Sridevi: She was the darling of Telugu cinema

HYDERABAD: “She had so many dreams in the film industry, and she tirelessly worked to achieve them all,” says Jayasudha, about Sridevi, with whom she worked in 10 films. True to Jayasudha’s words, cinema was Sridevi’s life and love. No wonder then this actor endeared herself to Telugu audiences so much. The Athiloka Sundari of our cinema, who passed away in the wee hours of Sunday in Dubai, has acted in around 300 films in total, of which almost a quarter were in Telugu.

Sridevi may have started her acting career in Tamil, but went on to become a darling of Telugu audiences. In a long and illustrious career spanning decades, the versatile actress has done films with almost every Telugu star: Krishna, Sobhan Babu, Krishnam Raju, Chandra Mohan, Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, legendary Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao. 

Known for her inimitable style and grace in dance, she was an actor directors believed to have the mettle to pull off a variety of roles. In an era when hero-centric films were the norm in Telugu cinema, her natural charm and charisma meant that she also made regular damsel-in-distress roles seem like a lot more.
She was known for her on-screen chemistry with superstar Krishna. Between 1979 and 1987, they had at least one film a year that turned out to be a superhit. They were naturally thought of as a hit pair and acted in as many as 29 films together. In 1982 alone, they had eight releases! 

Sridevi was also notable for her films -- seven in all -- with Sobhan Babu, of which the majority of them were hugely successful with urban audiences. They include Devatha, Mundadugu, Kartheeka Deepam, and Illalu. She was especially known for her ‘song acting’ and was never one to shy away from sensuous dance numbers either. The masses lapped her up in films like Saradar Paparayudu, Gajadonga, Kondaveeti Simham, Bobbili Puli, and Justice Chowdary. Her films with the legendary Nageswara Rao -- like Premabhishekam, Prema Kanuka, and Sriranganeethulu -- established as the leading actress.

She was on top of Telugu cinema till she decided to move to Hindi cinema, and even after she did it, continued to work in Telugu films. Her absence in Tamil and Malayalam films is notable after her switch to Bollywood, but not entirely here. It seems she loved us, as much as we did her.

RECORD OF SORTS IN TELUGU CINEMA 
She was known for her on-screen chemistry with superstar Krishna. Between 1979 and 1987, they had at least one film a year that turned out to be a superhit. They were naturally thought of as a hit pair and acted in as many as 29 films together. In 1982 alone, they had eight releases!