Sridevi funeral: State honour for actor, celebs pay respect, & more updates

Veteran actor Sridevi will be cremated with state honours. The Maharashtra government has made arrangements for the elaborate event and the Mumbai Police band has already reached Celebration Sports Club. The actor will be honoured with a gun salute and the body will be draped in the national flag. 

Earlier, Bollywood celebrities lined up to pay their final respect to Sridevi at Mumbai's Celebration Sports Club, where her mortal remains had been kept for condoling fans and celebs to pay their final tributes to the veteran actor. Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen, Karan Johar were among the celebs to who paid their last respect.

Her mortal remains arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday night and the funeral will take place today at 3.30 pm. Her family announced that Sridevi's body would be kept at Celebration Sports Club in Lokhandwala for people to pay their last respect before it is taken for cremation.

"On behalf of Khushi, Jahnvi, Boney Kapoor, the entire Kapoor and Ayyappan families, a sincere thanks to the media for your continued sensitivity and support during this emotional moment," a statement released by the Kapoor family said.

The actor passed away late Saturday night in Dubai, where she had gone along with her family for the wedding of her nephew Mohit Marwah.

Dubai officials handed over the body to her family yesterday after completion of all formalities, which took three days. The Indian embassy in Dubai had worked closely with UAE officials to ensure the process was completed in the least possible time.

The actor's autopsy report had led to speculations over her death as the report stated that she died due to accidental drowning and not cardiac arrest as reported earlier. However, Dubai police has now closed the case as no foul play was apparently suspected by the investigators.

Here are the top 10 developments since the death of the legendary actor:

1. State honour for Sridevi:  Maharashtra government has made arrangements to cremate the actor with state honours.


2. Celebs pay their last respect to Sridevi: Filmmakers and actors were among the people who arrived at Mumbai's Celebration Sports Club to pay their respect to the veteran actor. Among the first to arrive at the club were actors Arbaz Khan and Urvashi Rautela. Actors Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen and Sonal Kapoor also arrived at the club on Wednesday. 

 

3. Funeral today: Sridevi's funeral will take place at the Vile Parle Seva Samaj Crematorium & Hindu Cemetery at around 3:30 pm. According to the arrangements, the media would not be allowed either inside the club or the crematorium.

4. Fans allowed to pay their last respect: The body will be kept for three hours at the Celebration Sports Club, Andheri (West) from 9.30 am onwards to enable people and her fans to pay their last respect, according to a statement released by her family.

5. Fans jostle for a glimpse: As the ambulance carrying the mortal remains of the actor entered her residence, a number of fans jostled for a glimpse of their favourite actor. Visuals from the site showed fans lining up on both sides of the road leading up to the residence with some even climbing the trees to have a clear view.

6. No foul play: Dubai prosecutor's office said on Tuesday that it was closing the case following the completion of investigations. The agency put to rest all speculations on her death by stating that she had died from "accidental drowning" in her bathtub, after losing consciousness. "The case had been closed," the prosecutor's office said.

7. Arjun Kapoor visits father in Dubai: Arjun Kapoor might not have shared a cordial relationship with her stepmother Sridevi but after her death he went to Dubai to oversee the return journey of the actor's mortal remains. 

Arjun Kapoor has gone to Mumbai to be with his father at the hotel while the formalities were being wrapped up and to oversee the return journey, Sridevi's family said in a statement on Tuesday.

8. Kapoor family to stand united: The two families of Sridevi's husband and film producer Boney Kapoor will stand united at the funeral, ANI reported on Tuesday. Citing sources, the agency said that the Kapoor family wished to dispel the rumours that there was a conflict between the two families of Boney Kapoor.

His three daughters, Anshula from the first marriage and Khushi and Jahnvi from second marriage to Sridevi, were present together at Anil Kapoor's residence on Tuesday.

9. Madhur Bhandarkar urges not to speculate: On Tuesday, filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar said the veteran actor's demise was a sensitive issue and urged people not to speculate her cause of death considering about her family and children. "People should stop speculating and analysing. They must look into the sensitivity of the case, especially when kids and family is there. Today, industry is very happy that finally the mortal remains will come back tonight," he said.

He said it is a relief that Dubai police has closed the case.

10. Celebrities slam sensational reporting:  Bollywood expressed anger over TV media's frantic reporting on the death of veteran actor Sridevi calling the coverage "graceless" and "insensitive". They also criticised TV channels for suggesting various conspiracy theories on the cause of her death.