IT IS A SADMA!
The demise of Bollywood’s first female superstar, Sridevi leaves nation in a deep state of shock
There was none who could carry off both 'Hawa hawai' and 'Kate nahin katte' with the same élan. Her mere presence would resonate on the screen like no other actress. Few had her impeccable timing as a comedienne. These were the flattering references the movie industry made to an actress who had dominated the silver screen in the 80s and earned the moniker of the female Amitabh Bachchan.
What added mystique to the magical aura around her – perhaps a throwback to her blockbuster Mr India, when Anil Kapoor was a nobody -- was her sudden demise in Dubai where she was attending a wedding function.
She had no history of heart ailment, her brother-in-law and actor Sanjay Kapoor said. The 54-year-old collapsed in her hotel room on Saturday evening and a medical team failed to revive her. She was declared dead when she was taken to the hospital. The doctors said she had suffered a cardiac arrest.
In the photos and videos of the wedding function that are doing the rounds on social media, she is seen looking radiant and exuding charm. But her demise has given the hazy images a surreal quality. Since family members consider it a natural death, no post-mortem is necessary but other UAE procedures have to be completed before the body can be flown to Mumbai by a chartered flight. It is understood that industry magnate Anil Ambani has offered his private aircraft to ferry her last remains to the city she had made her home. The last rites, it is expected, will be performed on Monday.
If Sridevi had blockbusters like Himmatwalla and Tohfa with Jeetendra, she also won critical acclaim with "Sadma," "Lamhe" and ‘Chandini.’ It is one of those ironies of life that Sridevi passed away on February 24, 2018, and her film Himmatwala had released on February 25, 1983. It was #35 Years of Himmatwala that was trending on Twitter before Sridevi’s demise swamped the site.
‘She will be in the textbook of Indian cinema; Sridevi was a complete actor in her own right, flawless and dignified," said Subhash Ghai, who was her director in 'Karma' in 1986.
Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur said "with Sridevi gone, an era is over". "Like life is turning a new chapter. A beautiful story just ended. An amazing spirit just vanished leaving us with amazing love, memories, and incredible grief," he tweeted.
On her Twitter handle, a modest Sridevi preferred to describe herself as "Actor-MOM-Housewife-Actor Again!" But the song, ‘‘Main khwabon ki shehzadi, main hoon har dil pe chhayi" would have been a more apt description of the actress.
It is no mean feat that 15 years after her marriage to director Boney Kapoor, she made a triumphant comeback with "English Vinglish", which received rave reviews from critics. But, for the record, she was last seen in Mom (2017), in which she was unbelievably good as a mother thirsty for revenge after her daughter is gang-raped.
Those who are already pining for her, Sridevi will be seen in a cameo in Aanand L Rai's forthcoming Zero. She will play herself in the movie and has shot a special song with Shah Rukh Khan; she will also share screen space with Alia Bhatt and Karisma Kapoor.