Looking back on Bollywood actress Sridevi after her death in Dubai

The untimely death of Sridevi in Dubai on the night of February 24, 2018, continues to haunt her fans two years later.

The Bollywood superstar died of accidental drowning while she was in the country to attend a family wedding in Ras Al Khaimah.

With close to 300 films to her credit, Sridevi entered the world of acting in South Indian cinema at the age of four with the Tamil film, ‘Kandan Karunai’. She then made her transition to adult roles by the age of 13 with ‘Moondru Mudichu’.

Even at a young age, her talent could not be denied and the actress soon made a transition to Bollywood in 1972 with the film ‘Rani Mera Naam’. But the actress would really come into her own more than a decade later with ‘Himmatwala’ and ‘Sadma’, both of which released in 1983. The latter film also won Sridevi a Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actress.

The actress would go on to make some iconic films through her career, be it 1984’s ‘Inquilaab’ or ‘Tohfa’, or the 1986 iconic film ‘Nagina’. Although, few know that Nagina was in fact offered to actress Jaya Prada first, but due to her fear of snakes, she declined to do the film. Sridevi’s role in ‘Nagina’ continues to entice fans and even sparked a sequel a few years later, which marked the return of the actress in the lead for ‘Nigahen’.

Another iconic role that defined Sridevi’s career was the role of the journalist Seema Sohni in ‘Mr India’. Her comic timing and the film’s memorable songs turned the film into a cult hit overnight.

But it was 1989 that gave Sridevi to of her career’s biggest hits, one being ‘Chandni’ and the other being her double role in the comedy, ‘ChaalBaaz’. Both the films earned her a Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actress but ‘ChaalBaaz’ won out in the end.

The 90s also saw her winning streak continue with films such as ‘Khuda Gawah’, ‘Gumrah’, ‘Laadla’ and ‘Judaai’ in 1997. The actress then took a hiatus from Bollywood to concentrate on raising her two daughters, Janhvi and Khushi Kapoor, who she raised with husband Boney Kapoor.

Following a few sporadic appearances, Sridevi finally made a full-fledged comeback in Bollywood in 2012 with the critically-acclaimed ‘English Vinglish’, which earned the actress a Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actress.

In 2017, she followed up her success with ‘Mom’, which was released months before the actress succumbed to her death. The film would go on to win her an Indian National Film Award for Best Actress, along with earning her Filmfare Awards nominations as well.

In February 2018, Sridevi had flown down to the UAE for the wedding of her nephew Mohit Marwah with Antara Motiwala, the niece of Tina and Anil Ambani. She was accompanied by her husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi Kapoor. The wedding took place in Ras Al Khaimah, but she later moved into Jumeirah Emirates Towers hotel to extend her stay on in Dubai. Sridevi was aged 54 at the time of death.

At the time of death, husband Boney Kapoor was in Dubai and was taken to Bur Dubai Police Station for questioning. Three days later, his son Arjun Kapoor joined his father in Dubai to assist him in making the arrangements to repatriate Sridevi’s body to Mumbai.

As an awardee of Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award (for her “distinguished service” through the film industry), Sridevi was honoured with a state funeral.

The same year, Sridevi’s older daughter was launched into Bollywood with the film ‘Dhadak’, which the 22-year-old actress dedicated to her mother.

Last year, the legendary actress’ wax figure was unveiled by her daughter Janhvi Kapoor at Madame Tussauds in Singapore. Her husband, producer husband Boney Kapoor and his daughters, including Khushi Kapoor, were a part of the moment in Singapore.

Sridevi’s biography was launched by Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone and Boney Kapoor in Delhi on December 1 last year.