Mumbai: Bollywood Star Sridevi was on Wednesday given a send-off fit for celluloid posterity with surging crowds of mourners walking with the cortege as it made its slow way through the city and thousands more glued to television to watch her last rites.
The 54-year-old, whose sudden death in Dubai late Saturday sent shock-waves throughout India, was given a state funeral with her body wrapped in the tricolour and a gun salute by the Mumbai Police. The actor's mortal remains were draped in a red kanjivaram sari with a bindi on her forehead.
A truck decorated with flowers made its way from the Celebration Sports Club in Andheri's Lokhandwala to Vile Parle's Seva Samaj Crematorium and Hindu Cemetery, where several top Bollywood icons have previously been cremated.
Her grieving family members including husband Boney Kapoor, her step-son Arjun Kapoor and brothers-in-law Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor were among those who travelled in the truck with the body.
Police had a hard time controlling the frenzied fans - videos from Sridevi's final journey showed the crowd trying to press forward as the men and women in khaki repeatedly tried to push it back to ensure a smooth passage for the Bollywood icon's mortal remains.
Sridevi was in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to attend the wedding ceremony of nephew, Mohit Marwah. Her sudden death has left family and fans in shock and grief.
An extremely shy person in real life, Sridevi came alive in front of the cameras, playing a variety of roles. Such was her popularity that her style and dance moves would be copied by her fans country over. She was 'Miss Hawa Hawaaii' and 'Chandni' for them.
In an industry dominated by male superstars, Sridevi reversed the trend by her sheer acting prowess. Her name, most of the times, was a guarantee enough for a film's success. She had worked in over 250 films in various languages in her career spanning almost 45 years. Her last release was Mom in 2016.
Sridevi started acting at the age of four and made her debut with M A Thirumugham's "Thunaivan". She continued acting in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films but it was her career in Bollywood that made her a household name in the country. In Bollywood, she made her debut in 1978 as a lead actor in "Solva Sawan".
She made her Bollywood debut as a child artiste in 1975 hit "Julie" but continued ruling the South Indian film industry where she established herself as a leading heroine with films such as "16 Vayathinile", "Sigappu Rojakkal", "Meendum Kokila" and "Moondram Pirai".
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