Bollywood's first female superstar, Sridevi passes away

Veteran Bollywood actress Sridevi Kapoor. Photo by: Hindustan Times Website

Veteran Bollywood actress Sridevi Kapoor who started her acting career as a child artiste have died after suffering a cardiac arrest in Dubai, UAE where she was attending her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding. 

The film star, who starred in more than 300 movies & dominated the silver screen in the 80's & 90's,  made her Bollywood debut in the year 1979 with "Solva Sawan" which was a remake of a Tamil film. Her first adult role was at the age of 13 in Tamil film Moondru Mudichu (1976). However it was only after 5 years with the movie "Himmatwala" in the year 1983 that she gained commercial success. Some of the most watched films of the actress who made her Bollywood debut as a child artist with the movie Julie (1975) includes; "Mawaali" (1983), "Tohfa" (1984), "Nagina" (1986), "Mr. India" (1987), "Chandni" (1989), "Lamhe" (1991) & "Gumrah" (1993) "Sadma" (1983) & "ChaalBaaz" (1989). Sridevi’s most memorable onscreen pairing was with actor Anil Kapoor, while her most successful films were produced by her husband Boney Kapoor. The versatile actress who anked amongst the highest-paid actors in the 1980s and 1990 shared the screen with some of Indian cinema’s most iconic leading men, from Amitabh Bachchan to Shahrukh Khan.  The dance song 'Hawa Hawai' from the movie Mr. India , which is still known as one of the unforgettable numbers of Sridevi & with time the title of the song became a popular nickname for the actress. After her marriage to director Boney Kapoor in the year 1996, she had taken a 15-year break from the industry & made a return in the year 2012 with the comedy-drama film "English Vinglish". Her last performance was the 2017 film “Mom,” where she played a woman seeking vengeance after her stepdaughter is raped. The actor’s last film appearance will be in Shah Rukh Khan starrer Zero that releases in December this year.

The news of Sridevi's death came as a shock to the entire film and television fraternity. Bollywood icons, Indian politicians, colleagues & fans authored a flood of tributes on social media to the actress whose work spanned 5 decades and had ruled not only in Bollywood, but also the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada film industry of the country. Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi offered condolences via a tweet which says: “Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances”. The Bollywood star who is known as the first female superstar of Hindi cinema was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honor in the year 2013. Besides her husband Boney Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor, she is survived by older daughter Janhvi Kapoor who is currently working towards making her entry into the Bollywood. According to the family, Sridevi Kapoor’s body will arrive in India tomorrow & her last rites are expected to be performed on Monday.