There could be more delay in bringing actor Sridevi’s body back to India, with the Dubai police telling the Indian Embassy that “another clearance” is awaited. India’s envoy to the United Arab Emirates Navdeep Suri did not say what kind of clearance is awaited before her body is released. A forensic report has said Sridevi, in Dubai to attend a family wedding, “accidentally drowned” in a bathtub in her hotel room on Saturday. Her husband, film director Boney Kapoor has reportedly been questioned by the police and his statement recorded. Local media reports said the Bollywood superstar’s body is likely to be embalmed today.
10-point cheat sheet to this story:
- Indian envoy to UAE Navdeep Suri said they were waiting for the “clearance” from Dubai authorities for the body to be flown back to Mumbai. “Our experience in similar cases tells us that it does take 2-3 days to complete processes,” Mr Suri said. The body was likely to be embalmed today, Dubai-based newspaper Khaleej Times reported.
- Amid intense speculation over Sridevi’s death, Mr Suri said,” The media interest in untimely demise of Sridevi is understandable. But the frenzy of speculation does not help. We leave it to the experts to determine cause of demise Let’s be responsible.”
- Sridevi was found unconscious in the bathtub of the Jumeirah Emirates Towers by her husband, producer Boney Kapoor, on Saturday evening, media reports said. After a medical team failed to revive her, she was taken to a hospital, where she was declared dead.
- The postmortem listed “accidental drowning” as the cause of Sridevi’s death. Gulf News reported that according to the report, the actor fell into the bathtub, lost consciousness and drowned. Bobby Naqvi, National Editor of Gulf News, told NDTV that the report also mentioned that there were “traces of alcohol in her blood”. The case was transferred to the “Dubai Public Prosecution” for regular legal procedure.
- According to Gulf news, a leading daily in UAE, reported on Monday that Sridevi’s husband Boney Kapoor, who found the actress lying unconscious in bathtub was caled by Dubai police for questioning and his statement was recorded. However, the report was dismissed by another major publication Khaleej Times saying, Mr Kapoor was never summoned by the police.
- Sridevi’s death was initially reported to have been the result of a heart attack. Boney Kapoor’s brother Sanjay Kapoor had said they were “completely shocked” since “she had no history of a heart attack”.
- Sridevi, Boney Kapoor and their younger daughter Khushi had gone to Dubai to attend a family wedding. Later, Boney Kapoor had returned to Mumbai to drop off Khushi and then went back to Dubai to surprise his wife, reports said. The couple was to go out for dinner and Sridevi collapsed in bathroom, while getting ready.
- Sridevi’s death has prompted an outpouring of grief by movie stars, politicians and fans in India, where she was celebrated for depicting strong female characters on screen. In Mumbai, the film fraternity poured into the home of Anil Kapoor – Sridevi’s brother-in-law and her co-star in blockbuster hits including Mr India – to pay their respects. Among the visitors were leading actors Karisma Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, actor-politician Kamal Haasan and Telugu superstar Venkatesh.
- Sridevi’s career spanned five decades – she started working in movies at age 4. By the time she was 13, she was playing in lead roles. She acted in regional cinema – in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam movies – before carving out a tag for herself as the first female superstar of India” in male superstar-dominated Bollywood.
- After a 15-year break from movies following her marriage to director Boney Kapoor, Sridevi returned in 2012 with the smash-hit “English Vinglish”. She followed it up with the thriller “Mom”. She shot for a special appearance in superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming film – “Zero” – which releases in December. Sridevi is survived by her husband, and two daughters, Jhanvi and Khushi.
