Leading lady of Bollywood dies
Sridevi Kapoor was the first female superstar in India’s male-dominated movie industry. The 54-year-old actress drowned in a Dubai hotel bathtub.
Sridevi Kapoor, Bollywood’s leading lady of the 1980s and ’90s who redefined stardom for actresses in India, has died at age 54.
The actress was described as the first female superstar in India’s maledominated film industry.
Like many leading actresses of her generation, Sridevi used one name onscreen and was known for her comic timing and dancing skills — a great asset in the musical melodramas that are a staple of mainstream Indian cinema.
Sridevi drowned Saturday in a Dubai hotel bathtub after a “loss of consciousness,” according to the Dubai Media Office. She had been in Dubai to attend a family wedding.
Indian political leaders and entertainers posted condolences and recollections of her work, with many expressing dismay.
“Woken up to this tragic news. Absolute shock. Sad,” tweeted Rishi Kapoor, her costar in the 1989 film “Chandni,” or “Moonlight,” in which Sridevi played a woman torn between two loves.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences too.
“Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi,” he tweeted. “She was a veteran of the film industry whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances.”
Sridevi began acting as a child in regional cinema in India’s south and made her debut in Hindi-language Bollywood films in the late 1970s.
Other famous roles included “Mr. India,” in which she played a reporter, and “Lamhe,” or “Moments,” a 1991 film in which she played dual roles of mother and teenage daughter.
Her impeccable comic timing and her dancing skills were front and center in “Chaalbaaz,” or “Game Player,” in 1989, in which she played twins separated at birth.
She shared the screen with some of Indian cinema’s most iconic leading men, from Amitabh Bachchan to Shahrukh Khan. Another costar was Anil Kapoor, her brother-inlaw known for his role in “Slumdog Millionaire.”
Sridevi stopped acting for several years after her marriage to film producer Boney Kapoor but made a well-received comeback in 2012 with “English Vinglish,” a nuanced performance about a middle-aged woman learning English to fit in better with her family.
Her last performance was the 2017 film “Mom,” in which she played a woman seeking vengeance after her stepdaughter is raped.
She is survived by her husband and two daughters.