FUNERAL TURNS STAR TREK FOR FANS
It was full State honours for Sridevi – the last remains wrapped up in the Tricolour -- as Mumbai froze in time. The city witnessed an emotional outpouring which could easily match that of the legendary singer Mohammed Rafi (July 1980: around a million mourners) and that of Rajesh Khanna (July 2012: a little less than a million mourners).
Taken in a hearse in an open truck, decorated with white daisies – Sridevi’s favourite colour – she lay with full make-up, a large south Indian style vermillion and clad in a ceremonial gold and maroon coloured Kanjeevaram sari.
A heavy, large necklace adorned her since she died a ‘suhaagan' (still married), giving the appearance of a resplendent ‘devi' (Goddess) in deep slumber. Earlier, at the Celebration Sports Club, she was kept in a glass casket for the public to offer its homage; later, the hearse was taken by road to the Vile Parle crematorium. These were the last ‘lamhe’ of the actor.
Daughters Janhvi and Khushi performed the last rituals before the body was consigned to flames in the electric crematorium with husband Boney Kapoor standing by.
Leading celebrities came in white, beige, black and pastel combinations, eyes mostly hidden behind glares of various shapes and shades. Among the family members easily identifiable were Sonam and Harshwardhan Kapoor and Boney’s son Arjun and daughter Anshula from the first wife Mona.
The star procession was as dense: Veteran actor Prem Chopra, Subhash Ghai, Amitabh, Jaya, Aishwarya, Shweta Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri and Shreeram Nene, Jaya Pradha, Hema Malini, John Abraham, Suneil Shetty, Anupam Kher, Shahid and Mira Kapoor, Kajol and Ajay Devgn, Randhir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Chunky Pandey, his daughter and scores of others.
They embraced and consoled the bereaved family members, entering from the main entrance and leaving quickly from the other side as fans tried to catch a glimpse. Some like the designer friend of Sridevi, Manish Malhotra, was controllable and was comforted by Rekha.
As the truck carrying the hearse negotiated the six km stretch, passing through some of the poshest areas of Andheri and Vile Parle, people craned their necks from balconies for a ‘last look.’ Others scaled lampposts and trees for an aerial view. The police had a hard time controlling the frenzied crowds, as many wanted to click selfies with the stars. It was a surreal moment for many, as they get to see stars only on the silver screen.
The police had to manage the crowd by brandishing their ‘lathis’ in the air, almost after every 10 minutes. "The line got a little blurred, however, between those who had come to pay their tributes to the actor and others who just wanted a glimpse of the star trek,’’ said Laxman Bhairappa, a Sion resident who has adored Sridevi since he was a child.
Around 3,000 police personnel were deployed. "We had expected around 4-5,000 people but there were almost five times more,’’ said a policeman on duty. Some fans rued that that they could not pay their last respects to their favourite actor. Alka Penkar, 63, said she had been running around in circles for seven hours. "I cannot even express how bad I am feeling. I went to her building but did not get to see her; then, I went to Celebration Sports Club but I could not get past the crowd. Even at the crematorium, I couldn't see her; I just saw the cortege from a distance," she lamented.
Ram Shetty, 49, another Bandra resident, said he waited in vain for almost three hours at the crematorium.
Even after the cremation, many people refused to budge and kept the police on their feet. It was only after all the celebrities left that the crowd melted.