Sridevi was arguably one of Indian cinema’s biggest stars and a performer par excellence. She enjoyed a strong fan following due to her striking screen presence and engaging performances. While almost everyone is aware of her impressive body of work, not many may be aware of the fact that she was offered a role in director S S Rajamouli’s Baahubali.
The director wanted her to play Sivagami in the biggie but that did not happen, following which they approached Ramya Krishnan and the rest is history. SSR once revealed that the team wasn't able to meet her demands. His comments upset the 'Last Empress', Following this, the Eega helmer said that he 'regretted' talking about the issue in public.
Baahubali hit the screens in 2015 and emerged as a major commercial success. Its plot revolved around what happens when a valiant ‘king’ loses his kingdom and his life following a misunderstanding. It had a stellar cast headlined by Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty and Tamannaah. Its sequel Baahubali 2 released in theatres in 2017 and proved to be a blockbuster. Both parts of the series received rave reviews, establishing ‘Darling’ as a pan-India star.
Coming back to Sridevi, she passed away in 2018 much to the shock of her fans. Her death marked the end of an era with many describing it as a big loss for the film industry. Her last movie Mom hit the screens in 2017 and received praise from all corners. Her daughter Janhvi Kapoor made her Bollywood debut with Dhadak, following in her mother’s footsteps.
Rajamouli, on the other hand, is working on his latest magnum opus Rise Roar Revolt (RRR). The period drama revolves around the fictional friendship between two freedom fighters and it is touted to be bigger than the Baahubali saga. It features Jr NTR and Ram Charan as the parallel leads and marks the first collaboration between the two. It was to hit the screens on October 13 but the plan was dropped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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