Superstar Bollywood actress Sridevi Kapoor died of accidental drowning, international media reported on Monday (Feb 26) citing a Dubai post-mortem report. The post-mortem report has been released by Dubai police to Sridevi's family and the Indian consulate, the Gulf News says.
India on Monday mourned Bollywood superstar Sridevi Kapoor after her death in Dubai aged just 54, as police in the emirate said she drowned in her hotel bathtub. The body of Sridevi, one of the biggest names in Bollywood, had been due to be brought back to Mumbai on Monday by charter flight.
Hundreds of heartbroken fans gathered outside her Mumbai home hoping to catch a final glimpse of the star before her cremation, now likely to take place on Tuesday (Feb 27) at the earliest.
Initial reports had cited a heart attack as the cause of her death late Saturday (Feb 24) at a hotel in the emirate, where she had been attending a nephew’s wedding.
‘‘The death of Indian actress Sridevi occurred due to drowning in her hotel apartment’s bathtub following loss of consciousness,’’ Dubai police tweeted, citing an autopsy report.
Police have now referred the case to the public prosecutor. Tributes kept pouring in for the actress and fans gathered outside her home for a second day.
Sridevi, born Shree Amma Yanger Ayappan in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, appeared in around 300 films and was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award, for services to the movie industry. She made her acting debut at the age of four and her career spanned more than four decades.
Sridevi worked in India’s regional Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam-language films before making her Bollywood debut in 1979. She became a national icon with a string of blockbuster films including ‘Chandni’, ‘Mr India’, ‘Mawali’ (‘Scoundrel’) and ‘Tohfa’ (‘Gift’).
Sridevi famously took a 15-year-break from the silver screen after marrying film producer Boney Kapoor but returned in the 2012 hit comedy-drama ‘English Vinglish’. Her most recent film was last year’s ‘Mom’.
She was set to see Jhanvi, the eldest of her two daughters, make her Bollywood debut.
