Who was more popular between Madhuri and Sridevi? - Page 3

In 1980s it was Sridevi. In 90s it was Madhuri.

Honestly I do not like to make comparisons between Sridevi, Madhuri or Hema, Rekha etc because no other actress after these legends has ever matched their talent, sway over masses, charisma, ability to carry film on their shoulders and overshadow even male actors.

Today people do not know what female superstardom is. Few hits or hyperactive PR or troll armies online do not make a superstar. Nope.

Sridevi and Madhuri are the last empresses. The last ones who used to be paid more than male superstars too. The last ones who could make any film memorable with just their presence.

Nowadays an actress has one or two good years and is called superstar. Earlier Hema and Sridevi, Madhuri sustained stardom, gave hits for years to be called numero uno.

Sridevi's success was unmatched. She was paid more than all male actors except Amitabh. She is the only one to have given mega hits in Hindi. Tamil and Telugu cinema and overshadowed male superstars and even male villains.

She was called Lady Amitabh in her heydays. Highest earning actor of her time till even 1992. She is the only one who had Rajinikanth and Sunny Deol play sidekicks to her in Chaalbaaz. Tell me any other actress who got Rajinikanth to be a sidekick in her film!

She was also called Lady Rajinikanth in South and in Japan where her films used to do as well as Rajini films.

Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Amitabh she worked with all and overshadowed them. Her clash with Amrish Puri in Nagina is one of the first films to pit heroine against villain.

She is the only heroine who had sequels written for her. Nigahen was sequel of Nagina.

She is also the only one whose comeback English Vinglish was superhit. Unlike Madhuri whose all comeback films are flops.

Her only weakness was her reclusive nature. She never did any PR and her peak was in 80s when there was not much TV channels, internet or media. So people have no idea of her fame and success.

Madhuri in contrast hit her peak with Beta, Khalnayak, HAHK etc in 90s and by that time media, TV channels were beginning to boom in India due to which she got more exposure and opportunities in concerts, reality shows.

Of course Sridevi died too soon as well so she cannot be in as much news or shows or have her own Youtube channel or do digital shows like MD.

Madhuri and Hema have been very media savvy, have a knack for being in limelight. This is why they have become seemingly more popular icons in terms of perception over the years.

They are also smart to cultivate political links. Something that Sridevi never did.

Sridevi's popularity and success are no less. But she was reclusive, rarely did photo shoots or spoke much to media. She also let her mom and husband control her life too much. And blundered by continuing to work with older actors in home productions like Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja and rejected films like Darr and Beta offered to her initially. Madhuri was smart enough to work with younger lot like Khans and not do more films with Anil or Jackie or Sanjay.

Though she was soon overtaken by Karishma, Kajol, Urmila, Ash, Raveena types from mid 90s. But she still became more known to younger generation.

Sridevi's songs were also popular be it ones from Chandni, Lamhe, Chaalbaaz, Mr India or Jaanbaaz (where her one song totally overshadowed actual heroine of the film). And her films still top ratings on TV till date.

Biggest testimony to popularity of Sridevi was how people looked for her lookalikes. Divya Bharti gained fame mainly due to her resemblance to Sridevi. And in Afghanistan, Russia Divya's posters still sell as people mistake her for Sridevi. Kajol, Karishma all admitted they used to copy her songs or got inspired to join films seeing her films in 80s.

Sridevi also suffered dent in her image due to her personal life, especially when she got pregnant before marriage.

Madhuri has always had advantage over Sridevi due to this one factor as she had a near perfect personal life and real life image. Besides having a better voice and dance skill, PR, and media/marketing skills.

Sridevi became even bigger recluse after marriage. Madhuri did TV shows or ads or tried to launch her own app, YouTube channel, cosmetic range with Emami.

They are both iconic. But Sridevi was no less popular. Madhuri's popularity may seem more now or in coming years in retrospect as she is more active in media, social media than Sridevi ever was.

Sridevi never knew how to market herself or showcase her success. She barely got credit and hype she deserved after success of English Vinglish either. She may have played strong characters onscreen but in real life she rarely understood nuances of self promotion or PR. Earlier her mom and later her husband entirely micro managed her career. She just did what she was told to do. Unlike Madhuri who seems to have more control over her career compared to Sridevi.

Both Sridevi and Madhuri were popular in their own eras. 80s and 90s. Just because Sridevi did not work in era of number of hits, likes, shares and clicks, it does not make her popularity or impact on cinema any less.

Sridevi also never crossed any limits. She would never have done scenes like Madhuri did with Vinod and Anil in Dayavan and Parinda. She did her share of hot songs but never crossed a certain line even if it cost her career prospects.

All these actresses doing wet saree numbers today still cannot match Sridevi who was original queen of wet saree numbers in films like Mr India and Chandni. Nor has there been an actress who could even match talent like Kamal Haasan and Amitabh Bachchan let alone overshadow them the way Sridevi did.

And there is not going to be any actress anytime soon who can match iconic stature of Hema Hema Malini, Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit either and give blockbusters on her own.

So comparisons are not going to make sense. After seeing hardly any actress with talent and charisma of Sridevi and Madhuri, I do not feel like disrespecting the work of these 2 legends by comparing them.

I am surprised how later day PR alters perception. Just as some people underestimate stardom of Rajesh Khanna now because Amitabh is active till date and people forget Amitabh was giving flops when Rajesh Khanna gave 15 back to back superhits and went for 5 years without a single flop - a feat no superstar has repeated ever since.

Guess hard selling yourself and being in media glare is more important than actual work. Perception of success is more important than success itself nowadays.

You said everything I have ever discovered to my knowledge of Sridevi, Madhuri and Divya as well Hindi cinema in general.

Madhuri Dixit had the mass appeal among Mumbaikars as well she reigned in the most iconic era. All the 90s stars remain the most popular stars ever so masses relate to her than an 80s (most disliked) era.

Also MD is high on PR and manipulation something that Sridevi never believed in.

But international audience and media recognises Sridevi as the hyper feministic ideal as well she's one of the fewest female stars on Earth to have huge Queer following (only one in India).

Sridevi undoubtedly. She is equally popular all over India , North to South, East to West and also outside India.

See u have to understand one thing. Sridevi was very quiet and introvert by nature. She never had any pr which will keep Her in news. She never tried to manipulate perceptions and facts through bots and paid media. Even She wasn't on social media until the release of English Vinglish. But Yes, She was a sensation, a rage, a national craze at Her peak. She has seen unprecedented popularity. But again never endorsed or promoted that thing , whereas madhuri she is high on pr and manipulating perceptions through bots and paid media. Also she is very much active on social media and tv. Today's kids may know shilpa shetty because she does reality shows and active on social media. But that doesn't mean she was more popular or anywhere near SRIDEVI'S popularity. So, it works like that.