Bollywood leading lady Sridevi dies at 54

New Delhi— Sridevi, 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 male-dominated film industry. She used one name onscreen, like many leading ladies of her generation, and was known for her comic timing and her dancing skills, a great asset in the song-anddance melodramas that are a staple of mainstream Indian cinema.

Sridevi died Saturday in Dubai due to cardiac arrest, her brother-in-law Sanjay Kapoor confirmed to Indian Express online. She had been in Dubai to attend a wedding in her extended family.

Indian political leaders and entertainers posted condolences and recollections of her work, with many colleagues and fans expressing shock at the sudden news.

“Woken up to this tragic news. Absolute shock. Sad,” tweeted Rishi Kapoor, her costar in the 1989 film “Chandni,” or “Moonlight,” in which Shrdevi played a woman choosing between two loves.

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 ’70s.

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, where 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.