Bollywood is known for the competition. We can't deny it's the competition that keeps the industry going to an extent. Even if actors have no intention to compete, even if they say they have no issues with successful competitors, even if they say their own competition is themselves, they'll be dragged into the middle of the ring and told to fight.
It's always the most successful and most prolific actors who seem to make a good match or have worked often with one another, they're the ones who're pitted against one another. Two such actors were Sridevi and Jaya Prada, there is yet to be another rivalry as rife with excitement as theirs.
Sridevi and Jaya Prada's endless competition
Sridevi has often been pitted as a competitor for many actresses. However, her competition with Jaya Prada was widely known. The two had made a definite entry into Bollywood in the late 70s roughly at the same time and were both acclaimed actresses in the South. This made them the ideal candidates for stiff competition.
The two were always neck and neck when it came to their successes and their films. The media had quickly caught on to their competition, only adding fuel to fire. It was the 80s when Sridevi and Jaya Prada were both continuously paired against one another in media reports. Where Sridevi was touted as one of the most skilled actresses, Jaya was considered the most beautiful. Often, it's this point that was underlined by the media as the basis of their rivalry. Jaya Prada was called 'the most beautiful face in Indian cinema' by director Stayajit Ray.
At the time, the media was ruthless towards Sridevi, often commenting on her as 'Thunder thighs' an unforgivable title for an actress who was known later as a beauty. In an interview, Jaya Prada had reportedly once said that she was born beautiful but Sirdevi was a product of cosmetic surgery. Interestingly, despite the stiff competition, the two acted in roughly 9 films together. In the 80s, Sridevi, Jaya Prada and Jitendra became a formula for Bollywood films.
The competition between them was so well-known that when it came to the film Maqsad, their co-stars Jeetendra and Rajesh Khanna locked the two in a room so as to dissipate their hard feelings, but to no avail. Even though the two were constantly seen side-by-side, the two were remarkably different in appearance and personality. But, the two were extremely good dancers as well.
Eventually, Sridevi though shot ahead grabbing the best roles and making an unshakeable place for herself in Bollywood, she had beaten out almost all the competition and in the 90s Sridevi was undoubtedly ruling over the box office, where Jaya Prada had lost the clout she once had. Sridevi is no more, and Jaya Prada may have moved away from acting, but their competition will remain one of the fiercest in Bollywood.
