Sridevi Death Anniversary: DYK The Real Name Of India's First Female Superstar

Sridevi is a well-known name in the film industry, having captured hearts for over two decades. Sridevi, the "First Female Superstar" of Indian cinema, left an indelible mark on the South Indian and Bollywood film industries. Her five-decade acting career demonstrated her exceptional acting talent, adaptability, and timeless beauty. But did you know Sridevi's real was something else? Let us take a look.

What was Sridevi's real name?

For the unversed, Sridevi's real name is Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan. Ayyapan and Rajeswari gave birth to Sridevi on August 13, 1963, in Meenampatti village near Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, India. Her father was a lawyer from Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, and her mother was from Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Sridevi's mother tongue was Telugu, and she spoke Tamil fluently.

Sridevi's legacy as an on-screen goddess

Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan, famous forever as Sridevi, met her premature end at the Jumeirah Emirates Tower Hotel in Dubai on February 24, 2018. Today marks her sixth death anniversary. Decades before she became a film goddess, Sridevi was playing a god on-screen and the south Indian moviegoing audience was eating out of her hands. I do not use the term 'south Indian' loosely like we often tend to do.

Sridevi played child gods and demi-gods in a bevy of Tamil, Malayalam as well as Kannada movies. Owing to her sweeping success as Lord Murugan in her Tamil debut 'Thunaivan', the kid Sridevi was flooded with offers to play deities in film after film.

She played Murugan in films like Kumara Sambhavam, Aathi Parasakthi and Agathiyar. Kumara Sambhavam was multilingual, shot also in Malayalam where she was Subramanian, the same deity who's referred to as Murugan. She also appeared as Krishna in a Tamil film called Agathiyar.

(With inputs from IANS)