Veteran actress Sridevi’s mortal remains arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday night, around 72 hours after her sudden and shocking demise in Dubai. Her funeral is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Her body was taken to her residence in Green Acres, Lokhandwala, from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in a convoy. Tight security arrangements were in place both on the way and outside the house, as a large number of fans had gathered to get a glimpse of their beloved actress.
Sridevi’s husband Boney Kapoor, brothers-in-law Sanjay Kapoor and Sandeep Marwah, sister-in-law Reena Marwah and stepson Arjun Kapoor were on the chartered Reliance Transport Embraer jet 135BJ which carried her mortal remains from Dubai to Mumbai.
The late actress’ daughter Jahnvi Kapoor and other family members — Anil Kapoor, Anshula Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor — were present at the airport along with business magnate Anil Ambani and his wife Tina Ambani.
Sridevi died on Saturday night, but her body was brought only on Tuesday as the Dubai Prosecutor’s Office was investigating the case of her death.
The prosecutor’s office said forensic report had stated that she had died from “accidental drowning” in the bathtub of her hotel room, after losing consciousness. The case had been closed, the prosecutor’s office said.
Her body was handed over to the bereaved family on Tuesday as no foul play was apparently suspected by the investigators.
A tweet from the official feed of the Government of Dubai Media Office read: “The decision to release the body came after all the investigations and procedural matters followed in such incidents were completed, in order to determine all its circumstances and ensure that justice was done within the framework of the law.”
After completion of embalming, Sridevi’s body was taken to Dubai airport.
According to a statement on behalf of Sridevi’s husband Boney Kapoor, their daughters Khushi and Janhvi, and the entire Kapoor and Ayyappan (Sridevi’s side) families, the body will be kept for three hours at the Celebration Sports Club, Andheri (West), near her residence from 9.30 a.m onwards to enable people and her fans to pay their last respects.
The final journey of the star — best known for her performances in iconic Bollywood films like “Mr. India”, “Nagina”, “Sadma”, “Chandni” and “Khuda Gawah” — will commence at 2.00 p.m from the club to the Vile Parle Seva Samaj Crematorium & Hindu Cemetery at S.V. Road in Vile Parle (West), where it will reach around 3.30 p.m.
As per the present arrangements, the media will not be permitted either inside the club or the crematorium.
On Saturday evening, Sridevi, who in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actor Mohit Marwah, drowned in the bathtub of Room No. 2201 at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel here.
The Dubai Police also recorded the statement of Sridevi’s husband Boney Kapoor, a film producer. According to Gulf News, he was called to the Bur Dubai police station for questioning. The police took his statement after which he was allowed to return to his hotel.
The overall investigation into her death began early on Sunday morning.
The actress’ body was at the General Department of Forensic Evidence here since 2.30 a.m (Tuesday).
According to a Khaleej Times report, the laboratory results revealed that she had consumed alcohol and was in an inebriated state when she slipped and fell into the bathtub that was filled with water.
The police said that there was no clear criminal motive with regard to her death, neither did she suffer a cardiac arrest, as reported earlier.
A day after Sridevi died, celebrities like Karan Johar, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi, visited the late actress’ brother-in-law and actor-producer Anil Kapoor’s residence in Mumbai to offer condolences to the grieving family.
Sridevi, who made a comeback to Bollywood in 2012 with “English Vinglish” after a break of 15 years, was last seen on the big screen in “Mom” in 2017.
