Bollywood’s first female superstar Sridevi — who mesmerised the Indian audience with films like Chandni, Lamhe, Chaalbaaz, Mr.India and Sadma among others — was laid to rest with full state honours in Mumbai.
The funeral and last rites of Sridevi, who passed away in Dubai on February 24, were held at Vile Parle Seva Samaj Crematorium and Hindu Cemetery, Next to Pawan Hans, SV Road, Vile Parle West.
A day after her death, Dubai Police had said Sridevi died of accidental drowning in her hotel bathtub after losing consciousness. Later the case was transferred to the Dubai Public Prosecution. On February 27, Vipul, the Consul General of India, confirmed that Dubai Police has closed Sridevi’s case after a thorough investigation. The mortal remains of the actor were brought back to India late on Tuesday night on a chartered flight.
Sridevi Kapoor — born on 13 August 1963, was daughter of Ayyapan Naidu[8] and Rajeswari was an Indian actress and film producer who starred in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada films. Regarded as Hindi cinema’s first “female superstar”, she was the recipient of two Filmfare Awards and three Filmfare Awards South. Sridevi ranked among the highest-paid actors in the 1980s and 1990s and is considered to be one of the most popular actresses of Indian cinema.
Sridevi made her debut as child artiste with the 1967 Tamil film Kandan Karunai at the age of 4,and started her acting career in lead role as a child with M. A. Thirumugam’s 1969 devotional Tamil film Thunaivan and continued to act as a child artist in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her Bollywood debut as a child artist in Rani Mera Naam (1972) and played her first adult role at age 13 with the Tamil film Moondru Mudichu (1976). Sridevi established herself as one of the leading actresses of Tamil and Telugu cinema, with leading roles in 16 Vayathinile (1977), Sigappu Rojakkal (1978), Varumayin Niram Sivappu (1980), Meendum Kokila (1981), Premabhishekam (1981), Moondram Pirai (1982), Aakhari Poratam (1988), Jagadeka Veerudu Atiloka Sundari (1990) and Kshana Kshanam (1991).
ridevi’s first starring role in Hindi cinema came with the 1979 drama film Solva Sawan, and gained wide attention with the 1983 production Himmatwala. She went on appear in a series of commercially successful films, including Mawaali (1983), Tohfa (1984), Naya Kadam (1984), Maqsad (1984), Masterji (1985), Nazrana (1987), Mr. India (1987), Waqt Ki Awaz (1988) and Chandni (1989). She also received praise for such films as Sadma (1983), Nagina (1986), ChaalBaaz (1989), Lamhe (1991), Khuda Gawah (1992), Gumrah (1993), Laadla (1994) and Judaai (1997). Following the role of the titular protagonist in the television sitcom Malini Iyer (2004–2005), Sridevi returned to film acting in 2012 with the successful comedy-drama English Vinglish. She then starred in her 300th film role in the 2017 thriller Mom. She earned critical acclaim for her performances in both films.
In 2013, the Government of India awarded Sridevi the Padma Shri, the country’s fourth highest civilian accolade for her contributions to the entertainment industry. Honourary awards were also conferred on her by the state governments of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Sridevi was also voted ‘India’s Greatest Actress in 100 Years’ in a CNN-IBN national poll conducted in 2013 on the occasion of the centenary of Indian cinema. She was married to the film producer Boney Kapoor, with whom she had two children. Sridevi died on 24 February 2018 in Dubai.