Sridevi's 1ST Big Splash Himmatwala's 35TH Anniversary Today! Disobeyed My Mom To See This Film!!

Coincidence? Creepy coincidence. How can life raise so many questions? Here is my first experience of Sridevi's first full-fledged splash in Bollywood, Himmatwala (1983)

Vickey Lalwani

Sun Feb 25 2018, 13:46:04 346209 views

Truth is stranger than fiction and this story is a classic case in point. 

I still remember the day when I first saw Himmatwala. It was Feb 25, 1983 and a Friday. In those days, movies were a passion and the dates we saw them registered to stay in memory. I had a Physics paper on Monday and mind you I wasn't ready for it at all. Kuch bhi nahin padha tha, you know how it is when you have a Sat-Sun in between, that subject is not revised beforehand.


A Still Of Sridevi And Jeetendra From Himmatwala

My mother was waiting for me after my Chemistry paper, with snacks and chai ready at home. And as I walked out from my exam, I saw posters of Sridevi plastered all over. Himmatwala had released that day and she looked stunning in every poster.

My best friend was walking alongside me and he was quite sullen about the fact that he hadn't done his Chemistry paper well.

I told him: Let me cheer you up. Let's go for a film. He looked at me (Was it in shock or disgust, I don't know) and said: Are you mad? Our parents will kill us.


A Still Of Sridevi And Jeetendra From Himmatwala

The truth was that I wanted to see this Sridevi-Jetendra starrer on the first day itself. I said to myself: Who wants to wait till the last paper (Mathematics) gets over next week?

I did not listen to my friend and dragged him to a phone booth. "Mom, we have an extra class where our teacher is solving our Physics difficulties. So, I shall be late," I was soon telling my mother at the other end. And I compelled him to do an encore with his mom.


A Still Of Sridevi And Jeetendra From Himmatwala

Couldn't be honest with her, we were mostly not allowed to go out for long hours those days, despite the fact that zamaana alag tha aur achcha tha--- but that's a different story.

Luckily, we got the tickets. The queue was long, but we scraped in.

The theatre had no AC and of course, it was terribly stuffy. We had landed on almost sweat-full seats but were thrilled that we had made it.


A Still Of Sridevi And Jeetendra From Himmatwala

Did I like the film? Loved it! Acting, songs... everything. And I just had a feeling that this heroine Sridevi will become a very big star in Bollywood, one day.

But I didn't know that one day, this will be the same date when she will slip away from the world of living at a premature age of just 54--- and I will be writing this.

What more do I say here?




Image Source: Youtube/ ultra

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