By Mahlia Lone

All Bollywood fans mourned Sridevi’s tragic untimely demise this February. The highest earning Indian actress of her time, she was Bollywood’s first female Superstar carrying the movie on her own appeal without relying on a big name hero. Acting in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi language films, she had pan Indian appeal, and was a talented dancer as well as having great comedic timing. In a national poll, Sridevi was voted “India’s Greatest Actress in 100 Years.”

Her death as in her life drew in the crowds with hundreds of thousands of mourners lining Mumbai’s streets crying out “Sridevi Amar Rahe” (long live Sridevi) as her funeral cortege slowly traversed the six km. from Green Acres society where the family lived in an apartment in Lokhandwala Complex to the crematorium in Vile Parle. The funeral procession was headed by a tall, open truck covered in white flowers (her favourite colour) a massive portrait of Sridevi in the back. Her body draped in the national flag and encased Snow White like in a glass casket  was done up with full make-up, wearing a ceremonial gold and maroon coloured Kanjeevaram sari with a large gold necklace and sindoor (vermilion) on her forehead to proclaim her suhaagan (married woman) status. The Kapoor men, Boney, Anil, Sanjay and Arjun travelled in the truck with the body. The Maharashtra government accorded full state honours for the funeral and there was a gun salute before the cremation. Her last rites were performed by her two daughters, Jhanvi and Khushi, as Boney looked on with his head bent mournfully. Sridevi’s ashes are to be scattered at sea.

Let’s take a look back at her life, career and her relationship with her beloved Boney and her lovely girls.

Born Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan in 1963 in Sivakasi, Madras State, to a Tamil lawyer, Ayyapan, and Rajeshwaramma, belonging to an upper caste Reddy family from Andhra Pradesh, Sridevi had a younger sister Srilatha. The family was strictly vegetarian and, till her marriage, Sridevi was always accompanied by her mother or by her sister on film sets. She started acting in Tamil films at only four years of age in 1967. In 1972, Sridevi made her first Bollywood movie as a child artist and, in 1975, she portrayed the heroine’s youngest sibling in the cult classic Julie.

Hitting puberty, Sridevi starred in her first leading role in a Tamil film at only 13 in 1976. In the following years, she followed it up with a number of films with South Indian Superstars, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. Fittingly aged 16, Sridevi made her Hindi film debut as a heroine in Solva Sawan in 1979. But her big break in Bollywood came four years later when she stared opposite Jeetendra in Himmatwala, which became one of the biggest blockbusters of the year.  The actress with massive “Thunder Thighs”  became a huge hit with the masses. Her vigorous dance on the catchy song “Nainon Mein Sapna” fully synchronized with Jeetandra made her an overnight sensation, as did her daring, loud outfits and elaborate headgear. The very next year, the two starred in Tohfa, the biggest hit of the year, making Sridevi a bona fide star. She appeared on the cover of Filmfare magazine with the headline, “Unquestionably No.1!” In total, Jeetendra and Sridevi ended up doing 16 films together, including the above two.

In 1986, Sridevi played a woman/snake in Nagina, the second biggest blockbuster of the year. Though many actresses have played this role complete with writhing snake like dance moves, Sridevi’s dexterous climax dance on the song “Main Teri Dushman” became the snake dance to beat for all Indian actresses.

In her personal life, Sridevi’s parents arranged her marriage with Indian-American tennis player Vijay Amritraj who had newly become famous playing on the American tennis circuit. However, she broke off her engagement as she had fallen for Bengali born and raised Bollywood Disco dancing star, Mithun Chakraborty, husband of another actress Yogeeta Bali. Between 1984 and 1989, Mithun and Sridevi starred in four Hindi films together. Their relationship conincided with a spate of second marriages of Hindu Bollywood actors with their actress paramours, such as Dharmendra with Hema Malini and Raj Babbar with Smita Patil. In 1985, Mithun too secretly  wed Sridevi. After three years of waiting in the wings, Sridevi gave up on the relationship after Yogeeta tried to commit suicide and Mithun refused to either publicly acknowledge his second marriage or leave his first wife. A steadfast Yogeeta told a reporter, “I will accept it even if he takes on a second wife.” Sridevi figured Mithun was neither getting divorced like he claimed nor going to in the future, Sridevi got her marriage annulled in 1988. Incidentally,   Mithun went back to Yogeeta, and the couple is still married today and has four children together.

At this point, producer, older brother of star Anil Kapoor and son of Hindi film producer Surinder Kapoor, Boney finally spoke up and made his feelings known to Sridevi. Boney had been smitten with the actress after watching her in a Tamil film,  and once she made her  Bollywood debut, offered her a role in a movie he was planning Mr. India starring brother Anil. Boney admitted later, “I fell in love with Sri after watching her Tamil film during the late 1970s. I even flew to Chennai to meet her but she was shooting in Singapore. A few months later, I watched Sri’s debut Hindi film Solva Sawan (1979) and realised I wanted her to work with me. One day I went to meet her on the sets of a movie. But Sri was an introvert and wouldn’t talk to strangers. She talked to me in half-broken English and Hindi and just said that her mother took care of her projects. When she (her mother) asked for Rs. 10 lakh, I offered her Rs. 11 lakh because I wanted to be close to Sri. Her mother was impressed.”

During the shooting he continued to make an extra effort, “There were no vanity vans at that time but I arranged for a separate make-up room for her (Sridevi). Gradually, she felt comfortable with me,” he said.

In 1983, Boney had an arranged marriage with Mona and had two children, Arjun and Anshula, with her as Sridevi was heavily involved with Mithun. In fact, Mithun had first gained fame in Boney’s 1980 production of the rural set drama Hum Paanch. Mona recalled that Mithun didn’t approve of Sridevi’s close friendship with her producer Boney and to reassure the former she tied a raakhi on the latter and declared him to be like  a brother to her.

When the award winning Shekhar Kapur directed Mr. India, the sci-fi movie about a hero who becomes invisible, became the highest grosser of the year, defying all odds, it . Another of Sridevi’s unique dance numbers on the song “Hawa Hawaii,” her comedic turn as Charlie Chaplin, as well as the villain Amrish Puri’s catchphrase “Mogambo khush hua” (Mogambo is pleased) in the cult classic became super popular with the audience.

Sridevi’s character wearing a blue chiffon sari blowing in the wind sings “Kaate Nahin Kat Te/Yeh Din yeh raat/Lo aaj main kayhtee hun/ I love you” (These days and nights don’t seem to end without you, so I’m telling you today that I love you) to the hero, Boney probably imagined she was singing to him. Filmfare magazine described her as “truly a goddess in a blue sari.”

Speaking about what first attracted him to Sridevi, the  producer observed, “I was impressed from the start by the dignity with which she conducted herself. On the sets when she was shooting she would largely keep to herself. But she was never considered standoffish. There was always warmth towards her. What really endeared me to her was that she was down to earth. Success never went to her head. She was always grounded and continues to be. So commands respect spontaneously. When she enters a room people stand up for her.”

Sridevi recalled their courtship years, “Boney came to me in 1984 to sign me to play Seema, the lead female role for Mr. India. He confessed later, that he fell in love with me outright.” Boney even paid off Sridevi’s mother‘s debts and the grateful actress finally started responding to his advances.

In 1989, Sridevi played a double role portraying fraternal twins separated at birth in ChaalBaaz, a feat she performed with great expertise. Director Pankaj Parashar said “She proved her range with the movie and after that she got lots of offers which saw her in a double role.” She was deemed to have such a wide range that she played double roles in four more movies. The same year saw the release of the uber successful producer Yash Chopra’s romantic comedy Chandni with Sridevi playing the title role and it became the biggest blockbusters of 1989.The Times of India declared it, “one of the most watched films of Indian cinema.” According to the Tribune, “Leena Daru (costume designer) scored a winner again when she created the ‘Chandni Look’ for Sridevi. Every street corner sold the salwar-kameez and dupatta that gave the heroine a refreshingly understated look, rarely seen on the Indian screen.” Additionally, Sridevi’s dance number on “Mere Hathon Mein Nau Nau Choodiyan” was played at every wedding and the audience thirsted for even more of her. Sridevi became the undisputed queen of Bollywood in the 80s. She got Filmfare Best Actress nominations for both the movies, and won the award for ChaalBaaz.

In her private life, stories about Sridevi’s affair with married man Boney gained momentum. But the couple denied the allegation and Sridevi vociferously brushed it aside as idle gossip.

Meanwhile, she continued to work in big budget commercial potboilers. Yash Chopra repeated his formula once again by casting Sridevi opposite Anil in his 1991 film Lamhe. Influential Indian website Rediff.com stated, “Quite easily one of his most definitive films, Chopra surpassed his own findings of romance with the insightful, lovely Lamhe….One of the most remarkable films of her career…often considered a film way ahead of its time.” Though critically acclaimed , the film’s theme of incest did not hit it off with the conservative class and even Sridevi found it to be “too bold” for her personal taste. However, it won five Filmfare trophies including Filmfare Award for Best Film and Sridevi’s second Filmfare Award for Best Actress. The Rajasthani costumes worn by the actress in the film also won designer Neeta Lulla her first National Film Award for Best Costume Design.  This movie too over the years became a cult classic.

The next year, Sridevi starred in the epic Khuda Gawah opposite Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan. She played a double role as an Afghan warrior Benazir and her daughter. Shot mostly in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, the movie was a huge hit there with BBC reporting that “it ran to packed houses for 10 weeks in Kabul.” The movie remained “in great demand after the re-opening of cinema halls in the country (in 2001)” according to a website.

By now madly in love with his heroine, Boney produced the most expensive Indian films of its time, the action comedy Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993) starring his brother and his ladylove. But the gimmicky movie bombed badly at the box office.

Their love, however, was flourishing. “He did take a few years to sort out his life before formally proposing to me in 1993,” the actress recalled. “I fell in love with him when I got to know the real him. It was difficult, traumatic even and it took me many years to finally accept the fact that I was destined to be with Boney. In hindsight, I only wish that I had realised and accepted his love for me sooner. I always believe in following my heart and I am glad that I did. My parents had passed away by then and my sister was shocked with my decision.”

By now, Sridevi had been acting nonstop for 30 years. Her parents had both passed away from illness and her sister was married. The actress hankered for a family of her own. Judaai (1997) became Sridevi’s last film appearance before she took a 15 years hiatus from film acting. Yet again cast opposite Anil (soon to become her brother in law in real life), she portrayed a greedy, money hungry housewife who “sells” her husband to a rich girl.

Soon after, Sridevi got knocked up and the news of her pregnancy spread like wildfire.

Mona related her side to reporters, “He (Boney) was 10 years older to me. I was 19 when I married him. So I literally grew up with him. Ours was a 13-year-old marriage. So it came as a shock when I realised that my husband was in love with somebody else… There was nothing left in the relationship to give it a chance because Sridevi was already with child. My family, including my father, my mother and sister was the greatest support. The humiliation was painful because I was pitted against a heroine. I was made to feel lesser than her. The industry wives gave me suggestions like, ‘Why don’t you lose weight?’ or ‘Why don’t you join a gym?’ All this made me realise that I had to get up, dust myself and start walking all over again. Also the advice that my friend Meena’s mother gave me became the gospel truth for me. She said, ‘If somebody has no place for you in their lives, then you can have no place for them in yours.’ I understood that I had not failed – my relationship had!’” Their two kids Arjun and Anshula faced a lot of difficulties at school during their father’s affair as the fellow students would mercilessly tease them.

In 1996, Sridevi and Boney tied the knot in a simple temple ceremony a few months before their daughter Jhanvi was born. But Boney did not immediately announce the wedding.

A big humiliating scandal was caused when Mona’s mother, Sattee Shourie publicly verbally abused Sridevi and even tried to physically beat her. In retaliation, the actress banned Boney from meeting  his first family. According to a 1997 Stardust story, the star felt extremely insecure about her marriage: “It rankles her no end that Mona is still Boney’s legally wedded wife, while she herself continues to remain his mistress, a temple wedding notwithstanding.”

On one occasion, Boney met his first wife Mona and took his children, Arjun and Anshula out on a picnic. Sridevi was livid and started shouting, “You b-, you @!#*!#!. How can you do this to me? If you love your kids and wife so much then why don’t you shift back into that house again? You cheat, you liar…” Sridevi didn’t want a repeat of her experience with Mithun who when push came to shove neither left his first wife and children nor publicly acknowledged Sridevi as his wife. She was not even willing to let Boney see his kids. After Jhanvi’s birth, under pressure from Sridevi and her family, Boney divorced his first wife and gave her custody of the kids. This is a major reason that Arjun has no relationship with his step-mother and half-sisters.”

Arjun, now himself an actor, frankly said in an interview, “My relationship with Sridevi would never be normal. She is just my father’s wife and nothing beyond that.”

In 2000, Sridevi gave birth to their younger daughter, Khushi. Their in laws from both sides were supportive of the couple. Sridevi said that Srilatha, “shares a great relationship with my husband and is convinced that he is the best thing that ever happened to me!” Moreover, she declared that she herself shared a very warm bond with the entire Kapoor khandaan (family), “I share a fantastic relationship with them. My mother in law adores me and I always try to pamper her because she loves to be spoilt by me. I can also never forget the support and strength I got from my sister in law Sunita (Anil’s wife and Sonam’s mother) all through and the love I got from Boney’s sister, Reena. The affectionate bond I share with Boney’s youngest brother, Sanjay (also an actor) and his wife Maheep is also a lifeline!” Incidentally, Boney launched both his brothers in films and also managed Anil’s career till the year 2000.

Starting 2004, Sridevi started making special appearances on TV and on the runway; she also started painting too keep herself creatively occupied.

2009 was a good year for Boney; it was the year he produced the second highest grossing action blockbuster of the year Wanted starring Salman Khan in his comeback role. In Pakistan, the movie  shattered records having the highest opening weekend of any Indian movie up till then.

Sridevi too made her comeback with the comedy English Vinglish from debutante director Gauri Shinde. She played a simple, middle class housewife who enrolls in an English-speaking course after her husband and daughters mock her English. The Times of India called it “easily one of the best films of 2012” and Sridevi’s performance “a master class for actors.” While Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN wrote, “Sridevi delivers a performance that is nothing short of perfect. It’s warm and fuzzy, and leaves you with a big smile on your face.”

Sridevi became the only actress in Bollywood to make a successful comeback as a leading lady after marriage and a long time out because she was smart enough to reinvent herself. Not only did she not pick a project based on a romantic theme, but also she came back slimmer and even more attractive than before despite the passing of years.

To keep slim, svelte and young looking, Sridevi was reputed to have had 29 plastic surgeries, including liposuction, a number of rhinoplasty procedures, lips augmentation, Botox and fillers, a breast lift with implants, etc. After Sridevi’s death that was initially supposed to be due to cardiac arrest, Piyali Ganguli claimed on a social media post that “Sridevi was always under immense pressure to keep her weight down, have a wrinkle-free face, and do everything possible to hide her age.” Piyali said that she met Sridevi five years ago and found her very beautiful but unhappy and that continuously visited clinics in Southern California.

The husband and wife teamed up for their home production for the thriller Mom that marked a career milestone for her—her 300th film. She played a mother avenging her teenage daughter’s (played by Pakistani starlet Sajal Aly) rape, a role she said she empathized with and found it hard to be in a normal state after the rage she felt during filming. The film did well both critically and commercially. The news website Firstpost.com commented hilariously, “Here is a 53-year-old leading actress doing what Amitabh Bachchan once excelled at….Sridevi is a far more a riveting watch than a shirtless Salman Khan with his 6 plus packs or the quintessential middle aged Hindi film hero, who refuses to grow up….Suddenly, Bollywood shines bright with hope for the heroine over 50.”

In an interview, Boney proclaimed that Mom was his gift to his wife, “If I were Shah Jahan I would have built her a Taj Mahal. If I were a painter, I would have made her a beautiful painting. But, I make movies. Hence, I don’t know a better way than the gift of films for her.”

Having shot for her last on-screen appearance, a cameo in upcoming film Zero, Sridevi, Boney and Khushi along with the rest of the Kapoors, including Anil, were in Dubai end February attending nephew Mohit Marwah and Antara Motiwala’s lavish wedding in Dubai. Jhanvi was back in Mumbai shooting for her debut movie Karan Johar’s Dhadak opposite Ishaan Khatter (actor Shahid Kapoor’s brother).

Dressed to the nines in dazzling ensembles matching those of her seventeen year old daughter, Sridevi looked ravishing. She posed for cameras, danced and enjoyed herself thoroughly, blissfully unaware tha t these were her last few days in this world. After the wedding celebrations ended on 20th February, she told Boney who had a meeting in Lucknow on the 22nd to take Khushi and return to India without her as she had to shop for Jhanvi. She was staying in Room No. 2201 at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel.

Boney related the events of the fateful day to his old friend Komal Nehta: “On the 24th (February 24th ) morning, I spoke to her. When she told me, ‘Papa (that’s how she addressed Boney), I’m missing you’, I also told her that I was missing her (Sridevi) a lot. But I didn’t tell her that I would be joining her in Dubai in the evening (he had decided to pay her a surprise visit). Jhanvi had seconded my idea of going to Dubai because she was scared, her mom, not used to being alone, would misplace her passport or some important document if she was alone.” According to Boney, there had been only two occasions in the last 24 years when they had not travelled together abroad — when Sridevi had travelled for two film appearances. “Although I didn’t accompany her on those two trips, I made sure that my friend’s wife was with her on both the occasions. The Dubai stay was the first time Sridevi was alone for two days — 22nd and 23rd — in a foreign land. I booked a 3.30 p.m. flight to Dubai on February 24th, and reached the hotel where she was staying at around 6.20 p.m. Dubai time.” After reaching the hotel, the couple hugged and kissed, and chatted for around 15 minutes. Boney suggested they go to Zuma for a “romantic dinner”. “I went to the living room while Sridevi went to the master bathroom to bathe and get ready. I channel surfed channels and was watching the South Africa-India cricket match for a few minutes followed by the Pakistan Super League cricket match highlights.” After around 15-20 minutes, he got restless as it was around 8 p.m. then and being a Saturday, he felt restaurants would fill up.

Boney’s impatience made him shout out to his wife from the living room. After calling out to her twice, he lowered the volume of the TV set and bellowed. Still no reply. He then walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door, calling out “Jaan, Jaan.” Again only silence at the other end, so he opened the door. The tub was full of water and a motionless Sridevi was immersed completely, from head to toe, in the water. There were no splashes to be seen on the bathroom floor outside the tubs, so it was clear that she had not flayed or struggled in her last moments. First, Boney called his friend and after he arrived, finally the police at 9 p.m.

To shocked fans all over the world, it was announced that Sridevi died on 24th  February 2018 at 19:00 GMT in Dubai. The initial report of cause of death was a cardiac arrest, but after a couple of days the forensic report released by the Dubai Police indicated that she had died of accidental drowning in the hotel bathtub. Traces of alcohol were found in her body and water in her lungs. On the 27th, the case was closed and her body was flown back to Mumbai accompanied by Boney and stepson Arjun on a private jet, belonging to the Indian industrialist and close friend, Anil Ambani.

Tributes poured in from the world over. The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi lamented 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.”

In a different vein, a professor at Oxford  University wrote, “Ordinariness, thy name is not Sridevi. In life nor death. For a woman who had everything else, she seemed to crave it, hiding that obscene talent behind Corpulent Kapoor, motherhood, the couture gowns, the plastic surgeries which straightened all the kinks. I mourn you, what you were and what you could have been.”

After the funeral, Boney released a touching statement: “To the world, she was their Chandni, the actor par excellence, their Sridevi, but to me, she was my love, my friend, mother to our girls, my partner. To our daughters, she was their everything, their life. She was the axis around which our family ran.”

All Bollywood fans mourned Sridevi’s tragic untimely demise this February. The highest earning Indian actress of her time, she was Bollywood’s first female Superstar carrying the movie on her own appeal without relying on a big name hero. Acting in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi language films, she had pan Indian appeal, and was a talented dancer as well as having great comedic timing. In a national poll, Sridevi was voted “India’s Greatest Actress in 100 Years.”

Her death as in her life drew in the crowds with hundreds of thousands of mourners lining Mumbai’s streets crying out “Sridevi Amar Rahe” (long live Sridevi) as her funeral cortege slowly traversed the six km. from Green Acres society where the family lived in an apartment in Lokhandwala Complex to the crematorium in Vile Parle. The funeral procession was headed by a tall, open truck covered in white flowers (her favourite colour) a massive portrait of Sridevi in the back. Her body draped in the national flag and encased Snow White like in a glass casket  was done up with full make-up, wearing a ceremonial gold and maroon coloured Kanjeevaram sari with a large gold necklace and sindoor (vermilion) on her forehead to proclaim her suhaagan (married woman) status. The Kapoor men, Boney, Anil, Sanjay and Arjun travelled in the truck with the body. The Maharashtra government accorded full state honours for the funeral and there was a gun salute before the cremation. Her last rites were performed by her two daughters, Jhanvi and Khushi, as Boney looked on with his head bent mournfully. Sridevi’s ashes are to be scattered at sea.

Let’s take a look back at her life, career and her relationship with her beloved Boney and her lovely girls.

Born Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan in 1963 in Sivakasi, Madras State, to a Tamil lawyer, Ayyapan, and Rajeshwaramma, belonging to an upper caste Reddy family from Andhra Pradesh, Sridevi had a younger sister Srilatha. The family was strictly vegetarian and, till her marriage, Sridevi was always accompanied by her mother or by her sister on film sets. She started acting in Tamil films at only four years of age in 1967. In 1972, Sridevi made her first Bollywood movie as a child artist and, in 1975, she portrayed the heroine’s youngest sibling in the cult classic Julie.

Hitting puberty, Sridevi starred in her first leading role in a Tamil film at only 13 in 1976. In the following years, she followed it up with a number of films with South Indian Superstars, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. Fittingly aged 16, Sridevi made her Hindi film debut as a heroine in Solva Sawan in 1979. But her big break in Bollywood came four years later when she stared opposite Jeetendra in Himmatwala, which became one of the biggest blockbusters of the year.  The actress with massive “Thunder Thighs”  became a huge hit with the masses. Her vigorous dance on the catchy song “Nainon Mein Sapna” fully synchronized with Jeetandra made her an overnight sensation, as did her daring, loud outfits and elaborate headgear. The very next year, the two starred in Tohfa, the biggest hit of the year, making Sridevi a bona fide star. She appeared on the cover of Filmfare magazine with the headline, “Unquestionably No.1!” In total, Jeetendra and Sridevi ended up doing 16 films together, including the above two.

In 1986, Sridevi played a woman/snake in Nagina, the second biggest blockbuster of the year. Though many actresses have played this role complete with writhing snake like dance moves, Sridevi’s dexterous climax dance on the song “Main Teri Dushman” became the snake dance to beat for all Indian actresses.

In her personal life, Sridevi’s parents arranged her marriage with Indian-American tennis player Vijay Amritraj who had newly become famous playing on the American tennis circuit. However, she broke off her engagement as she had fallen for Bengali born and raised Bollywood Disco dancing star, Mithun Chakraborty, husband of another actress Yogeeta Bali. Between 1984 and 1989, Mithun and Sridevi starred in four Hindi films together. Their relationship conincided with a spate of second marriages of Hindu Bollywood actors with their actress paramours, such as Dharmendra with Hema Malini and Raj Babbar with Smita Patil. In 1985, Mithun too secretly  wed Sridevi. After three years of waiting in the wings, Sridevi gave up on the relationship after Yogeeta tried to commit suicide and Mithun refused to either publicly acknowledge his second marriage or leave his first wife. A steadfast Yogeeta told a reporter, “I will accept it even if he takes on a second wife.” Sridevi figured Mithun was neither getting divorced like he claimed nor going to in the future, Sridevi got her marriage annulled in 1988. Incidentally,   Mithun went back to Yogeeta, and the couple is still married today and has four children together.

At this point, producer, older brother of star Anil Kapoor and son of Hindi film producer Surinder Kapoor, Boney finally spoke up and made his feelings known to Sridevi. Boney had been smitten with the actress after watching her in a Tamil film,  and once she made her  Bollywood debut, offered her a role in a movie he was planning Mr. India starring brother Anil. Boney admitted later, “I fell in love with Sri after watching her Tamil film during the late 1970s. I even flew to Chennai to meet her but she was shooting in Singapore. A few months later, I watched Sri’s debut Hindi film Solva Sawan (1979) and realised I wanted her to work with me. One day I went to meet her on the sets of a movie. But Sri was an introvert and wouldn’t talk to strangers. She talked to me in half-broken English and Hindi and just said that her mother took care of her projects. When she (her mother) asked for Rs. 10 lakh, I offered her Rs. 11 lakh because I wanted to be close to Sri. Her mother was impressed.”

During the shooting he continued to make an extra effort, “There were no vanity vans at that time but I arranged for a separate make-up room for her (Sridevi). Gradually, she felt comfortable with me,” he said.

In 1983, Boney had an arranged marriage with Mona and had two children, Arjun and Anshula, with her as Sridevi was heavily involved with Mithun. In fact, Mithun had first gained fame in Boney’s 1980 production of the rural set drama Hum Paanch. Mona recalled that Mithun didn’t approve of Sridevi’s close friendship with her producer Boney and to reassure the former she tied a raakhi on the latter and declared him to be like  a brother to her.

When the award winning Shekhar Kapur directed Mr. India, the sci-fi movie about a hero who becomes invisible, became the highest grosser of the year, defying all odds, it . Another of Sridevi’s unique dance numbers on the song “Hawa Hawaii,” her comedic turn as Charlie Chaplin, as well as the villain Amrish Puri’s catchphrase “Mogambo khush hua” (Mogambo is pleased) in the cult classic became super popular with the audience.

Sridevi’s character wearing a blue chiffon sari blowing in the wind sings “Kaate Nahin Kat Te/Yeh Din yeh raat/Lo aaj main kayhtee hun/ I love you” (These days and nights don’t seem to end without you, so I’m telling you today that I love you) to the hero, Boney probably imagined she was singing to him. Filmfare magazine described her as “truly a goddess in a blue sari.”

Speaking about what first attracted him to Sridevi, the  producer observed, “I was impressed from the start by the dignity with which she conducted herself. On the sets when she was shooting she would largely keep to herself. But she was never considered standoffish. There was always warmth towards her. What really endeared me to her was that she was down to earth. Success never went to her head. She was always grounded and continues to be. So commands respect spontaneously. When she enters a room people stand up for her.”

Sridevi recalled their courtship years, “Boney came to me in 1984 to sign me to play Seema, the lead female role for Mr. India. He confessed later, that he fell in love with me outright.” Boney even paid off Sridevi’s mother‘s debts and the grateful actress finally started responding to his advances.

In 1989, Sridevi played a double role portraying fraternal twins separated at birth in ChaalBaaz, a feat she performed with great expertise. Director Pankaj Parashar said “She proved her range with the movie and after that she got lots of offers which saw her in a double role.” She was deemed to have such a wide range that she played double roles in four more movies. The same year saw the release of the uber successful producer Yash Chopra’s romantic comedy Chandni with Sridevi playing the title role and it became the biggest blockbusters of 1989.The Times of India declared it, “one of the most watched films of Indian cinema.” According to the Tribune, “Leena Daru (costume designer) scored a winner again when she created the ‘Chandni Look’ for Sridevi. Every street corner sold the salwar-kameez and dupatta that gave the heroine a refreshingly understated look, rarely seen on the Indian screen.” Additionally, Sridevi’s dance number on “Mere Hathon Mein Nau Nau Choodiyan” was played at every wedding and the audience thirsted for even more of her. Sridevi became the undisputed queen of Bollywood in the 80s. She got Filmfare Best Actress nominations for both the movies, and won the award for ChaalBaaz.

In her private life, stories about Sridevi’s affair with married man Boney gained momentum. But the couple denied the allegation and Sridevi vociferously brushed it aside as idle gossip.

Meanwhile, she continued to work in big budget commercial potboilers. Yash Chopra repeated his formula once again by casting Sridevi opposite Anil in his 1991 film Lamhe. Influential Indian website Rediff.com stated, “Quite easily one of his most definitive films, Chopra surpassed his own findings of romance with the insightful, lovely Lamhe….One of the most remarkable films of her career…often considered a film way ahead of its time.” Though critically acclaimed , the film’s theme of incest did not hit it off with the conservative class and even Sridevi found it to be “too bold” for her personal taste. However, it won five Filmfare trophies including Filmfare Award for Best Film and Sridevi’s second Filmfare Award for Best Actress. The Rajasthani costumes worn by the actress in the film also won designer Neeta Lulla her first National Film Award for Best Costume Design.  This movie too over the years became a cult classic.

The next year, Sridevi starred in the epic Khuda Gawah opposite Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan. She played a double role as an Afghan warrior Benazir and her daughter. Shot mostly in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, the movie was a huge hit there with BBC reporting that “it ran to packed houses for 10 weeks in Kabul.” The movie remained “in great demand after the re-opening of cinema halls in the country (in 2001)” according to a website.

By now madly in love with his heroine, Boney produced the most expensive Indian films of its time, the action comedy Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993) starring his brother and his ladylove. But the gimmicky movie bombed badly at the box office.

Their love, however, was flourishing. “He did take a few years to sort out his life before formally proposing to me in 1993,” the actress recalled. “I fell in love with him when I got to know the real him. It was difficult, traumatic even and it took me many years to finally accept the fact that I was destined to be with Boney. In hindsight, I only wish that I had realised and accepted his love for me sooner. I always believe in following my heart and I am glad that I did. My parents had passed away by then and my sister was shocked with my decision.”

By now, Sridevi had been acting nonstop for 30 years. Her parents had both passed away from illness and her sister was married. The actress hankered for a family of her own. Judaai (1997) became Sridevi’s last film appearance before she took a 15 years hiatus from film acting. Yet again cast opposite Anil (soon to become her brother in law in real life), she portrayed a greedy, money hungry housewife who “sells” her husband to a rich girl.

Soon after, Sridevi got knocked up and the news of her pregnancy spread like wildfire.

Mona related her side to reporters, “He (Boney) was 10 years older to me. I was 19 when I married him. So I literally grew up with him. Ours was a 13-year-old marriage. So it came as a shock when I realised that my husband was in love with somebody else… There was nothing left in the relationship to give it a chance because Sridevi was already with child. My family, including my father, my mother and sister was the greatest support. The humiliation was painful because I was pitted against a heroine. I was made to feel lesser than her. The industry wives gave me suggestions like, ‘Why don’t you lose weight?’ or ‘Why don’t you join a gym?’ All this made me realise that I had to get up, dust myself and start walking all over again. Also the advice that my friend Meena’s mother gave me became the gospel truth for me. She said, ‘If somebody has no place for you in their lives, then you can have no place for them in yours.’ I understood that I had not failed – my relationship had!’” Their two kids Arjun and Anshula faced a lot of difficulties at school during their father’s affair as the fellow students would mercilessly tease them.

In 1996, Sridevi and Boney tied the knot in a simple temple ceremony a few months before their daughter Jhanvi was born. But Boney did not immediately announce the wedding.

A big humiliating scandal was caused when Mona’s mother, Sattee Shourie publicly verbally abused Sridevi and even tried to physically beat her. In retaliation, the actress banned Boney from meeting  his first family. According to a 1997 Stardust story, the star felt extremely insecure about her marriage: “It rankles her no end that Mona is still Boney’s legally wedded wife, while she herself continues to remain his mistress, a temple wedding notwithstanding.”

On one occasion, Boney met his first wife Mona and took his children, Arjun and Anshula out on a picnic. Sridevi was livid and started shouting, “You b-, you @!#*!#!. How can you do this to me? If you love your kids and wife so much then why don’t you shift back into that house again? You cheat, you liar…” Sridevi didn’t want a repeat of her experience with Mithun who when push came to shove neither left his first wife and children nor publicly acknowledged Sridevi as his wife. She was not even willing to let Boney see his kids. After Jhanvi’s birth, under pressure from Sridevi and her family, Boney divorced his first wife and gave her custody of the kids. This is a major reason that Arjun has no relationship with his step-mother and half-sisters.”

Arjun, now himself an actor, frankly said in an interview, “My relationship with Sridevi would never be normal. She is just my father’s wife and nothing beyond that.”

In 2000, Sridevi gave birth to their younger daughter, Khushi. Their in laws from both sides were supportive of the couple. Sridevi said that Srilatha, “shares a great relationship with my husband and is convinced that he is the best thing that ever happened to me!” Moreover, she declared that she herself shared a very warm bond with the entire Kapoor khandaan (family), “I share a fantastic relationship with them. My mother in law adores me and I always try to pamper her because she loves to be spoilt by me. I can also never forget the support and strength I got from my sister in law Sunita (Anil’s wife and Sonam’s mother) all through and the love I got from Boney’s sister, Reena. The affectionate bond I share with Boney’s youngest brother, Sanjay (also an actor) and his wife Maheep is also a lifeline!” Incidentally, Boney launched both his brothers in films and also managed Anil’s career till the year 2000.

Starting 2004, Sridevi started making special appearances on TV and on the runway; she also started painting too keep herself creatively occupied.

2009 was a good year for Boney; it was the year he produced the second highest grossing action blockbuster of the year Wanted starring Salman Khan in his comeback role. In Pakistan, the movie  shattered records having the highest opening weekend of any Indian movie up till then.

Sridevi too made her comeback with the comedy English Vinglish from debutante director Gauri Shinde. She played a simple, middle class housewife who enrolls in an English-speaking course after her husband and daughters mock her English. The Times of India called it “easily one of the best films of 2012” and Sridevi’s performance “a master class for actors.” While Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN wrote, “Sridevi delivers a performance that is nothing short of perfect. It’s warm and fuzzy, and leaves you with a big smile on your face.”

Sridevi became the only actress in Bollywood to make a successful comeback as a leading lady after marriage and a long time out because she was smart enough to reinvent herself. Not only did she not pick a project based on a romantic theme, but also she came back slimmer and even more attractive than before despite the passing of years.

To keep slim, svelte and young looking, Sridevi was reputed to have had 29 plastic surgeries, including liposuction, a number of rhinoplasty procedures, lips augmentation, Botox and fillers, a breast lift with implants, etc. After Sridevi’s death that was initially supposed to be due to cardiac arrest, Piyali Ganguli claimed on a social media post that “Sridevi was always under immense pressure to keep her weight down, have a wrinkle-free face, and do everything possible to hide her age.” Piyali said that she met Sridevi five years ago and found her very beautiful but unhappy and that continuously visited clinics in Southern California.

The husband and wife teamed up for their home production for the thriller Mom that marked a career milestone for her—her 300th film. She played a mother avenging her teenage daughter’s (played by Pakistani starlet Sajal Aly) rape, a role she said she empathized with and found it hard to be in a normal state after the rage she felt during filming. The film did well both critically and commercially. The news website Firstpost.com commented hilariously, “Here is a 53-year-old leading actress doing what Amitabh Bachchan once excelled at….Sridevi is a far more a riveting watch than a shirtless Salman Khan with his 6 plus packs or the quintessential middle aged Hindi film hero, who refuses to grow up….Suddenly, Bollywood shines bright with hope for the heroine over 50.”

In an interview, Boney proclaimed that Mom was his gift to his wife, “If I were Shah Jahan I would have built her a Taj Mahal. If I were a painter, I would have made her a beautiful painting. But, I make movies. Hence, I don’t know a better way than the gift of films for her.”

Having shot for her last on-screen appearance, a cameo in upcoming film Zero, Sridevi, Boney and Khushi along with the rest of the Kapoors, including Anil, were in Dubai end February attending nephew Mohit Marwah and Antara Motiwala’s lavish wedding in Dubai. Jhanvi was back in Mumbai shooting for her debut movie Karan Johar’s Dhadak opposite Ishaan Khatter (actor Shahid Kapoor’s brother).

Dressed to the nines in dazzling ensembles matching those of her seventeen year old daughter, Sridevi looked ravishing. She posed for cameras, danced and enjoyed herself thoroughly, blissfully unaware tha t these were her last few days in this world. After the wedding celebrations ended on 20th February, she told Boney who had a meeting in Lucknow on the 22nd to take Khushi and return to India without her as she had to shop for Jhanvi. She was staying in Room No. 2201 at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel.

Boney related the events of the fateful day to his old friend Komal Nehta: “On the 24th (February 24th ) morning, I spoke to her. When she told me, ‘Papa (that’s how she addressed Boney), I’m missing you’, I also told her that I was missing her (Sridevi) a lot. But I didn’t tell her that I would be joining her in Dubai in the evening (he had decided to pay her a surprise visit). Jhanvi had seconded my idea of going to Dubai because she was scared, her mom, not used to being alone, would misplace her passport or some important document if she was alone.” According to Boney, there had been only two occasions in the last 24 years when they had not travelled together abroad — when Sridevi had travelled for two film appearances. “Although I didn’t accompany her on those two trips, I made sure that my friend’s wife was with her on both the occasions. The Dubai stay was the first time Sridevi was alone for two days — 22nd and 23rd — in a foreign land. I booked a 3.30 p.m. flight to Dubai on February 24th, and reached the hotel where she was staying at around 6.20 p.m. Dubai time.” After reaching the hotel, the couple hugged and kissed, and chatted for around 15 minutes. Boney suggested they go to Zuma for a “romantic dinner”. “I went to the living room while Sridevi went to the master bathroom to bathe and get ready. I channel surfed channels and was watching the South Africa-India cricket match for a few minutes followed by the Pakistan Super League cricket match highlights.” After around 15-20 minutes, he got restless as it was around 8 p.m. then and being a Saturday, he felt restaurants would fill up.

Boney’s impatience made him shout out to his wife from the living room. After calling out to her twice, he lowered the volume of the TV set and bellowed. Still no reply. He then walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door, calling out “Jaan, Jaan.” Again only silence at the other end, so he opened the door. The tub was full of water and a motionless Sridevi was immersed completely, from head to toe, in the water. There were no splashes to be seen on the bathroom floor outside the tubs, so it was clear that she had not flayed or struggled in her last moments. First, Boney called his friend and after he arrived, finally the police at 9 p.m.

To shocked fans all over the world, it was announced that Sridevi died on 24th  February 2018 at 19:00 GMT in Dubai. The initial report of cause of death was a cardiac arrest, but after a couple of days the forensic report released by the Dubai Police indicated that she had died of accidental drowning in the hotel bathtub. Traces of alcohol were found in her body and water in her lungs. On the 27th, the case was closed and her body was flown back to Mumbai accompanied by Boney and stepson Arjun on a private jet, belonging to the Indian industrialist and close friend, Anil Ambani.

Tributes poured in from the world over. The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi lamented 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.”

In a different vein, a professor at Oxford  University wrote, “Ordinariness, thy name is not Sridevi. In life nor death. For a woman who had everything else, she seemed to crave it, hiding that obscene talent behind Corpulent Kapoor, motherhood, the couture gowns, the plastic surgeries which straightened all the kinks. I mourn you, what you were and what you could have been.”

After the funeral, Boney released a touching statement: “To the world, she was their Chandni, the actor par excellence, their Sridevi, but to me, she was my love, my friend, mother to our girls, my partner. To our daughters, she was their everything, their life. She was the axis around which our family ran.”