Bollywood fans bid farewell to iconic actress Sridevi

A giant of Bollywood, Sridevi died last week after an accident in Dubai.

ByABC News
February 28, 2018, 12:43 PM

—LONDON -- India has laid to rest one of its most iconic Bollywood actresses after her sudden death abroad last week.

Indian cinema’s first major female superstar, known mononymously as Sridevi, was found unconscious in a bathtub in a hotel in Dubai on Saturday night.

Sridevi Kapoor was declared dead at the hospital after emergency services failed to resuscitate her. Indian media reported that the forensic report found she lost consciousness after falling in the bath and then drowned.

Her husband Boney Kapoor had reportedly flown to Dubai to surprise her, but she collapsed in the bathroom while getting ready to go out to dinner.

PHOTO: Crowds gather behind the funeral procession of Indian Bollywood actress Sridevi Kapoor in Mumbai, India, Feb 28, 2018.
Crowds gather behind the funeral procession of Indian Bollywood actress Sridevi Kapoor in Mumbai, India, Feb 28, 2018.

The 54-year-old, whose career spanned five decades since her acting debut at 4 years old, was mourned across the Indian subcontinent on Wednesday.

Thousands took to the streets in the western city of Mumbai, where her funeral took place before her body, wrapped in the Indian tricolor flag and placed in a glass casket decked with flowers, was sent to the Vile Parle Seva Samaj Crematorium for a private ceremony for the actresses’ family and friends.

PHOTO: A general view of funeral procession of late Indian actress Sridevi Kapoor in Mumbai, India, Feb. 28, 2018.
A general view of funeral procession of late Indian actress Sridevi Kapoor in Mumbai, India, Feb. 28, 2018.

Thousands of devastated fans thronged the streets to watch the motorcade make its way across central Mumbai.

As well as Sridevi’s daughters Khushi and Janhvi, her widower Boney Kapoor, Bollywood royalty including Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai and others were part of the funeral procession.

PHOTO: An Indian shopkeeper who sells Bollywood posters and movie stills displays black and movie stills from the film Mr. India featuring Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in New Delhi, India, Feb. 28, 2018.
An Indian shopkeeper who sells Bollywood posters and movie stills displays black and movie stills from the film Mr. India featuring Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in New Delhi, India, Feb. 28, 2018.

Sridevi acted in 300 films and was awarded one of India’s highest civilian honors in 2013, the Padma Shri.