Sudden demise of Sridevi

ONE of the goddesses of south Indian and Hindi cinema Sridevi is no more. I could not believe when I first read the news on a local news portal and dismissed it as a rumour. But later when I went through a mainstream newspaper, I was confirmed that my favourite actress Sridevi was no more. The news was really shocking as she was only 54 years old when she died of cardiac arrest. She was an undisputed queen of Hindi cinema in the 1980s and her acting and dance marvelled and enthralled the audience at large. She featured in the lead roles of many box office hits like Chandni, Chaalbaz, Nagina, Lamhe, and Laadla and received numerous awards including six Filmfare Awards. Sridevi was ranked amongst the highest paid film actors in the 1990s and is considered to be the most popular actress of her era. She touched new heights with her talent and hard work.
Recently she was playing an important role of Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film. The void left by her cannot be filled for a long time to come. Her sudden demise left Indian movie industry shell-shocked. She had countless admirers in Bangladesh as well and particularly those who were in their twenties in the 1980s and 1990s remember their diva vividly.
Sridevi returned to films after a 15-year break with her movie English Vinglish in 2012 and the movie was well received by the critics and audience alike. The government of India honoured her with Padma Shri title in 2013. She would be sorely missed by filmmakers in India.
Mohammed Sohel Hara
Bonosree, Dhaka
[email protected]