roles,
you
know
I
feel
you’ve
never
really
played
a
strong
woman
like

Mother
India,
Bandini
or

Damini.

I
too
wish
I
could.
I
haven’t.

I
feel
a
little
bit
of

Sadma
continues
to
linger
in
all
our
other
characters…

Oh
no,
don’t
tell
me
(laughs).

A
little
bit,
just
a
shade.
Like
when
you
roll
your
eyes.
Do
you
think
it
peeks
through
in
other
films
too,
especially
while
attempting
comedy?

Well,
no.
I
could
do

Sadma
so
well
because
I
was
immature
at
that
time.

Even
after
I
grew
up,
I
was
more
or
less
treated
like
a
kid.

At
home,
everybody
made
fun
of
me,
‘You
are
a
mature
girl,
behave
like
one.’

Still,
I
kept
holding
onto
my
mum’s

pallu
and
was
very
dependent
on
her.

Now,
are
you
dependent
on
your
mother?

Yeah,
definitely.
Even
now.

On
and
off
screen,
your
whole
persona
is
that
of
a
child
woman.

Child
woman,
that’s
true.
I
also
think
it’s
high
time
I
dropped
the
child
in
me.

Childlike
you
may
be,
but
I
think
you
have
the
killer
instinct.
You
don’t
know
what
killer
instinct
is?
Killer
instinct
is
the
ability
to
cash
in
on
an
opponent’s
weakness
and
move
in
for
the
kill.

I
don’t
know
if
I
have
a
killer
instinct
(laughs).
I
don’t
know
at
all.

If
I
put
all
that
in
the
role,
it’s
because
that’s
the
only
thing
I
know
(laughs).

There
is
nothing
else
I
know
how
to
do.

So,
all
the
time,
when
I
sit,
I’m
thinking
about
my
character
or
dresses.

It’s
the
only
thing
I
know
from
the
beginning,
since
childhood.

Don’t
even
personal
incidents
distract
you?

When
my
father
died,
I
thought
everything
came
to
an
end
for
me.

I
had
thought
I
will
not
shoot
anymore.
I
will
not
work.

It
was
a
shock,
I
was
really
shaken.
I
didn’t
know
what
to
do.

Slowly,
I
came
out
of
it.
Life
has
to
keep
going.

It
may
be
difficult
for
you
to
reconcile
to
an
idea
of
an
arranged
marriage,
you
have
passed
that
age.

My
mom
is
very
worldly
and
understanding.

She
knows
my
taste
and
she
knows
the
kind
of
a
person
who
will
be
right
for
me.

And
now,
she
says
it’s
high
time
I
found
a
man.

It’s
so
difficult
to
find
a
boy
for
you…
so
find
one
yourself.

She
tells
me,
If
you
find
anybody,
let
me
know.

Are
you
searching?

Um,
no
(laughs).

Why?

My
life
revolves
around
my
make-up
man,
my
hairdresser,
my
assistant,
my
brother
and
my
family.

That’s
a
headache
I’ll
leave
to
my
mummy.

But
you
just
told
me
your
mummy’s
saying
you
have
to
search
a
boy
for
yourself.
So
how
do
you
solve
the
problem?

(Laughs)
You’ve
given
me
something
to
think
about.