ISLAMABAD: Bollywood fans throughout the world are mourning the loss of screen heroine Sridevi who has died at the age of 54 in Dubai after attending a family wedding.
Sridevi, whose filmography reads like a "Best of Bollywood," acted in 299 films; her 300th would have been in Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming "Zero." Her career began at the age of 4 in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada-language films before she crossed over to Bollywood.
She featured over five decades in classics such as "Mr. India," "Chandni," "ChaalBaaz" and "Sadma" and, more recently, "English Vinglish."
Many of Pakistan’s acting and entertainment fraternity expressed their loss on social media.
Sajal Aly, one of Pakistan’s top drama-series actresses, made her Bollywood debut with Sridevi in last year’s critically acclaimed "Mom."
The film’s release was at the time of the call for a ban on artists from Pakistan coming to India to work, which resulted in Sajal not being able to join her on-screen mother for promotions of the film.
In an interview that went viral, Sridevi became emotional during an interview about not being able to share the experience with her on-screen daughter or husband, played by Pakistan’s Adnan Siddiqui.
Sajal’s own mother passed away before the screening of the film. Her post about the actor's death read: "Lost my mom again."
Co-star Siddiqui, who wrote about meeting the actress only a few days earlier at her family wedding in Dubai, posted a shot of her during their film’s promotion on Instagram.
Other celebrities who paid tributes included Pakistani model and actress Mawra Hocane, who posted screen grabs of the actress from one of her earlier iconic roles and a photograph of the two meeting in Dubai last year. Film and television actress Saba Qamar also posted a tribute.
Celebrities Ali Zafar, Mahira Khan, Maya Ali, Sana Javed, Imran Abbas, fashion designer Faraz Manan and cricketer Waqar Younis also expressed their condolences — not only to the Kapoor family (Sridevi was married to director and producer Boney Kapoor) — but to her legions of fans. Many of them cited her influence, her grace when meeting them, and her star power and talent that in many cases inspired them to take to the screen themselves.
The actress is survived by her husband and their two daughters.
Rest in peace #Sridevi ji. You have left us with great memories of joy and tears.
— Ali Zafar (@AliZafarsays) February 25, 2018
Great artists.. we cry for them without ever really knowing them, we mourn them because they helped us know ourselves.. pic.twitter.com/9dwnDC8qjb
— Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) February 25, 2018
