The Indian cinema’s first woman superstar was given a gun salute at the Celebration Sports Club – minutes away from her home in Green Acres Lokhandwala.
Days after her demise, wrapped in tricolor, the body of yester-year’s Bollywood sensation Sridevi was taken for the final journey to the Vile Parle crematorium – while thousands of mourners jostled with each other to catch a glimpse of her cortege.
While the body of the 54-year-old actress – who died in Dubai on Saturday – was taken in a hearse that was covered with white flowers, the Indian cinema’s first woman superstar was given a gun salute at the Celebration Sports Club – minutes away from her home in Green Acres Lokhandwala.
With filmmaker husband Boney Kapoor, stepson Arjun Kapoor, brother-in-law Anil Kapoor and other family members accompanying the hearse as it left the venue for the crematorium, a sea of grief-stricken fans mobbed the vehicle – with many climbing on tress and clambering on gates to get a final look at Bollywood’s leading lady of 80s and 90s.
Amid thousands of fans standing with flowers in their hands and prayers for their screen idol in their lips, Sridevi’s body was brought to the venue at 9 am – where inside the hall brothers-in-law Anil Kapoor, and Sanjay Kapoor as well as nephew Harshvardhan Kapoor and nieces Sonam Kapoor and Rhea Kapoor, stood in a corner with teary eyes.
Apart from the family members of the late actress, a steady stream of celebrities – including Rekha, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan, Arbaaz Khan, Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Akshaye Khanna, Tabu, Farah Khan, Nitin Mukesh, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Vidya Balan, Sushmita Sen, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Madhur Bhandarkar, Deepika Padukone, Sanjay Leela Bhandsali, Jackie Shroff, Farhan Akhtar, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan, John Abraham, Sulabha Arya, Ajay Devgn, Kajol – started alighting from their vehicles and were whisked inside to pay their last respects
Earlier, several other celebrities – including Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Krishna Raj Kapoor – visited the Kapoor household to pay their respect. Other visitors included Rekha, Madhuri Dixit, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Shabana Azmi, Rani Mukerji, Tabu and Karisma Kapoor.
Veteran actress Hema Malini shared a post on Twitter on Wednesday, saying, “Paid my last respects to Sridevi. The entire industry was there grieving, some on the verge of breakdown. Such was her aura & magic in films. She lay there, beautiful in a red saree, serene in death & totally at peace.”
In a sudden shock to fans, Sridevi passed away due to accidental drowning resulting in cardiac arrest, at the age of 54, in Dubai late night on Saturday. She was there to attend the marriage of her nephew Mohit Marwah.