On Sridevi's birthday, check out late star's 10 best regional hits that defined her career

Sridevi is considered among the legends of the film industry for her work across languages for five decades. The actor, considered among the rare female superstars of the Indian film industry and highest-paid names of the '80s and '90s, left an illustrious legacy after her untimely demise in 2018. While fans remember her Bollywood films like Chaalbaaz, Chandni, Sadma, Mr India, among others, there were countless ventures in Tamil and Telugu ventures that displayed her immense acting chops, screen presence, and impactful charisma. 

On her 58th birth anniversary, here are 10 films which shaped Sridevi's career and made her a legend in the film industry. Read:

Thunaivan (1969)

Sridevi was among the names who shot to fame after a successful career as a child artist. One of the roles that played a major role in her success was as Lord Muruga in this black-and-white era Tamil film.  The movie is said to have worked for over 100 days and baby Sridevi's appearance in the climax of this movie had created a major impact on the success of the film.

Moondaram Pirai (1983)

Balu Mahendra's Moondaram Pirai is considered among the best performances of Sridevi of all time. The actor was in fine form as a child-like character being taken care of by Kamal Haasan's character, and her fun-filled mischievous acts won the hearts of audiences at that time. The film was remade in Hindi as Sadma with the same team, including music maestro Ilayaraaja.

Kshana Kshanam (1991)

Before Satya and Rangeela, Ram Gopal Varma had brought Sridevi and Venkatesh together in a Telugu film. The actress had won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress-Telugu for enacting the role of a woman stuck between a gang of robbers and police, before being helped by a pickpocketer. The movie was remade in Daud starring Urmila Matondkar and Sanjay Dutt. The movie enjoys an impressive 8.1 rating on Internet Movie Database (IMDb).

Meendum Kokila (1981) 

Meendum Kokila was another of  Sridevi's collaborations with Kamal Haasan, even before the acclaimed Moondaram Pirai. Sridevi was brilliant, in this Tamil movie.  as a simple housewife, who does whatever it takes to save her marriage after her husband wishes to leave for a movie star. Meendum Kokila had fetched Sridevi the Filmfare Award for Best Actress-Telugu.

Varumayin Niram Sigappu (1980)

The 'guru' of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, the superstars of Tamil cinema, K Balachander, played an important part in the growth of Sridevi as an actress too. And one of those ventures was through Varumayin Niram Sigappu, which is among her most critically acclaimed films. While the focus was on Kamal Haasan, Sridevi too stood out in the role of a theatre actress, battling issues at home and at work. Varumayin Niram Sigappu is another film of Sridevi that enjoys a good IMDb rating of 8.2.

Jagadeka Veerudu Atiloka Sundari  (1990)

Jagadeka Veerudu Atiloka Sundari starring Chiranjeevi is considered one of the cult classics in Telugu, which was a massive success at that time. Sridevi played the character of Indraja, daughter of Lord Indra, trying to take back a ring, that gives powers to the wearer, from Chiranjeevi. The fun-filled moments due to the situation in the fantasy film has been memorable for fans of that era.

Sigappu Rojakkal (1978)

Much before Sridevi won the National Award posthumously for a thriller, Mom, she had featured in this psychological thriller. Not just romance and drama, this movie showed that she could show emotions of thrill and freight in the role of a woman married to a psychopath. The movie, directed by Bharathiraaja was among the biggest hits of that era and said to have run in theatres for 175 days. 

Moondru Mudichu (1976)

Much before Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan became the stars they are today, they had played characters smitten by Sridevi's characters. One of them was Moondru Mudichu which was her first adult role at the age of just 13. The teenager became a household name with the success of the movie, in which she gets stuck in a love triangle, before devising a smart ploy to exact revenge.

16 Vayathinile (1977) 

16 Vayathinile was another film of the Sridevi, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth trio. The movie was among Srivei's earlier films that went on to attain a cult following, bagging numerous awards and running 175 days in theatres despite being written off as an experimental film due to its numerous tragedies. Sridevi too was honoured in the role of the 16-year-old in her journey of love, heartbreaks and dangers.

Aakhari Poratam (1988)

At a time when numerous characters for women in Indian films were restricted to the sidelines, Sridevi was seen firing guns in the poster of the movie. Her performance, alongside Telugu star Nagarjuna , in the role of a CBI officer trying to expose the criminal, played by Amrish Puri, was one of her popular South films, after gaining recognition in Bollywood films.