Before Becoming NTR's Heroine At 16, Child Star Sridevi Shared Screen With 50-Year-Old Prem Nazir
Before starring opposite 56-year-old NTR at 16, child star Sridevi shared the screen with Malayalam legend Prem Nazir. Here's a look at her early career and iconic pairings.
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleSridevi is a name that will be forever etched in the annals of Indian cinema as one of the biggest stars the nation has seen. The actress, who went on to become Bollywood's first female superstar, began her journey as a child artist and, long before ruling the box office, found herself sharing the screen with legendary actors several decades older than her.
One of the earliest examples came years before she became N.T. Rama Rao's heroine at 16, when she appeared alongside Malayalam icon Prem Nazir at just 12.
NTR played Sridevi's grandfather before becoming her on-screen hero
Sridevi's acting career began as a child artist in the late 1960s, and quickly became one of South Indian cinema's most recognisable young performers. In the 1972 Telugu family drama Badi Panthulu, the nine-year-old actress played the granddaughter of Telugu cinema's biggest superstar N.T. Rama Rao's character.
Just seven years later, Sridevi's career took a dramatic turn. Following the success of Padaharella Vayasu (1978), she transitioned into lead roles and became a breakout heroine almost overnight. In 1979, the actress was cast opposite NTR again in Vetagadu, and this time, she played his love interest, despite the actor being 56 while she was only 16. Speaking about her initial reaction to the casting in a later interview, Sridevi recalled telling Raghavendra Rao:
"I was really shocked. I said, 'Sir, I acted as his granddaughter. How can I be the heroine now, sir?' He said, 'Don't worry. I'm here. I spoke to NTR, and he happily agreed.' I was very happy about that."
The nearly 40-year age difference and the fact that audiences had previously seen NTR as her grandfather made the pairing unusual even by the standards of the time. Yet Vetagadu became a massive commercial success, and the duo went on to headline nearly a dozen Telugu films together, making them one of the industry's most successful on-screen pairs.
Some fans also point out that Vetagadu wasn't NTR's biggest on-screen age-gap romance. In 1992's Samrat Ashoka, the veteran actor, then around 69, was paired opposite Vani Viswanath, who was in her early 20s.
Before NTR, Sridevi had already shared the screen with Prem Nazir
Although Vetagadu remains the pairing most often associated with Sridevi's early career, it certainly wasn't her first experience working alongside a veteran star decades older than herself. In the 1976 Malayalam film Thulavarsham, Sridevi was only around 12 to 13 years old when she appeared opposite Malayalam cinema icon Prem Nazir, who was about 50.
Unlike Vetagadu, however, this film was much less controversial as the actors were not paired romantically. Directed by N. Sankaran Nair, the film featured Sridevi as 'Ammini', a young woman caught in a troubled marriage. Actor Sudheer played her husband, while Prem Nazir portrayed her protective elder brother, 'Balan', who ultimately comes to her rescue.
Thulavarsham is a film that vintage cinema lovers often revisit when they talk about Sridevi’s remarkably early transition from child artist to leading actress, though they were not portrayed as a couple in the film. It was also one of her first major adult roles and showcased the dramatic talent that would soon see her rise to fame in South Indian cinema.
As Sridevi's popularity soared, she was frequently cast opposite established superstars who were significantly older than her. Unlike today, when on-screen castings often become a topic of debate when the love interests are decades apart, it was a common practice in Indian cinema during that era.
In her decades-long career, Sridevi went on to share the screen with Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) despite an age gap of nearly four decades. Later on, one of her most unusual casting transitions came in Tamil cinema. In Moondru Mudichu (1976), Sridevi played Rajinikanth's stepmother while she was still a teenager. In the years that followed, the two became one of Tamil cinema's most celebrated romantic on-screen pairs.
Sridevi also formed one of Bollywood's most successful on-screen pairings with Jeetendra, delivering several commercial hits such as Himmatwala (1983), Justice Chaudhury (1983), Mawaali (1983), Tohfa (1984) and Maqsad (1984). She later shared the screen with Dharmendra in films like Nakaa Bandi (1990) and Farishtay (1991), while also working alongside his son Sunny Deol in Sultanat (1986).
With Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi appeared in Inquilaab (1984), Aakhree Raasta (1986) and Khuda Gawah (1992), before reuniting years later when Bachchan made a memorable cameo in her comeback film English Vinglish (2012).
Sridevi became Indian cinema's first female superstar
While discussions about her early films continue to spark debates among fans, Sridevi's legacy ultimately rests on a career that spanned more than five decades. She ruled over Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam cinema before moving on to dominate Bollywood with classics such as Mr. India, ChaalBaaz, Lamhe, Khuda Gawah, Judaai and later made a celebrated comeback with English Vinglish and Mom.
Sridevi was only 54 when she died unexpectedly on February 24, 2018, in Dubai after accidentally drowning in a hotel bathtub while attending a family wedding in the UAE. The actress is survived by her husband Boney Kapoor and daughters Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor.
Sridevi continues to be remembered as India's first female superstar. Her remarkable journey, from a child artist to becoming one of Indian cinema's greatest icons, remains as fascinating as ever!
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