Boney Kapoor has finally broken his silence on why his late wife Sridevi did not play Sivagami in Baahubali. The role went to Ramya Krishnan and there was speculation that Sridevi had made “unreasonable demands.”
In a recent interview, Kapoor clarified that money was the real issue. “The film (Baahubali) with Rajamouli didn’t happen, but I still have his text saying he was a fan of Sridevi as an actor. After speaking to her, his respect for her increased multi-fold because of the inputs she gave. She didn’t work in that film because of the confusion created by producers,” he said.
Kapoor recalled that Rajamouli came to meet them in person, but once he stepped out of the room, the producers offered Sridevi less than what she had been paid for English Vinglish. “She wasn’t a struggling actor. You’re getting mileage out of her, including reach in both Hindi and Tamil. Why would I want my wife to do that?” he asked.
Kapoor also hit back at allegations that Sridevi was unprofessional. “To say things like that is wrong. So many directors have repeatedly worked with her. Why would they have done that if she were unprofessional? They [the Baahubali producers] could have simply said ‘We couldn’t pay that money,’ instead of twisting the story,” he said.
