Sridevi death: Fans wait for last glimpse, celebs throng Anil Kapoor's house

Mumbai: Shocked celebrities and fans of Bollywood diva Sridevi flocked to the residence of her brother-in-law Anil Kapoor, as they tried to come to grips with the sudden death of the versatile actor who had ruled over hearts and Bollywood for decades. Mourners gathered at the Kapoor bungalow, where Sridevi and her husband Boney Kapoor’s daughters, Jhanvi and Khushi, have been staying since yesterday.

Anil Kapoor is Boney Kapoor’s younger brother. Fans waited outside for a last glimpse of their screen idol. “She went too soon. It is heartbreaking. I am just waiting to see her one last time,” said Satish Kumar, a 40-year-old fan from Bikaner. The ardent admirer, who said he had travelled all the way from Rajasthan to bid her goodbye, reached Mumbai last night, and was following the news of the body being brought back to India to ensure he didn’t miss her “when she comes”. 

Among the celebrities who called on the Kapoors to express their grief were film-makers Farah Khan, Karan Johar, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani and others from the industry such as Resul Pookutty, Saroj Khan and Honey Irani. Shekhar Kapur, who directed Sridevi in the mega-hit ‘Mr India, was also present, as were actors Tabu, Rekha, Rani Mukerji, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone.

Former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada, once seen by the media as Sridevi’s main rival in the industry, were among the visitors. Sridevi, who cast a spell on filmgoers with her mesmerizing performances in films such as ‘Himmatwala’, ‘Chandni’, ‘Sadma’, ‘Nagina’ and ‘Chaalbaaz’, died in Dubai on Saturday night. 

The Dubai government said today she died of “accidental drowning”. Sridevi was 54. Fans waited outside Anil Kapoor’s Juhu bungalow as well as Sridevi’s Lokhandwala residence. Among them was Pallavi Ghatge, a 24-year-old from Mumbai whose first Sridevi film was ‘Mr India’. “I have been here with my mom since the morning and won’t go back until we see her,” she said. 

Police officials present at Anil Kapoor’s bungalow said about 150 people from Karnataka arrived here early today to pay homage to the much-loved heroine, who also starred in scores of southern Indian films. Fans had also come from Telangana but were now stationed outside the actor’s flat in Lokhandwala. Sridevi, who started acting at the age of four, ruled Bollywood in the 1980s and 1990s with her expressive eyes, comic timing and sensuous dance moves. 

Mumbai resident Ghatge said Sridevi was always her father’s favourite heroine. “So I started watching all her films and began to realise why she is considered the greatest,” she said. Actor Arjun Kapoor, Boney Kapoor’s son from an earlier marriage, and a host of stars such as Rekha had called on the Kapoors last night, as had Karan Johar, Manish Malhotra, Nikhil Dwivedi, Anupam Kher and Ishaan Khatter, co-star of Jhanvi’s debut film ‘Dhadak’.

Among the mourners at the residence today were Ritesh Deshmukh, Genelia Deshmukh, Akshara, Shruti Haasan, Ameesha Patel, Divya Dutta and Sara Ali Khan. The police have beefed up security around the Kapoors’ bungalow and cordoned off the area for the fans pouring in to bid their last farewell. “She was so beautiful. She used to look magical on screen… I remember watching her in ‘Nagina’ and going mad over how gorgeous she looked and how well she acted,” Bikaner resident Kumar recalled.