Features|Arts and Culture

Sridevi funeral: Fans, actors pay last respects to superstar

Hundreds of fans and family members gather to pay their respects to iconic actress who was accorded state funeral.

Sridevi
Sridevi, one of India's most celebrated actresses, will be cremated with state honours later on Wednesday [Danish Siddiqui/Reuters]
Published On 28 Feb 2018

Bollywood celebrities, other film personalities and hundreds of fans on Wednesday joined the family of Sridevi for the funeral of the actress in Mumbai – the seat of India’s Hindi film industry.

The Bollywood star’s body, wrapped in the national flag, was kept at the Celebration Sports Club in Mumbai where fans and actors paid their last respects before the hearse carrying her body was taken to Pawan Hans crematorium for the final rites.

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Sridevi, one of India’s most celebrated actresses, was cremated with state honours on Wednesday.

The actress passed away on Saturday due to an “accidental drowning” in the bathtub of her hotel room in Dubai. Earlier reports said that she died of heart attack while attending a wedding.

Her funeral, slated for Monday, was delayed as prosecutors in Dubai conducted autopsy to find out the circumstances of the shocking death. She was 54.

Her body was flown back to India on Tuesday, after it was handed over to the family, led by her producer husband, Boney Kapoor.

Dubai Police said the case of her death was closed.

“Dubai Public Prosecution has approved the release of the body of the Indian actress Sridevi to her family following the completion of a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of her death,” the government of Dubai media office said in a statement.

‘A true pan-Indian superstar’

The actress is survived by her husband and daughters Jhanvi and Khushi.

“Sridevi was a true pan-Indian superstar, the only actor to dominate the country’s three largest industries, nicknamed Kollywood, Tollywood and Bollywood (which make films in the Tamil, Telugu and Hindi language respectively) while also notching up a number of works in Kannada and Malayalam cinema,” wroteAnna MM Vetticad.

Crowd of fans gather outside the venue of the funeral of Bollywood actress Sridevi in Mumbai [Danish Siddiqui/Reuters]
Crowd of fans gather outside the venue of the funeral of Bollywood actress Sridevi in Mumbai [Danish Siddiqui/Reuters]

Born Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Sridevi started acting at the age of four, with a role in the Tamil-language film, Thunaivan.

Her starring role in the 1987 adventure film, Mr India, earned her superstar status in South Asia.

She went on to become a fixture of the Indian film industry, appearing in more than 300 movies, spanning five decades, and picking up scores of awards for her performances.

The Bollywood star was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, in 2013.

Source: Al Jazeera