Celebs, commoners mourn for Sridevi

Thousands of people including celebrities and Bollywood personalities mourned for actress Sridevi here on Wednesday.

Since dawn, hundreds of teary-eyed fans and admirers of the late actress, some carrying flowers, had started queueing up outside the Celebration Sports Club at Lokhandwala Complex for a final 'darshan' of their idol.

After the flower-bedecked body was brought to the club premises, a steady stream of celebrities started alighting from their vehicles and were whisked inside to pay their last respects.

Among the early callers were Rekha, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Arbaaz Khan, Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Akshaye Khanna, Tabu, Farah Khan, Nitin Mukesh, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Vidya Balan, Sushmita Sen, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Madhur Bhandarkar, Deepika Padukone, Sanjay Leela Bhandsali, Farhan Akhtar, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan, John Abraham, Sulabha Arya, Ajay Devgn and Kajol. Earlier, Salman Khan had visited Green Acres residence of Sridevi at midnight.

Most were sporting dark sunglasses, carrying flowers or small bouquets. They embraced and sought to console the bereaved family members, quickly moving in from the main entrance and exiting fleetingly from the other side, as fans tried to catch a glimpse.

Sridevi's body was flown to Mumbai from Dubai where she passed away around 11 pm on February 24, and from the airport was taken to the Kapoor residence in Green Acres at the posh Lokhandwala Complex. The Green Acres complex has cancelled Holi celebrations as a mark of respect for their departed resident.

Despite the late hour, several hundreds of fans kept vigil outside the residence when a motorcade including an ambulance reached there.

According to a statement issued on behalf of the Kapoor and Ayyappan families, Sridevi's body will be kept for three hours at the club, and the final journey will commence around 2 p.m. to the Vile Parle Seva Samaj Crematorium and Hindu Cemetery at S.V. Road in Vile Parle west, where it will reach around 3.30 pm.

Sridevi passed away following accidental drowning in a bathtub in her hotel room in Dubai, plunging millions of Indians and her fans in shock as the news emanated on Sunday morning.

For three days, the Dubai police authorities completed various legal and medical formalities before the the body was finally handed over to the Kapoor family on Tuesday afternoon.

For the final journey, at the club, and the crematorium, the Mumbai Police have made elaborate security arrangements at various venues and special traffic management at some places.

--IANS

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