What was Sridevi’s life like? Director Ram Gopal Varma who worked with her in two films and knew her well said she was always in problems and all that her husband Boney Kapoor could provide her was a shoulder to cry on.
In a “Love letter to Sridevi’s fans” on Tuesday, the filmmaker from Hyderabad explained how difficult life had been her right from her childhood.
“Except for the short glimmer of ‘English Vinglish’, Sridevi was pretty much an extremely unhappy woman. The uncertainty of the future, the ugly turns and twists in her private life left deep scars in the superstar’s sensitive mind and thereafter she was never at peace,” he said recounting all that Sridevi went through in her life.
“From my personal experience with her, the only time I ever saw her in peace was in front of the camera that too only between Action and Cut ..That’s because she could cut off the harsh reality and escape into her own fantasy world,” RGV explained on a blog post on his Facebook.
Ram Gopal Varma pointed out that he had worked with her in her films “Kshana kshanam” and “Govinda Govinda” and that Sridevi’s life was a classic case of how a celebrity’s persons actual life is completely different from how the rest of the outside world perceives it.
“For many, Sridevi’s life was perfect. Beautiful face, great talent, a seemingly stable family with two beautiful daughters. From outside, everything looked so enviable and desirable… But was Sridevi a very happy person and did she lead a very happy life? I know her life from the time I met her. I saw with my own eyes how her life was like a bird in the sky till her father’s death and then became like a bird in a cage due to her overprotective mother,” he explained.
The director explained that back in time when actors used to be only paid in mostly black money, due to fear of tax raids her father used to trust friends and relatives but everyone of them betrayed her the moment her father died. He said then her ignorant mother made many wrong investments in litigated properties. “All those mistakes combined made her almost penny less by the time Boney came into her life. He himself was in huge debts and all he could afford was to give her a shoulder to cry on,” he said.
Ram Gopal Varma recalled she has got into issues with younger sister Srilatha over property matters. “So in effect, the woman desired by millions in the world was all alone and almost penny less in the world,” he said.
The director said Sridevi knew she was a beautiful woman and for years got comestic surgeries done, the effects of which could be seen. He said the nightmare of every actress was age and Sridevi was no exception. “She always came across as a little uptight but that’s because she built a psychological wall around her as she was scared of anybody to really see what’s going on within her. She was panicky about anybody knowing what her insecurities were,” he said.
“She had to put on the makeup and be somebody else not just in front of the camera, but also put a psychological makeup to hide her real self behind the camera. She was being constantly directed by the motives of her parents, her relatives, her husband and to an extent even her own children,” he said.
Ram Gopal Varma described Sridevi as a child trapped in a woman’s body. “She was naive as a person, but suspicious because of her bitter experiences which is not a very good combination,” he said.