Bollywood’s first female superstar, Sridevi, died in a Dubai hotel on February 24. She suffered a cardiac arrest while she was taking a bath on Saturday night, getting ready for a dinner with her husband Boney Kapoor.
Sridevi was in Dubai for her nephew Mohit Marwah’s wedding. She was joined by her younger daughter Khushi and Boney. Her husband flew back to India after the wedding on Wednesday and came back on Saturday to surprise his wife at the Emirates Towers Hotel, where she was staying. According to a report in The Times of India, the two chatted for 15 minutes before she went into the bathroom. Boney knocked on the door after 15 minutes but broke it down upon not getting a response.
Boney found Sridevi lying unconscious in the bathtub. He called a friend for help and reported the death to the police at 9pm. The report also said that while several media outlets are reporting cardiac arrest as the cause of her death, there has been no confirmation yet. However, Sanjay Kapoor, Sridevi’s actor brother-in-law, told Dubai’s Khaleej Times, “We are completely shocked. She had no history of a heart attack.”
An autopsy was conducted on late Sunday night and a chartered flight has flown to Dubai to bring her body back to India. Once back, her funeral will be held at Mumbai’s Pawan Hans in Juhu, Ville Parle.
Here are the LIVE updates:
12.25am: Karan Johar tweets about Sridevi’s death. “The unpredictability of life only hits us in times of tragedy …then soon after we go back to being petulant and full of ourselves….I hope we can take stock of the eventualities of life and death and then rise above our own insecurities,” he wrote.
Shabana Azmi tweeted that she will cancel her Holi party as a mark of respect towards Sridevi. “Our Holi party at Janki Kurir stands cancelled on 2nd March in the wake of Sridevis passing away,” she tweeted.
12.23am: The forensics department is yet to submit blood test results to Dubai Police, a mandatory requirement to release the body. The results are expected to be filed in the next couple of hours, reports Khaleej Times.
12.21am: Choreographer Saroj Khan arrives at Anil Kapoor’s residence. “I still can’t believe it. We can’t believe it. We all loved her. I can’t say anything else,” she said.
12.15am: Several procedures need to be completed before Sridevi’s body can be sent back to India. Read them here.
11.30am: Dipti Naval, Farah Khan and Farhan Akhtar with his mother Honey Irani arrive at Anil Kapoor’s residence.
11.29am: Sridevi’s body scheduled to arrive in Mumbai at 4.30pm (IST).
11.03am: Rajinikanth arrives in Mumbai for Sridevi’s funeral. He had tweeted his condolences on her death on Sunday. “I’m shocked and very disturbed. I’ve lost a dear friend and the industry has lost a true legend. My heart goes out to her family and friends. I feel the pain with them #RIPSridevi… you will be missed,” he had tweeted.