Bollywood fans bid farewell to iconic actress Sridevi
A giant of Bollywood, Sridevi died last week after an accident in Dubai.
—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.
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.
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.
Sridevi acted in 300 films and was awarded one of India’s highest civilian honors in 2013, the Padma Shri.