Sridevi

Book excerpt: Hailed as a superstar in an era ruled by macho men and one that literally offered actresses crumbs, Sridevi tamed Bollywood like no other. Beginning her affair with the camera when she was four, this doe-eyed beauty conquered Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada industries with performances etched in gold. Taking Hindi cinema by storm with Himmatwala in 1983, Sridevi emerged as one of the most iconic screen goddesses of India, playing characters that became cultural touchstones. Besides reigning as Queen Bee for the longest spell among Bollywood heroines, she also remains the only actress who was, at the same time, No.1 in Tamil and Telugu cinema too. Such was Sridevi's pan-India stardom that in a patriarchal industry, she emerged as the 'hero' at the box-office, towering above her male co-actors. After a hiatus of fifteen years, she shattered the rules again by becoming the only Bollywood diva to make a glorious comeback in 2012 with English Vinglish. A supremely gifted actor-her comedy peerless, her dances legendary, her histrionics awe-inspiring-she offered a study in contrast in real life. If her life played out forever in the limelight, so did her sudden demise in 2018. Charting five decades of her larger-than-life magic, Sridevi: The Eternal Screen Goddess celebrates both the phenomenon and the person. With exclusive access to her family, friends and co-stars in the film fraternity, Satyarth Nayak tracks Sridevi's journey from child star to prima donna who redefined the heroine to be regarded as a legend of Indian cinema.