Sunday, February 25, 2018

You left us too early, Sridevi. Rest in Peace

Updated on February 28

Photo credit: Rediff


First thing in the morning: utter disbelief; notifications on news apps on the mobile; and news flash scrolls on television news channels.

Sridevi was just 54. Cardiac arrest. Everything was perfect about her, at least from outside.

Okay, she might have had lot of tension in her life. That all of us have, don't we?

Whoever we are, death comes unannounced. It is probably that unpredictability, not the inevitability, that makes life valuable.

When life goes out, most of us try to find a reason. There might be. There might not be. That's just of academic interest. What is important is the life that was lived.

Sridevi, the first female superstar of Indian film industry, began her career at the age of 4, and went on till the age 54. The only interruption was after her marriage, for a few years. She has acted in almost all possible roles, entertaining a whole lot of people of my generation, who grew up watching her. Of course, with Youtube and Amazon Prime, her popularity stretched beyond any age barrier.

Mom was her latest movie, last year. Before that, English Vinglish, Sadma, Mr. India, Chandini, Lamhe, Nagina .. it goes on and on ... See the full list here.

Last year, she completed 50 years of her acting career, and The Newsminute ran a profile of her: From child artist to formidable veteran, how Sridevi has ruled hearts for five decades. Twelve days ago, The Newsminute tweeted this article, and she retweeted it.


Her last tweet was also a retweet, of a dance performance:
An eerie sixth sense Amitabh Bachchan seemed to have felt a few hours before Sridevi passed away.


I don't know which film clip of her I should leave you with; but there is a song sequence of hers from Mr. India, sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy. Here it is:



You left us too early, Sridevi. Thank you for all those movies. Rest in Peace.

February 28

 Finally, Sridevi's body reached Mumbai last night around 9.45 after the Dubai police closed the case, and handed over the body to the family.

Today a huge crowd of people gathered in Mumbai to pay last respects, and for her funeral rites.

One thing conspicuous was that there was no live telecast of people filing past the body of the actor. A Malayalam news channel Media One reported that photographers and videographers were told to leave their cameras outside before coming in to pay their respects.

I wondered why. Was it because some news channels went berserk over the past few days, trying to recreate in studio the last moments of Sridevi and speculate on the reasons for her death? Or was it because the family just wanted no keep the grieving private?

Around 2.30 pm, news agency ANI tweeted this picture of Sridevi, dressed regally for her last journey.



She was grooming her elder daughter Janhvi for film career; sadly she won't be around to see her debut in film Dhadak. The younger daughter is Khushi. Life for them won't be the same again.
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2 comments:

  1. SGMonday, 26 February, 2018

    Really a great loss. May she rest in peace.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pradeep NairMonday, 26 February, 2018

      Now with the autopsy report out, the news will linger in public space for longer than we thought.

      Delete

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