Sridevi Death Anniversary: How Her Family, Indian Cinema and The Rest of the Country Coped With the Shocking Demise of the Legendary Actress In The Last One Year

In the early hours of February 24, a year back, every Indian cinema fan heard a news so tragic that we refused to believe it for hours. Sridevi, cinema legend and one of our favourite actresses, passed away in Dubai under mysterious circumstances. She was just 54. Sridevi was attending the wedding of her husband Boney Kapoor's nephew, Mohit Marwah. On that fateful night, Boney Kapoor found her dead in their the bathtub of their hotel room. While the autopsy reports didn't specify any foul play, the media channels and conspiracy theorists had a field making their own speculations as to what happened. Sridevi First Death Anniversary: Timeline of What Happened When The Nation Woke Up to The Tragic News of Actress' Demise.

We really don't know what the truth is and many of the media publications stood with the grieving family. So what happened after that?

Sridevi's Family

Well, it says that grief is one of the best binding factors among humans. After Sridevi's demise, the cold stand between her daughters, Janhvi and Khushi, and their half-siblings, Arjun and Anshula Kapoor, came to an end. Boney Kapoor's elder siblings used to cautiously avoid their other sisters, still seething from the fact that their father married Sridevi when their mother was alive. After Sridevi's demise, both Arjun and Anshula took care of the girls in their mourning, and this brought the family closer. Arjun stood by his father from the time the news of the death came out to support him through the last rites. Arjun is often seen acting like that protective elder brother from Janhvi and Khushi

When a troll tried to shame Jahvi in her dressing sense, he gave it back to the person. Janhvi and Arjun even came together for an episode of Koffee With Karan. The entire family also came together and had a gala time at cousin Sonam Kapoor's wedding. Though, yes. they did face some unfair hate for how they easily got over Sridevi's death. Janhvi Kapoor's Picture From Sonam Kapoor-Anand Ahuja's Wedding is Simply Beautiful.

The Movies

Sridevi's last leading role was in Mom, which was released months before her demise. For her performance as a vengeful step-mother seeking retaliation, she was posthumously adjudged the Best Actress by the National Awards. Her family, Boney, Janhvi and Khushi went on to receive the award. Sridevi's last screen appearance was in Zero, which came out in December 2018. She had a post-humous cameo in the film playing herself, sharing screen with Karishma Kapoor, Kajol, Rani Mukerji, Juhi Chawla, Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt.

Janhvi's debut, Dhadak, was signed before Sridevi's passing away and with her approval. While Bollywood was excited about her launchpad, it got some more mileage, with the unfortunate passing away of Sridevi. When the movie came out, there were many comparisons of hers with her mother's acting. Dhadak, however, received mixed reviews and was an average performer at the box office, The movie's producer, Karan Johar, also a close family friend, took it upon himself to get Janhvi a proper acting career. She will be seen next in Johar's ensemble, Takth, as well as the Gunjan Saxena biopic.

Even Khushi Kapoor is geared for her Bollywood debut, from what we hear in certain reports. Meanwhile, Tamil superstar Ajith has lived upto his promise of doing a movie for Sridevi by playing the lead in Boney Kapoor's first Tamil production, the remake of Amitabh Bachchan's PINK. Interestingly, the promise was made when Ajith shot for his cameo in the Tamil version of English Vinglish, the same role that Big B did in the Hindi version. Boney Kapoor is also reportedly producing two more movies with Ajith in the lead.

The Rest of the Country

After her demise, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, had tweeted his sorrow on social media, "Saddened by the untimely demise of noted actor Sridevi. She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances. My thoughts are with her family and admirers in this hour of grief. May her soul rest in peace." President Ramnath Kovind tweeted, "Shocked to hear of passing of movie star Sridevi. She has left millions of fans heartbroken. Her performances in films such as 'Moondram Pirai', 'Lamhe' and 'English Vinglish' remain an inspiration for other actors. My condolences to her family and close associates."

Her funeral, held at Celebration Sports Complex crematorium, Bandra, was estimated to have attracted the fourth highest number of mourners, with around 7,000 people attending, from celebs to commoners. Her funeral received full state honours, a decision that received some controversy. Sridevi was also included in the 2018  In Memoriam section of the 90th Academy Awards ceremony.

She was represented in the 2019 NTR biopic, NTR Kathanayakudu, where she was played by Rakul Preet. An upcoming Hindi film, Sridevi Bungalow, starring internet wink sensation Priya Prakash Varrier courted controversy when its teaser tried to draw parallels with the late actress' death.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 24, 2019 11:23 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).