Pan-Indian superstar Sridevi was cremated with full state honours in Mumbai on Wednesday in the presence of her family, film fraternity and thousands of fans.
She passed away on Saturday in Dubai due to accidental drowning in the bathtub of the hotel she was staying in; her mortal remains were brought to India on Tuesday.
The 54-year-old actor was clad in a red Kanjeevaram sari and wrapped in the Tricolour as she started her final journey from Celebration Sports Club in Lokhandwala to the Vile Parle Seva Samaj Crematorium and Hindu Cemetery, with husband Boney Kapoor, brother-in-law Anil Kapoor, step-son Arjun Kapoor and the rest of the family by her side.
Sridevi’s husband Boney Kapoor and family members during her funeral at Vile Parle in Mumbai on February 28, 2018.
Her mortal remains were taken in a hearse, draped with white flowers, with her portrait in the front.
The cremation, scheduled for 3.30 p.m., took place at around 5.30 p.m. with Boney Kapoor performing the last rites with their daughters Jahnvi and Khushi by his side.
The actor was earlier given a gun salute at the Lokhandwala Sports Club, where her body had been kept for the public to offer their last respects.
Her friends and colleagues from the industry, including Jeetendra, Shah Rukh Khan, Vidya Balan, Arjun Rampal, Deepika Padukone, Raj Kumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, were present at the crematorium to bid her a final farewell.
Nita Ambani, Ajay Devgn, Kajol, Aishwarya Rai, Jaya and Shweta Bachchan, Hema Malini and Esha Deol, Sushmita Sen, Mahima Chaudhary and Rakhi Sawant offered their condolences earlier in the day.
A statement released late on Wednesday evening by the Kapoor, Ayappan and Marwah family stated that the past few days had been very trying for them as a family.
Fans stand in a queue to pay their last respects to Sridevi ahead of her funeral in Mumbai on February 28, 2018.
“Today, particularly, has been one of the hardest. We laid to rest a beautiful soul who has gone too soon,” it said.
According to the statement, the one thing that helped them all get through these last few days, was the amazing amount of love and support from everyone — be it her many colleagues, her innumerable fans, her caring friends and loving family, from across the country and the world.
‘Outpouring of love’
“This outpouring of love is the memory that we would like Khushi and Janhvi to have of their mother… a woman who was loved unquestionably by everyone. Let us all who loved Sri envelope her two little ones, her life, as she often called them, with as much or more love than we gave Sri so that they can live their lives ahead with a little less ache in their hearts. Let us help them remember their mother fondly, with that beloved twinkle in her eyes, and help them build a life and be what Sri had dreamt for them.”
The Kapoor family also requested the media to respect their privacy and allow them the space to grieve: “Sri lived her life with dignity and we implore that you give her the same respect.”
