Bollywood actress Sridevi 'died of accidental drowning'
Actor's death no longer being investigated as cardiac arrest
Indian actress Sridevi Kapoor died of accidental drowning this weekend after attending a family wedding, according to new reports.
It was originally reported that the 54-year-old actress, known as Sridevi, died of cardiac arrest on Saturday.
That initial claim was rolled back today when the Dubai Media Office revealed that the actor’s death “occurred due to drowning in her hotel apartment’s bathtub following loss of consciousness.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The case has been passed to Dubai Public Prosecution which will carry out “regular legal procedures.”
“Traces of alcohol” were found in Sridevi’s body, which “may have led to the accident,” says Gulf News. More information is expected to be revealed after the results of a toxicology report are released.
Sridevi “was considered one of the very few Indian female superstars capable of huge box-office success without the support of a male hero,” the BBC reports.
After starting her acting career at the age of four, Sridevi got her first leading role in a Bollywood film in 1979. During a decades-long career in Indian cinema, she appeared in films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
As news of her death spread, “crowds gathered outside Kapoor’s Mumbai home” to pay tribute to an actor who “riveted audiences for nearly five decades,” says The Guardian.
Politicians, celebrities and fans mourned the actor on Twitter:
-
Political cartoons for November 29Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include Kash Patel's travel perks, believing in Congress, and more
-
Nigel Farage: was he a teenage racist?Talking Point Farage’s denials have been ‘slippery’, but should claims from Reform leader’s schooldays be on the news agenda?
-
Pushing for peace: is Trump appeasing Moscow?In Depth European leaders succeeded in bringing themselves in from the cold and softening Moscow’s terms, but Kyiv still faces an unenviable choice
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Will Starmer’s India visit herald blossoming new relations?Today's Big Question Despite a few ‘awkward undertones’, the prime minister’s trip shows signs of solidifying trade relations
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users