Throwback Tuesday: When Sridevi's demise left a deep impact on Rani Mukerji aka her 'Laddu'

Bollywood lost its first female superstar, Sridevi, back in 2018 but stories about the late actress still manage to stir up social media or start a conversation online. With Rishi Kapoor's passing away, thousands also remembered his Chandni co-star Sridevi and Vinod Khanna who already bid goodbye to the world. Many fans took to social media to reminisce their film Chandni and how watching the stars onscreen was an absolute pleasure. Sridevi's loss was an absolute shocker and left her fans and the film fraternity devastated.

One of the many people who were moved by Sridevi's loss was actress Rani Mukerji. At the time, Rani's film Hichki was slated to release in a few weeks. For the uninitiated, Sridevi passed away when she was in Dubai with husband Boney Kapoor. The couple were attending a family wedding when the unfortunate incident took place. Rani, who was extremely close to Sridevi, was left equally shocked with the heartbreaking news. The two were extremely close and Sridevi even addressed Rani as Laddu. Did you know that?

Back then, in an interview to TOI, Rani had spoken about the deep void that Sridevi's demise had left in her life. She also recalled that Sridevi was excited about Hichkii after watching its trailer and was looking forward to the film. "I was very close to her personally. In fact, before she went to Dubai, she told me that she wants to see Hichki and I told her that aap shaadi-vaadi karke  aa jao. Phir main aapko Hichki dikhaati  hoon," Rani had said at the time adding that she know the late actor would have given her a genuine feedback. 

In fact, not just with Hichki, but Sridevi was a huge support to Rani even when she was just starting out in films. Both the talented actors knew of each other and Rani even used to visit Sridevi's film set as a kid. "For me Sriji has been my favrouite since childhood. She actually knew me as a kid because I used to go in my school uniform to see her shoot since she worked in Shomu chacha's film. I remember going with my school bag to watch her shoot and she remembered me as that kid. I connected with her in a very different way when I grew up and when I was an actor," Rani said. 

Adding, "She used to immensely love my work. There was a lot of love that I received from her. In fact, she used to call me Laddu." 

Not showing Sridevi her film seemed to be a huge regret for Rani as she recalled then, "I was looking forward to showing her my film because she called me after seeing my trailer and said, 'Laddu, I have to see this movie' and I said that yes maa, as soon as the movie is ready, I will show you." However, Sridevi passed away exactly a month before Rani's film could hit the theatres. 

The 'English Vinglish' actress was not just a friend and confidante, but she was also a massive support to Rani Mukerji when she gave birth to her daughter Adira in 2015. "The kind of love that she (Sridevi) has given me and Adira in the last two years has been phenomenal. She was like an elder sister, like a maasi. She has been like a pillar of support to me in these last two years," Rani had revealed back then. 

Sridevi was also present for Adira Chopra's second birthday bash and photos from the star-studded party had quickly gone viral. While Rani has fiercely kept Adira's life private, we got to see a glimpse of Rani, Sridevi, Rekha, Karan Johar, Kareena Kapoor Khana and Shilpa Shetty along with some tiny tots like Taimur, Yash and Roohi smiling for the camera.

It has been two years since Sridevi passed away, but the actress will continue to remain irreplaceable in the hearts and minds of millions.