New Delhi: Back before the internet dominated the prank landscape, magazines and newspapers were the battlegrounds for elaborate April Fool's Day jokes. These weren't just a single line buried in the text; they were full-blown productions designed to have readers doing double takes. One such elaborate April Fool prank was done by Cine Blitz magazine in 1991 that featured a photo of Anupam Kher as a glamorous woman, claiming it was Sridevi's long-lost sister.
Last year, Anupam Kher shared the cover photo on Instagram and shared that his makeup was done by the famous makeup Mickey Contractor and the late photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha was the man behind the lens. He also shared the picture on April 1 this year, asking the users to guess the person in the picture.
Sridevi's reaction on the cover
The headline was, "EXPLOSIVE: Prabhadevi’s Shattering Confession, 'Yes I Am Sridevi’s Unknown Sister,'". After the issue hit the stands, Cine Blitz managed to elicit a response from Sridevi herself regarding the prank.
When asked about her reaction to Anupam's plan, Sridevi told Cine Blitz, "Anupamji didn't tell me what exactly he was going to do. One day, while we were shooting he told me, 'Ma'am main aap ko ek surprise dene wala hoon' (Ma'am I'm going to give you a surprise). The whole day he kept telling me the same thing. So I asked him what the surprise was. And all he said was, 'Nahin, I don't want to tell you, magar aap bahut hassenge'. The whole day Anupamji kept building up the suspense. I had absolutely no idea what he was going to do. I could not even imagine what the surprise was.”
Reflecting on the aftermath of the prank, Sridevi recounted how her sister and brother-in-law were perturbed by the false claim published by Cine Blitz, stating, "See what this Cine Blitz has done. They have said that we have got another sister hiding somewhere."
Sridevi found the prank amusing. She told the magazine, "It was a really good April Fool joke for everybody. Especially when she said that she knew all the Hollywood actors. That was really funny and very cute in a way."
Gautam Rajadhyaksha, in his book 'Faces,' reminisced about the covert transformation of Anupam Kher into Prabhadevi.
He wrote, “During a hilarious, if gruelling two-hour make-up session, the bald, round-faced gent was ‘morphed’ jowls and all, by Mickey, into the sultry, dreamy-eyed beauty called Prabhadevi. A great complexion, a near perfect nose and a mouth made for seduction, I’m sure Anupam himself had no idea of his hidden potential!”
Jaya Bachchan's reaction
Rajadhyaksha vividly described how the industry, including Jaya Bachchan, fell for the fabricated story.
“I was shooting with Amitabh (who had been told the night before by a suddenly stricken Anupam!) the day of the issue’s release. Jaya, having read the story, tossed the magazine aside with disdain. “Such cheap sensationalism. I admit she does look a bit like Sridevi, but…” I will never forget Jaya’s face when Amit, who couldn’t contain himself any longer, blurted out the truth. Disbelief, giving way to incredulity, shock, amazement, till at last she dissolved into peals of laughter. Sometimes, even now, remembering Jay’s gasps and giggles, I laugh out loud,” he wrote in his book.