Veteran actress Sridevi passed away of a massive cardiac arrest in Dubai. Her sudden demise has left everyone in a state of shock. The actress was rightly called the first female superstar of Bollywood. She was a noted actress who started off as a child star and went ahead to have an illustrious career in the film industry. Her expressive face and sheer talent of acting proved to be a delight to watch on screen. Over the years she had a powerful screen presence and it is saddening to know we will not get to see her anymore.

Sridevi was born on 13th August 1963 and started her career in the cinema when she was just four years old. She just had it within her to emote on screen and language was never a barrier. She has starred in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films as a child actor. Her Bollywood debut as a child was in Julie (1975). She continued her work down south and established herself well. Her charm and skill couldn’t have kept her away from the Hindi cinema. She made her Bollywood debut as a lead with Solva Sawan (1979). But she had really arrived with Himmatwala in which she starred opposite Jeetendra. The film was a huge success and Sridevi had captured the attention of the directors and her fans alike!

The actress has worked with the best from the South and the Hindi cinema. In most cases where people establish from a Hindi cinema and then head to the South, Sridevi’s career graph has been distinguished yet remarkable. She’s worked with Kamal Hassan, Rajnikanth to Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan and the likes. So it is not wrong to call her the first female superstar pan-India. She was not just at the top of the box-office movies but also had critical acclaim for her roles. Her iconic films would be Chandni, Lamhe, Mr India, Nagina, Chaalbaaz, Gumrah to name a few. She was part of some classics in the South too like  Nam Naadu, En Annan, Babu, Moondru Mudichu, 16 Vayadhinile. She has won accolades of appreciation for her talent and even a recipient of the Padma Shri Award (2013).

She got married to film producer Boney Kapoor in 1996 and took a break from cinema. After a long hiatus of 15 years, Sridevi made a comeback on the Hindi cinema with Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish in 2012. It was a women-centric film and the veteran actress broke stereotypes even beyond the screen space. She might have played simple Indian women in the film but she was the hero in here and this was not the regular song and dance routine. Being ordinary, she proved extraordinary! She did not impress just the Bollywood fans; she did a Tamil film Puli (2015) in which she played a villainous queen and once again was a stunner.  She was last seen in the revenge-drama film Mom opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

While she was away from the big screens, she did some stints on the TV space. Other than her acting prowess, one would always look up to her as the ageless beauty. Be it parties or social functions, Sridevi stayed fashionable and fabulous, something that has transferred even too her daughters Jhanvi and Khushi Kapoor.

Sridevi was an epitome of versatility. Her eyes spoke volumes and it was a well-deserved stardom for her ability to achieve extraordinary success. We are definitely going to miss her on the big screens. The female superstar might have gone to become one of the stars in the sky above but for us, she will always keep shining bright in our hearts! Rest in Peace her beautiful soul! Sridevi Dies of Cardiac Arrest: Actress' Body to Arrive Mumbai Soon; Bollywood & Family to Attend Funeral

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 25, 2018 11:29 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).