She Played Sridevi’s Sister, Focused On Regional Cinema — Then Returned With A Cult Bollywood Comedy

When the romantic drama Julie was released in 1975, it created an instant stir across the nation as theatres remained packed with young audiences.

The film not only became a commercial and critical success but also pushed boundaries with its brave subject. Among its biggest highlights was its leading lady, who made her Hindi cinema debut with the film.

This actress was Lakshmi who became an overnight sensation with Julie. The film was directed by KS Sethumadhavan and featured a strong ensemble cast including Vikram, Nadira, Rita Bhaduri and Om Prakash.

Interestingly, Julie also featured a young Sridevi, who played Lakshmi’s younger sister on screen. Julie was a Hindi remake of the Malayalam hit Chattakari.

While the film opened many doors for her in Bollywood, she could not take on more Hindi films at the time.

Her busy schedule in the South kept her fully occupied, and she felt Hindi scripts that did not offer the kind of strong, female-driven roles.

Her journey took a beautiful turn when she returned to Hindi cinema in 2004, nearly three decades later. Her comeback film was Hulchul where she played the fiery character of Laxmi Devi, Kareena Kapoor’s grandmother.

Her performance was full of strength, attitude and comic timing, making her scenes some of the most memorable moments in the film.

Hulchul brought together an impressive cast including Akshaye Khanna, Kareena Kapoor, Amrish Puri, Jackie Shroff, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal and Shakti Kapoor.

It follows the story of a man and woman from rival families who pretend to fall in love as a revenge plot, but eventually, they genuinely fall for each other.

The film had a modest budget of around Rs 10 crore, but it turned out to be a major success. It collected Rs 8 crore in its first week and went on to earn Rs 31.53 crore overall.