Sridevi Funeral: Bollywood Stars Pay Final Respects

Prominent Indian film stars, along with thousands of fans, attended the funeral of Sridevi, regarded as Bollywood’s first female superstar. On Saturday, she died after accidentally drowning in a hotel bathtub after attending a wedding in Dubai. She was 54 years old. On Wednesday, her body was laid to rest in Mumbai. She was cremated with “full state honors,” BBC reported.

Though the family requested the media leave their cameras outside while paying their respects, some photos emerged, the Associated Press reported. 

She was laid to rest in a magenta and gold sari with a gold jewelry and red bindi marking. Later, when her body was taken to the crematorium, Sridevi was wrapped in an Indian flag.

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Bollywood stars mourned the death of legendary actor Sridevi. Getty Images

Bollywood stars like Rekha, Rakesh Roshan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Malaika Arora, Deepika Padukone and Jaya Bachchan—along with designers Manish Malhotra and Neelam Kothari—were just some of the elite who attended the funeral.

Some fans waited hours to see Sridevi a final time. “Since I heard the news about her death, I have been standing outside her home for two to three hours every day, waiting for one glance,” Bhagirathi, an aspiring actress, told BBC.

Actress Sridevi Kapoor attends the “English Vinglish” film premiere during the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall, in Toronto, on September 14, 2012. Fans of Kapoor aren’t convinced the Bollywood superstar died from an accidental drowning. Jag Gundu/Getty Images

Originally, it was erroneously reported Sridevi died from cardiac arrest. Her death was investigated by Dubai police, with investigators closing the case on Tuesday.

“Following the completion of post-mortem analysis, @DubaiPoliceHQ today stated that the death of Indian actress Sridevi occurred due to drowning in her hotel apartment's bath following loss of consciousness,” a Monday tweet from Dubai Media Office, which was translated from Arabic, read. “Dubai Police General Command: A forensic report showed that the death of Indian actress Sridevi Kapoor was caused by her drowning in her hotel bathroom.”

Bollywood actor Sridevi's cause of death was an "accidental drowning." Above, she is pictured the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on September 14, 2012 in Toronto. Getty Images

Sridevi started acting when she was 4 years old. She went on to have a film career that spanned 50 years. Some of her most beloved Bollywood films are  Mawaali (1983), Tohfa (1984), Nagina (1986), Mr. India (1987), Chandni (1989), Lamhe (1991) and Gumrah (1993).  Mom, her final movie, debuted in theaters in 2017.