India woke up to the shocking news of Sridevi’s untimely death on Sunday. The Bollywood actor passed away late on Saturday after a cardiac arrest, as confirmed by her brother-in-law Sanjay Kapoor. She was 54. “Yes, it is true that Sridevi passed away. I just landed here, I was in Dubai and now I am flying back to Dubai. It happened roughly around 11.00-11.30. I don’t know more details yet,” Sanjay confirmed the news to indianexpress.com. Sridevi was reportedly with her husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Khushi at the time of death. They were with the entire Kapoor family in UAE to attend the wedding ceremony of Mohit Marwah. Late Sridevi Kapoor’s body will arrive from Dubai and her last rites are expected to be performed on Monday.
Born as Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan, Sridevi worked in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films before entering Hindi films. She started acting in the late 1960s, but her performance in Malayalam film Poombata (1971) won her the state award for best child artist.
Sridevi made her Bollywood debut as a child artist in Julie (1975). Her first adult role was at the age of 13 in Tamil film Moondru Mudichu (1976). Sridevi went on to become one of the biggest female stars India ever had. The government of India awarded her Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour, in 2013.
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Her most remarkable films include Sadma, Chandni, Himmatwala, ChaalBaaz, Mr India, Nagina, Mawali, Tohfa and Gumrah among others.
After working in Judaai, she took a 15-year break from movies only to be back to winning hearts in her second innings with English Vinglish in 2012. She was last seen in 2017 film MOM.
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Sridevi’s most memorable onscreen pairing was with her real-life brother-in-law Anil Kapoor, while her most successful films were produced by husband Boney Kapoor.
Sridevi passing has left a gaping hole in Indian cinema. The actor’s last film appearance will be in Shah Rukh Khan starrer Zero that releases in December this year. Celebrities have started dropping in at Anil Kapoor’s residence to offer their condolences. The last rites will take place tomorrow.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to share his condolences. He tweeted, “Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace.”
Film celebrities have been pouring in their condolences.
Sridevi is survived by Boney Kapoor and two daughters – Janhvi and Khushi. She was Boney’s second wife. Her elder daughter Janhvi is set to make her Bollywood debut this year with Karan Johar’s directorial Dhadak.