Sridevi’s body to be brought back today
Funeral likely at noon; millions pay last respects to only female superstar
The film industry and millions of cinema lovers were robbed of the immense talent and grace of legendary actor Sridevi, 54, who succumbed to a cardiac arrest late on Saturday night after attending the wedding of Mohit Marwah, the nephew of her husband, producer Boney Kapoor, in Dubai.
The actor was accompanied by Kapoor and her younger daughter Khushi. As the actor’s sister also lives in Dubai, both sides of her family surrounded her in her last moments.
The actor’s mortal remains are to be flown in a chartered flight arranged by Anil Ambani on Monday. Sources said the last rites are likely to be conducted on Monday.
After the news of the icon’s sudden untimely demise broke out, her Andheri bungalow was inundated by grieving fans, who came to pay their last respects to the only female actor who earned the ‘superstar’ title. One of the inconsolable fans who had gathered outside the residence said, “It is just unbelievable. I will not trust the news until I see her body for myself. I shall not move from here until then.”
The film fraternity also took to social media to mourn the sudden demise of the superstar.
Sridevi started her career as a child artiste in south Indian films at the age of four and went on to enjoy a career spanning 50 years. She was a known face in the South Indian film industry before setting foot in Bollywood in 1979. Her credits include some of the most-watched films of the 1980s and 1990s. She conferred India’s fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2013.
She had a tryst with Tollywood. Sridevi, the only actress who started her career as a child artiste in daughter roles and later paired as the female lead to the same stars. This happened only in Tollywood and also only with Sridevi.
The diva started her film career at the age of seven in the film Maa Nanna Nirdoshi as Krishna’s daughter. Later she played as the female lead opposite Krishna in the film Burripalem Bullodu and went on to act with him in 31 films which is the highest in her career —sharing a screen space with the same lead actor. The legendary actor played daughter to Sobhan Babu in Naa Thammudu and again paired with him as a heroine in many films. Little Sridevi acted as the granddaughter of NTR in the film Badipanthulu and later in the film Vetagadu, the 55-plus actor dances with a young Sridevi.
Same occurred with Akkineni Nageswara Rao, with whom Sridevi acted as a child artiste and later as a couple.
Interestingly, the talented actress also acted with Nageswara Rao’s son Nagarjuna as the female lead. With this, Sridevi is the first actress to act opposite a father and later with his son as a heroine.
At the age of 20, Sridevi became the Queen of South Indian cinema where she acted with almost all the big stars of her time in South which was another feather to her cap. She not only got good glamorous roles but also proved her performance as a versatile actress. By 30, she had completed more than 200 films.