RIP Sridevi: Celebrities mourn, fans queue up for funeral

Mumbai: Thousands of people including celebrities and Bollywood personalities mourned for actress Sridevi here on Wednesday.

Since dawn, hundreds of teary-eyed fans and admirers of the late actress, some carrying flowers, had started queueing up outside the Celebration Sports Club at Lokhandwala Complex for a final 'darshan' of their idol.

After the flower-bedecked body was brought to the club premises, a steady stream of celebrities started alighting from their vehicles and were whisked inside to pay their last respects.Funeral of late superstar Sridevi will take place here on Wednesday and the fans have already queued up outside her residence 'Green Acres' for a glimpse of their favourite actress who would not be seen on screens now.

The mortal remains has been brought to Celebration Sports Club, where people will pay their last respects to the actor before the funeral. The body was landed at the Mumbai Airport in a private aircraft here on Tuesday last.

Family members, including her film-maker husband Boney Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor and stepson Arjun Kapoor, took the body to her Lokhandwala residence.

The actor’s body will be kept at her Green Acres house in Lokhandwala.

Dubai Police has closed the case of late Bollywood actress Sridevi's death after the investigation and the body of the actress has been released for the procedure of embalming.

"Dubai Police has handed over the Consulate and the family members letters for the release of the mortal remains of the Indian cinema icon Sridevi Boney Kapoor so that they can proceed for embalming," read a tweet from the official page of Consulate General of India, Dubai.

No foul play was apparently suspected by the investigators leading to closure of the case.

Also Read: What Ram Gopal Varma said about Sridevi is really true? Read

A tweet from the official feed of the Government of Dubai Media Office read: "The Public Prosecutor's Office of the Emirate of Dubai has decided to hand over the body of Indian actress Sridevi Kapoor to her relatives on Tuesday after the investigation of her death and the closure of the incident."

Statement from the family:

On behalf of Khushi, Janhvi, Boney Kapoor, the entire Kapoor and Ayyappan families, a sincere thanks to the media for your continued sensitivity and support during this emotional moment.

Kindly find all the details for tomorrow :

1. Condolences and last respects:

Date & Time : 28th Feb Wednesday, 9.30 am to 12.30 pm (PLEASE ENSURE YOU ARE SET UP BY 9 am at the venue)

Address: Celebration Sports Club

Garden No 5, Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri West, Mumbai, Maharashtra - 400053

The last journey will commence at 2 pm from Celebration Sports Club to Pawan Hans.

2. Cremation Ceremony

Address : Vile Parle Seva Samaj Crematorium and Hindu Cemetery, Next to Pawan Hans, SV Road, Vile Parle West

Date & Time : 28th Feb 3.30 pm onwards

"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," the tweet read.

In another tweet, Dubai Public Prosecutor said that "as per the forensic report, the death of the Indian actress occurred due to accidental drowning following loss of consciousness. The case has now been closed."

On Saturday evening, Sridevi drowned in the bathtub of room number 2201 at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel here. 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.

You may also Read: Sridevi case closed after investigation: Dubai Police

The Dubai Police had also recorded the statement of Sridevi's producer husband Boney Kapoor.

Sources told Gulf News that the filmmaker 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.

Actor Arjun Kapoor, step-son of Sridevi, on Tuesday flew to Dubai to "be with his father at the hotel".

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.