India, on Sunday (February 25) woke up to the shocking news of Bollywood's veteran actress Sridevi passing away.
The 54-year-old actress died of cardiac arrest on Saturday night while she was in Dubai with her family to attend nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.
She is survived by her husband Boney Kapoor and daughters Jahnvi and Khushi.
A very talented actor and dancer, Sridevi was called Bollywood's first female superstar.
- Sridevi's full name is Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan. She has both Tamil and Telugu lineages.
- She had a sister and two stepbrothers.
- Her first appearance was in the devotional film Thunaivan at the age of four.
- It was only in 1975 that she made her first appearance in a Hindu movie called Julie.
- Sridevi made a name in Telegu, Malayalam and Kannada film industries. She shared the screen with Telugu legend NT Rama Rao in Vetegaadu (1979), Sardar Papa Rayadu (1980) and Justice Chowdhury (1982).
- Her first Malayalam movie was Kumara Sambhavam in 1969, where she acted with Gemini Ganesan.
- She debuted in the Kannada film industry in 1974 with Bhakta Kumbara.
- Steven Spielberg wanted to cast Sridevi for a brief role in Jurassic Park in 1993. However, the actress turned down the offer.
- She also turned down other movies which went on to become massive successes, like Darr, Baghban and the Baahubali films. However, she was such a huge brand herself that it probably didn't affect her anyway.
- When she joined Bollywood, Sridevi was not comfortable talking in Hindi. Her voice was dubbed by other people including veteran actress Rekha.
- After her comeback to mainstream cinema in 2012 with the hit movie English Vinglish, she was reportedly confirmed to share the screen with Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep in a Hollywood movie, according to a 2017 Times of India article. "It is yet to happen... talks are on. We are still going through it," Sridevi had been quoted as saying.
