Asia Spa India

“Jaanu, ask for a glass of carrot juice,” she says as she readies for a shot in one of her favourite Donna Karan lime green gown. She is standing in the middle of a fibre sculpture shaped like a flower as the photographer’s assistant frantically wipes the glass window behind with a crumpled newspaper, another assistant stands ready with a high voltage lit bulb behind to give the ‘glow’ you generally see in the actresses pictures.
Candid with Sridevi


“Okay ready”, says Suresh Natarajan, the photographer and she strikes a pose... so very familiar to many of her fans. This is the real Chaal Baaz Sridevi, naughty gleaming eyes with an innocence that swept cinema goers in the 80s, the Sridevi that danced seductively in a red [er blue!] chiffon saree to the invisible Mr. India! As she gives her poses for the shot, it is evident why she was at one time even branded as the male Mr Amitabh Bachchan. She flirts with the camera with such grace and calm that only comes with years of experience.

There is simplicity in her manner, and a no-attitude persona behind the aura which is instantly endearing. She looks startling beautiful!

For asiaSpa’s 7th anniversary special issue I was shooting with Sridevi at the Quan Spa, JW Marriott Pune. And I have to admit that it has been a pleasure doing this shoot with her, which is not what I can say about many shoots that I have done with other Indian film actresses. (Beat this – There was this one particular actress who demanded white flowers for a shot, then decided that she wanted a yellow one with a scowl, then changed her decision to not using the flower at all because the hotel staff was just a little bit slow in sourcing the flowers.)

Sridevi is totally a spa person – she knows her wraps and she knows her scrubs. The spa menu is as familiar to her as the back of her hand. She is familiar with all the new treatments and the innovations that the spa industry is coming up with.

She has sort of wrapped wellness around her and her family. Her two daughters Jhanavi – Jaanu as she fondly called her – and Khushi, the younger one, are both already introduced to the spa therapies.

A doting mother, patience comes to her naturally. At the height of her career she gave it all up to concentrate on her family, and says, “It came naturally to me and my children and family became my priority.”

However, now she is all set and excited about making a comeback in a movie written and directed by Gauri Shinde and produced by her husband R. Balki of ‘Paa’ fame. She says, “I am very excited about the subject. In this movie, I play a housewife, who sets out to find her own identity.”


In this candid interview with asiaSpa Sridevi revealed all about living a life marked by wellness, and even opened up about her discovery of a passion for painting, which is a facet of her personality that is not known to many. She also shared many secrets behind her beautiful skin and perfect body. Her effortless beauty and enigmatic aura was truly enchanting, and her electrifying presence and energy, infectious! This spirited interaction and the gorgeous shoot was a truly beautiful experience!