Sridevi: The 10 Best Songs

It's no wonder several of her hit songs have made a comeback in remixed avatars.

A waggle here, a wink there, watching Sridevi in action is nothing short of magic.

The effortless and expressive superstar, who ruled Bollywood for one of the longest spells, endeared the camera with her trademark chutzpah through screwball comedies, social drama, action-packed costume dramas, elegant romances and fun-filled fantasies.

Emulated and admired by an overwhelming many, it's no wonder several of her hit songs have made a comeback in remixed avatars.

Be it as the trippy Hawa hawaai in Shaitan, topsy-turvy Najane kahan se in I Me Aur Main or once-again-successful Naino mein sapna in Himmatwala.

Sukanya Verma celebrates Sridevi with a selection of her best songs.

And while she's featured in timeless melodies like Aye zindagi gale laga le (Sadma) and Neele neele ambar(Kalaakar), the idea is to concentrate on Sri solos or booming duets like the ones listed here.

Naino mein sapna, Himmatwala

Sridevi's vibrant jig against the backdrop of painted matkas with Jeetendra to Himmatwala's foot-tapping Naino mein sapna rocked the charts in the 1980s.

Sri-Jeetu hit the all-familiar beach and matka setting again in yet another hit, Tohfa for the song, Gori tere ang ang mein.

 

Main naagin tu sapera, Nagina

Sri's earnest Nagin dance, boosted by Lata Mangeskar's vivid playback, in Harmesh Malhotra's snake-woman fantasy turned out to be one of the biggest crowd-pullers.

The team tried to recreate history with its sequel, Nigaahen, but failed to deliver the goods.

 

Har kisiko nahi milta yahan pyar zindagi mein, Jaanbaaz

Sridevi, with nothing more than a microphone in hand, sashaying seductively in a red/white chiffon sari is etched in every film buff's memory.

Feroz Khan's stylish sensibilities and Kalyanji-Anandji's groovy declaration, Har kisiko nahi milta yahan pyar zindagi mein, blend her inimitable oomph for this Jaanbaaz ditty.

 

Hawa hawaaii, Mr India

Lo and behold, Bijlee Ki Rani arrives and the silver screen turns a shade of gold.

 

No wonder the hero prefers to stay invisible for most part.

Trust a thoroughly animated Sridevi to spew gibberish like -- I see Lucy. You see Lucy. Haasi Tussi. Laasi Peesi. Mombassa King Kong -- (memorised by every single kid in 1987) and pull it off as one of the greatest song and dances of her career.

It's called conviction and Sridevi has it in truckloads.

 

Kaate nahi katte, Mr India

Sri chucks her effervescent side to sizzle a tad too intently for a children's fantasy in the iconic Mr India song.

And besides enticing the now-you-see-him, now-you-don't Anil Kapoor, with moves all the girls thereafter tried and failed, the actress reaffirms there's nothing quite sexier than a sari.

 

Mere haathon mein nau nau choodiyan, Chandni

Yash Chopra's gorgeous creation is a woman everyone falls in love with.

All thanks to Sridevi for breathing life into this delicate, exuberant character.

And so it's love-at-first-sight for Rishi Kapoor and the viewers as they watch her delightfully romp to the hugely popular wedding number, Mere haathon mein.

 

Najane kahan se, Chaalbaaz

Constantly expanding her range as a performer, Sridevi wins us over once again with a dazzling double role in Chaalbaaz.

Her chirpy rain dance Najane kahan se, clad in a transparent raincoat, not only underscores her child-woman appeal, but miraculously conceal Sunny Deol's wooden dancing skills to bare minimum.

 

Morni baga maan, Lamhe

The exquisite Yash Chopra-Sridevi chemistry is for all to see as the lovely actress sparkles against the folksy beats of Morni.

Lamhe continues to be one of the most significant films on the resume of everyone associated with it.

 

Tu na ja mere badshaah, Khuda Gawah

Mukul Anand's tale of a Pathan keeping his word and the repercussion it has on his young bride and, subsequently, estranged daughter packs in grand scale action.

And one of its sentimental moments include Sridevi pleading Amitabh Bachchan not to abandon her for the sake of a promise in Tu na ja mere badshaah ek vaade ke liye ek vaada tod kar.

 

Gustakh dil, English Vinglish

A 49-year-old Sridevi returned to films with renewed grace to play a taken-for-granted wife and mother of two in Gauri Shinde's breezy dramedy.

It's a not a straightforward story as complications arise when she finds herself drawn to a handsome classmate from her English-speaking class leading to the premise for its most enchanting song (Gustakh dil) and Sridevi's most prized asset -- conviction.

This feature was first published in March 2013.