Three days after she died in Dubai, actor Sridevi’s body has been brought to her home in Mumbai. She was flown in a private jet from Dubai on Tuesday evening, accompanied by family members, including her film-maker husband Boney Kapoor and stepson Arjun Kapoor. Hundreds of fans waited outside their residence in Lokhandwala as the ambulance carrying Sridevi’s body drove in from the airport. Sridevi, who was in Dubai to attend a family wedding, died in a hotel room on Saturday. She was 54. A forensic report said she “accidentally drowned” in a bathtub after losing consciousness. Sridevi’s body was handed over to her family on Tuesday evening after government officials in Dubai said they had closed the probe into her death. Last rites will be held in Mumbai today.
Here are 10 latest updates in this big story:
1. In a statement, Sridevi’s family said people could pay their last respects between 9.30 am to 12.30 pm at the Celebration Sports Club in Mumbai. Sridevi’s last journey would commence from the club to the crematorium near Pawan Hans, Vile Parle West at 2 pm. The last rites will take place at 3.30 pm onwards, the statement said.
2 .”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…Dubai Public Prosecution stressed that all regular procedures followed in such cases have been completed. As per the forensic report, the death of the Indian actress occurred due to accidental drowning following loss of consciousness. The case has now been closed,” the Dubai government’s media office tweeted.
3. Boney Kapoor was in Dubai since Saturday, where he was joined by actor Arjun Kapoor on Tuesday, who is his son from his first marriage. Mr Kapoor’s nephew Saurabh Malhotra waited outside the morgue and accompanied Sridevi’s body to the embalming centre.
4. Sridevi’s daughters Jhanvi, 20, and Khushi, 17 are in Mumbai, where the film fraternity has been pouring in since Sunday at the home of actor Anil Kapoor, Sridevi’s brother-in-law and her co-star in blockbuster hits including Mr India, – to pay their respects.
5. Sridevi, 54, was found unconscious in a bathtub in her hotel apartment at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers by her husband on Saturday evening, local media reports said. After a medical team failed to revive her, she was taken to a hospital, where she was declared dead.
6. The postmortem report said Sridevi fell into the bathtub after losing consciousness and drowned. The case was transferred to the “Dubai Public Prosecution” to complete “legal procedures.” Sridevi’s family had initially said that she died of a cardiac arrest. The forensic report did not mention a cardiac arrest.
8. Sridevi, Boney Kapoor and their younger daughter Khushi had gone to Dubai to attend the wedding of Mr Kapoor’s nephew Mohit Marwah. Boney Kapoor returned to Mumbai with their daughter after the wedding on Tuesday, February 20, while Sridevi stayed back. Boney Kapoor returned to Dubai on Saturday to surprise his wife, reports said. The couple was to go out for dinner, but Sridevi collapsed in the bathroom while getting ready.
8. Amid frenzied speculation over the cause of the superstar’s death, India’s envoy to the United Arab Emirates Navdeep Suri had suggested in tweets this morning that “we leave it to the experts to determine cause of demise. Let’s be responsible.”
9. Movie stars, politicians and Sridevi’s millions of fans have erupted in grief back in India, where she was celebrated for depicting strong female characters on screen and as the “first female superstar of India” in male superstar-dominated Bollywood. Sridevi’s career spanned five decades – she started working in movies at age 4. By the time she was 13, she was playing lead roles.
10.She acted in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam movies before scripting a soaring career in Bollywood. A 15-year break from movies followed her marriage to Boney Kapoor. Sridevi returned in 2012 with the smash-hit “English Vinglish”. She followed it up with the thriller “Mom”. She shot for a special appearance in superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming film – “Zero” – which releases in December.