Sridevi, one of India’s most celebrated actresses, has died of cardiac arrest in Dubai. Family members confirmed that the actress had passed away on Saturday morning while attending a family wedding.
“It is true that Sridevi passed away. I just landed here (India), I was in Dubai and now I am flying back to Dubai,” her brother-in-law Sanjay Kapoor told the news outlet. She is survived by her husband, Boney Kapoor, and daughters Jhanvi and Khushi.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences on the demise of the veteran actress. Born Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Sridevi started acting aged four with a role in the Tamil language film, Thunaivan.
She went on to become a fixture of the Indian film industry, appearing in more than 300 movies, spanning five decades, and picking up scores of awards for her performances.
Her starring role in the 1987 adventure film, Mr India, earned her superstar status in South Asia. Other memorable films in which she appeared include Sadma, Chandni, Himmatwala, ChaalBaaz, Nagina and Gumrah among others. The film was the highest grossing Indian film that year and is widely regarded as a cult classic. Her last film, MOM, was in 2017. Her death caused shockwaves on social media, with Bollywood fans in India and abroad expressing their disbelief.