Sridevi : The First Female Superstar of Hindi Cinema

Sridevi Kapoor (born on 13 August 1963), is an Indian film actress who has worked in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and a few Kannada films. She is cited as the First Female Superstar of Hindi Cinema, one of the longest reigning successful leading ladies and one of the greatest and most influential actresses of Bollywood.

She started her career as a child artist in M.A. Thirumugham’s devotional Thunaivan at a tender age of four and continued to act as a child artist in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her Bollywood debut as a child artist in the hit Julie (1975) and played her first adult role at age 13 in Moondru Mudichu (1976). Sridevi quickly established herself as the leading actress in the South Indian industry with roles such as 16 Vayathinile (1977), Sigappu Rojakkal (1978), Varumayin Niram Sivappu (1980), Meendum Kokila (1981) and Moondram Pirai (1982). However, her national success came in Bollywood with highly acclaimed roles in films including Sadma (1983), Nagina (1986), Mr. India (1987), Chandni (1989), ChaalBaaz (1989), Lamhe (1991), Khuda Gawah (1992), Gumrah (1993) and Judaai (1997).

In 2012, Sridevi returned to films after a 15 year long hiatus with English Vinglish and became the only actress in the history of Hindi Cinema to make a highly successful comeback. In 2013 Government of India awarded her Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honor. She was also voted 'India's Greatest Actress of All Time' in CNN-IBN national poll conducted in 2013.

Sridevi appeared on Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai (2004) and as a judge in the TV show Kaboom (2005). She performed a medley of some of her musical numbers at the 52nd Filmfare Awards 2007. She is also a member of the Board of Directors at the Asian Academy of Film & Television.

On 19 September 2009, Sridevi appeared on the Sony TV show 10 Ka Dum hosted by Salman Khan. On the episode, she and her husband, Boney Kapoor, were guests, along with actor-director Prabhu Deva, actress Ayesha Takia and the musical duo Sajid-Wajid, all of whom had come to promote their film Wanted.

Sridevi has also appeared on ramps in Lakme Fashion Weeks 2008 and 2010 and the HDIL Couture Week 2009 as Showstopper for designers like Neeta Lulla, Queenie Dhody and Priya-Chintan.

Sridevi also developed passion for painting. In March 2010, her paintings were sold by an international art auction house with the money raised being donated.

In 2011, Kareena Kapoor paid a tribute to Sridevi by performing to a selection of Sridevi's numbers at the Global Indian Film and Television Awards. Kapoor called Sridevi her hero and the reason why most girls of her generation became actresses.

In May 2012, Sridevi appeared in Aamir Khan's TV show Satyamev Jayte as a surprise to an interviewee who had been sexually abused as a child. She also signed a letter to the government in support of passing a law criminalizing sexual abuse of children initiated by Aamir Khan.

Sridevi announced her comeback in early 2011, while working in a new film English Vinglish. directed by Gauri Shinde (R. Balki's wife). Her return was officially announced at the IIFA Awards 2011 held in Toronto with a montage of Bollywood stars welcoming her back. After the Toronto premiere,some international media outlets hailed Sridevi as the "Meryl Streep of India." Two weeks later America's entertainment weekly Variety wrote in its review of English Vinglish that it found Sridevi "Disarmingly charming in a manner that recalls Audrey Hepburn."

On release, the film and Sridevi's performance received positive response. The Times of India gave it 4/5 calling it "Easily one of the best films of 2012...Sri's performance is a masterclass for actors...Request you to make a little place next to you, Rajkumar Hirani; Gauri Shinde has taken a bow in mainstream Bollywood." Another 4/5 came from Raja Sen of Rediff who found the film is "a winner all the way...Sri excels in fleshing out her character." Critic Subhash K Jha gave a 4.5 saying Sridevi "makes the contemporary actresses, even the coolest ones, look like jokes...If you watch only two films every year make sure you see "English Vinglish" twice!"

Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave it 3.5 stars saying Sridevi delivers "a performance that is nothing short of perfect...It's warm and fuzzy, and leaves you with a big smile on your face." Anupama Chopra also gave it 3.5 calling it "that rare thing...Sridevi doesn't miss a beat. Her performance is a triumph." Firstpost's Rubina Khan gave the film a full 5/5 saying "Sridevi brings acting back in English Vinglish." Komal Nahta said it was 'beyond stars' applauded Sridevi saying she "makes the best comeback in Bollywood history and delivers a landmark performance." Social movie rating site MOZVO gave it 4.1 out of 5 putting it in 'Must Watch' category. Amer Shoib of The Cinema Journal gave it 4/5 and called the film "a hilarious, touching, sensitive, and sweet film that marks the triumphant come back of India's biggest female star...Sridevi."

With the worldwide triumph of English Vinglish, Sridevi, most probably, became the only actress in Bollywood to make a successful comeback as a leading lady after marriage and a long hiatus. Box Office Capsule hailed the film and Sridevi's return as "Golden Comeback of the Queen." Director Gauri Shinde featured in the Financial Times 2012 list of '25 Indians To Watch'. Film critic Raja Sen from Rediff explained why she is ranked as No. 1 "This is a simple film where things are credible, never melodramatic, and Sridevi – in a range of well-picked cotton sarees – always judges the tone right. It's the sort of performance younger actresses, including the ones on this list, should learn from."

Sridevi emerged as the most-admired Bollywood actress of 2012 in a mobile survey conducted by Vuclip, world's largest mobile research company. Furthermore, she was nominated for Best Actress in most of the award ceremonies, including the Filmfare awards, where she received her ninth nomination for Best Actress.