Google pays homage to Sridevi on 60th birth anniversary with doodle
Mumbai (PTI): Search engine giant Google on Sunday celebrated the 60th birth anniversary of Indian cinema icon Sridevi with a special doodle dedicated to her on-screen charisma.
Born on this day in 1963 in present-day Tamil Nadu, Sridevi fell in love with movies as a child and started acting at the age of four making her debut with the Tamil movie "Kandhan Karunai".
"Today's Doodle, illustrated by Mumbai-based guest artist Bhumika Mukherjee, celebrates Indian actress Sridevi's 60th birthday! Starring in nearly three hundred movies over the course of four decades, Sridevi made Bollywood's sweeping dramas and comedies shine, oftentimes without a male counterpart in a traditionally male-dominated industry," said the search engine in its description of the doodle.
Sridevi learned multiple South Indian languages, which helped her to break into other film industries . Early in her career, she acted in a variety of genres across multiple film industries, including Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam.
The actor gained national recognition in 1976 for K Balachander's "Moondru Mudichu", co-starring cinema veterans Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. Widely considered the star of Tamil cinema at the time, Sridevi's on-screen charisma garnered attention from producers from the Hindi film industry as well.
After playing the lead role in the action comedy "Himmatwala", Sridevi established herself as a Bollywood icon and went on to star in hits like "Sadma", "Chaalbaaz", "Lamhe", "Chandani" and "Judaai", before taking a break from acting. In 2012, she made a comeback with "English Vinglish" which was a critical and commercial success .
Hailed as Indian cinema's first woman superstar, Sridevi was honoured with Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award given by the Government of India.
Sridevi forever made her mark on the film industry by charting new avenues for women to take on leading roles in Indian cinema and her last film "Mom" (2017) was also an effort in the same direction.
The actor passed away in 2018 in Dubai at the age of 54.
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Like Rohit and Virat, Sanju can''t be replaced: Rajasthan Royals skipper Riyan Parag
Jaipur (PTI): Rajasthan Royals skipper Riyan Parag on Thursday said Sanju Samson's void cannot be filled in his side, likening the challenge to replacing stalwarts like Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli.
Sanju, who led the Royals from 2021 to 2025, was traded to Chennai Super Kings in a pre-season move, with Ravindra Jadeja coming in as part of the deal.
"If you talk about Sanju bhaiya, we never think about replacing the kind of player he is," Parag told reporters in a pre-season press conference here.
"We can perhaps look for someone with a similar skillset or have someone bat in his position...
"It’s like there is no replacement for Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma... In the same way, there is no replacement for Sanju bhaiya because he is such a good player,” Parag said.
Having represented the franchise for 11 years across two stints, Sanju was RR's most successful captain and leading run-scorer, having guided them to the IPL 2022 final and the playoffs in 2024.
His stature has only grown manifold following a stellar T20 World Cup campaign, where he struck three successive match-defining half-centuries to power India to a historic treble and title defence.
India defeated New Zealand by 96 runs in the final with Sanju being adjudged the Player-of-the-Tournament.
Rajasthan Royals had a forgettable last season, enduring 10 defeats to finish ninth in the 10=team standings.
Parag, who has been picked as the captain following Sanju's exit, said RR lost far too many close matches last year and the 2008 winners need better strategy and planning.
“This year, the focus is to plan better and finish games, which we couldn’t do in the previous edition," he said.
"We need to plan well. Last year, there were about 5-6 games which we lost in the last over or even on the last ball. Had we been able to convert those, or had we calculated better, this question (if RR would try anything new) would not have been asked because we would have qualified (for knockouts) by winning those matches," he said.
"I think that in every T20 game, there are 3-4 decisions that you have to make which change the course of the game. If we take those small decisions with strategy and planning, this year will be different," Parag added.
He further expressed his gratitude to the franchise for keeping their faith in him despite several seasons of struggle.
"I was here when I was just 17 and I have seen all the ups and downs, though more downs than ups till now. I want to thank Rajasthan Royals for supporting me and understanding the cricketer I am,” Parag said.
Sangakkara backs Parag -- the skipper
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The Royals’ director of cricket and head coach Kumar Sangakkara said he has always “admired” Parag as a cricketer and he was picked as a skipper after a robust round of interviews with other candidates.
"It was about trying to find the best person who can lead the Rajasthan Royals. I (first) met Riyan when he was a teenager and have admired him as a cricketer. He's right (when he says) he has gone through a lot and seen a lot," Sangakkara said.
"The most striking thing for me was (to see) how reflective and mature he has become."
“To select a captain once Sanju decided to leave, it was very important that we explore all options. We had shortlisted some candidates that we had a very strict interview process for. Riyan knows the questions were hard. At the end of the day Manoj (Badale) and I sat down and it was evident that the right choice to lead Rajasthan was Riyan,” Sangakkara added.
