‘It was the rudest shock to wake up to’: Rishi Kapoor opens up about Sridevi’s demise

By Sneha Bale

on February 26, 2018

In an interview with a leading daily Rishi Kapoor shares his journey through accepting the fact that his Chandni, Sridevi is no more. “It was the rudest shock to wake up to at 4 am. I got a call asking about my memories of working with her.” He said, “When I started my second innings as an actor, I was confident that we will work together again. I still can’t believe she’s no more."

"I remember Jaya Prada was the original choice to play the lead in Nagina. But she lost the part to Sridevi. The film became a turning point in her Bollywood career. While she was scaling the heights of stardom, this film catapulted her to superstardom almost overnight. Initially, I thought maybe she’s snooty or simply arrogant to not speak to her co-stars. Later, I found out that she was actually shy and maybe, a tad conscious about speaking in Hindi or English," Chintu ji added.

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"In two-three awkward minutes of a technical thing, we stood not knowing what to speak. I broke the ice and complimented her dance skills. To that, she said, ‘I’ve seen Khel Khel Mein four times.’ That was the first conversation we had," elaborated the veteran star.

"We did a lot of improvisation on the set, on almost every scene. There was a dance sequence featuring her in the film, which is about three minutes long. By lunchtime, everyone was back to the hotel. I was dumbfounded to know that she took less than half a day to film an entire dance sequence. We won’t get to see such artistry ever again. The last time I worked with her was 25 years ago. At that time, she decided to leave everything to set up a house and start a family. Today, I feel terrible for her lovely daughters. I will miss my Chandni for all the lovely cinematic moments she gave me. I don’t see another female actor achieving what Sridevi did in any sphere of life. Mere Haathon Mein Nau Nau Choodiyan became an anthem for all desi weddings and Main Teri Dushman headlines the Naagin dances everywhere even now. These are all her footprints in our cinema which will remain.," shared Rishi Kapoor, with a heavy heart.