Bollywood star Sridevi drowned in Dubai hotel bathtub
DUBAI/ISLAMABAD: The Bollywood star Sridevi Kapoor lost consciousness and drowned in the bathtub of her hotel apartment in Dubai, a postmortem examination has found.
Dubai Police said they had referred the case to the Public Prosecution, which would “carry out the regular legal procedures followed in such cases.”
Sridevi, 54, died on Saturday night. She was visiting Dubai to attend a family wedding with her husband, the film producer and director Boney Kapoor, and their daughter Khushi. The family said initially she had suffered a cardiac arrest.
“The public prosecution may question Boney Kapoor for further investigation. He may have to stay in Dubai for a while,” Yamini Rajesh, a lawyer in the UAE, told Arab News.
The Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani sent a chartered plane to repatriate Sridevi’s body, a process that will require clearance certificates from UAE officials.
“Most probably, the body will be released after the legal judgment,” Rajesh said.
Meanwhile, Bollywood fans throughout the world mourned the loss of their screen heroine, who appeared in 300 films; her 300th will be Shah Rukh Khan’s forthcoming “Zero,” which has just been completed.
Sridevi’s career began at the age of 4 in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannadalanguage films before she crossed over to Bollywood.
She featured over five decades in classics such as “Mr. India,” “Chandni,” “ChaalBaaz” and “Sadma” and, more recently, “English Vinglish.”
The acting and entertainment community in both India and Pakistan spoke of their loss.
Sajal Aly, one of Pakistan’s leading dramatic actresses, made her Bollywood debut with Sridevi in last year’s critically acclaimed “Mom.”
Sajal’s own mother died before the screening of the film. Her post about Sridevi’s death read: “Lost my mom again.”
Other celebrities who paid tribute included the model and actress Mawra Hocane, who posted photos of Sridevi in some of her earlier iconic roles, and a photo of the two meeting in Dubai last year.
The film and television actress Saba Qamar also posted a tribute.
Celebrities Ali Zafar, Mahira Khan, Maya Ali, Sana Javed, Imran Abbas, fashion designer Faraz Manan and cricketer Waqar Younis also expressed their condolences to the Kapoor family and to Sridevi’s legions of fans.
Many cited her influence, her grace when meeting them, and her star power and talent that in many cases inspired them to take to the screen themselves.