To paraphrase the great West Indian writer C.L.R. James: “What do they know of cinema who only Hindi cinema know?” The truth behind that aphorism shone through on English news channels and in English newspapers when “Bollywood icon” Sridevi died.
Bollywood icon in “double quotes” because Sridevi was a star in peninsular India long before her skills swept through the plains of rajma-chawal.
As a South Indian woman, Sridevi had achieved what none of her southern male co-stars—Rajnikanth, Kamal Haasan, Chiranjeevi, Mammooty, Nagarjuna—had, which is to conquer Bombay and win the hearts of the cowbelt.
The scale of her success towered over her South Indian female predecessors Vyjayanthimala, Hema Malini and Rekha.
Last night, the film critic Anna M.M. Vetticad tore through the illiteracy of North Indian film writers with a first-class rant. Except that it was on a channel somewhat ironically named “New Delhi” Television (NDTV).
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Nidhi Razdan: One of my colleagues on an other channel tweeted that the North Indian press really did not make a mention of Sridevi‘s enormous success and her legacy in South Indian films. And that’s something we sometimes tend to forget when we are sitting here in Delhi. She was actually a huge star in the south, who worked with the Rajnikanths and Kamal Haasans of the world, held her own with them, before she became such a superstar in Bollywood. Was she the first real female superstar of India, someone who crossed language and cultural barriers?
Anna M.M. Vetticad: Among other things, the media that calls itself the national media, and by that I mean the English language newspapers and TV channels based in Delhi and Bombay, are North India-obsessed and Hindi-obsessed.
It is an absolute shame when we should be proud of the fact that we have multiple film industries in the country, and here we have a megastar, that rare person who was succeessful across multiple industries.
Even a newspaper like The Times of India calls her a “Bollywood icon”. Even The Indian Express, calls her a “Bollywood star”. That’s as weird as calling Priyanka Chopra a Hollywood star.
I mean this is beyond reductive. If you call her just a Bollywood star, you are missing the point about her career.
She was not India’s first female superstar, she is the only star to have been a superstar in all three of India’s largest film industries, the Hindi film industry we call Bollywood, the Tamil film industry we nickname Kollywood and the Telugu film industry which we nickname Tollywood. And in addition, she had success, although she did fewer films in Malayalam and Kannada, she had success there too.
This is what we have to be celebrating. In a country, where film industries in any case make life so difficult for women, that stardom in even one language is difficult, here was a woman who at 54, had had success in a 50-year career across five Indian language film industries.
When she was seven years old, she won a Kerala state film award as a child artiste. How is the ‘North Indian media’ knowing her successes from the time she was ten, simply calling her a Bollywood star?
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Also read: A true pan-Indian superstar
None of the English Media knew how she was before nose surgery. In Tamil & Telugu industries , she was known by her beautiful nose. Also Rajini-sri devi; Kamal-sri devi; Rajini-kamal-sri devi combo was always successful . Looks at this iconic song :
Only a self-declaring South Indian or North Indian, will be as reductive as calling the film industry in Bombay as “north Indian.” Clearly, neither the author nor Ms Anna understand that Bollywood is neither north nor south Indian. Anyone bracketing it so, is ignorant. Bollywood is a melting pot – and only recently started basing its stories on “north” Indian milieu – Bengal, UP, Kashmir and Delhi even. There’s a huge Punjabi tilt to cinematography, but it’s absurd to say Bollywood is north Indian. When Rahman gives music to Chhaiyya Chhaiyya, he’s not forsaking his “South” identity to pander to “north” sensibilities. It is the fault of critics like MsAnna and author who have divided films along these regional lines. What Sridevi did to her appearance was entirely her choice. Yes, even the nose was hers to change. That she had stellar years in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada industries does not make her any less of a Bollywood icon. We as audience watched her in all movies. You critics are stuck up on the Bollywood star bit. Actors change appearances, they don costumes, they work on their voice. It was her choice to look the way she did. Respect choice. She was far bigger than all of you with your rants on what she should be called. You might want to bind her to her “south” identity. She chose to go to Bombay and do whatever she wanted to do, and found her many fans.