Indian actress Sridevi does vanishing act in Dubai

What happened to Sridevi in Dubai on Thursday night? The legendary Indian actress missed a scheduled appearance at the launch of Sultanat, an India-Pakistan television series that was unveiled in Dubai.

Organisers, who had earlier touted her attendance, were unable to fully explain her absence.

The star, who was one of the guests and a main attraction at the event, had flown into the emirate but failed to appear because she was “slightly unwell”, according to the event organisers.

Her husband and producer Boney Kapoor arrived solo on the red carpet after 11:30pm, and when asked about his wife’s arrival, organisers maintained that his missus was in the process of “getting ready” and was unreachable on the telephone.

The 48-year-old actress, who has appeared in hits including Mr India, Chaal Baaz and Judaai, is known for being perfectly turned out at her public appearances, and tabloid! had been told earlier on Thursday that she was expected to take around three hours to prepare for the event.

By 1:30pm, there was still no sign of the actress and Citron Communications, a company involved in the event organisation, relayed the news, saying she was “slightly unwell”. The company declined to elaborate.

“The feedback I got from our client [AB Pictures, the production company behind Sultanat] was that she was feeling slightly unwell,” said Radhesh Menon, the director of the company on Sunday morning, adding that the actress was not paid for her scheduled appearance. “She was not paid for it. She was invited but she just felt a bit unwell at the last minute.”