Fans gather outside Sridevi’s house, mortal remains to arrive tonight

Team Udayavani, Feb 26, 2018, 3:52 PM IST

Mumbai: The air outside Sridevi’s residence is heavy with grief as fans of the veteran actor continue to queue up to catch one last glimpse of their ‘Chandni’. Sridevi, 54, died late at Saturday night reportedly due to cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah’s wedding.

Ever since the news broke out, Sridevi’s Lokhandwala home – where she used to live with her husband Boney Kapoor and two daughters Janhvi and Khushi – witnessed a steady stream of ardent fans assembling outside her house to pay their respects.

According to an Airports Authority of India source, a private jet is being flown to Dubai to carry the late actor’s mortal remains. The aircraft which will bring Sridevi’s body is likely to depart from Mumbai around 1 pm and will arrive in Dubai at 4 pm. It is expected to reach Mumbai around 8 pm.

Meanwhile, no celebrity has visited her residence yet. Two police vans have been stationed and the security, too, has been beefed up to avoid any commotion outside her residence. The actor, who started off her career down South as a child artiste, became a prominent Bollywood star in the early ’80s with box-office hits such as “Mawaali” (1983), “Tohfa” (1984), “Mr India” (1987) and “Chandni” (1989) among others to her credit.

Her outings in “Sadma” (1983), “ChaalBaaz” (1989), “Lamhe” (1991), and “Gumrah” (1993) earned her critical acclaim, establishing her as one of the most sought after actors of her era. Sridevi went on a hiatus for 15 years after starring in home production — “Judaai” — co-starring with her brother-in-law actor Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar.

It was director Gauri Shinde’s “English Vinglish” in 2012 that marked her comeback to the silver screen. Sridevi was last seen in revenge-drama — “Mom” — alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna. She shot for a special appearance in superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming film — “Zero” — which releases in December.