Sridevi passes away: Bollywood mourns sudden demise of legendary actress

Sridevi. Pic/PTI

The news of the demise of Bollywood actress Sridevi has left the entertainment fraternity in a deep state of shock.

Bollywood actors including Riteish Deshmukh, Priyanka Chopra, Bhagyashree, Sushmita Sen, Nimrat Kaur, Richa Sharma took to twitter to express grief over the loss.

The first one, however, was megastar Amitabh Bachchan who in a cryptic tweet wrote, "Don't know why, feeling a strange restlessness."

Sridevi, known for her versatility as an actor, made her Bollywood debut in 1978 with "Solva Sawan". But it was only after five years with Jeetendra-starrer "Himmatwala" that she gained commercial success.

Before her entry into Bollywood, the actor had been a known face in South Indian films. She made her debut as a child artist in in Tamil film "Thunaivan" in 1969. She also worked in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films.

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Sridevi's beguiling eyes, scintillating screen presence and acting prowess soon made her one of the most sought-after actors in the Hindi film industry. While films like "Mawaali" (1983), "Tohfa" (1984), "Mr India" (1987) and "Chandni" (1989) kept her at the top in the box-office game, her outings like "Sadma" (1983), "ChaalBaaz" (1989), "Lamhe" (1991), and "Gumrah" (1993) earned her critical acclaim.

She went on a hiatus for 15 years after starring in home production "Judaai", co-starring her brother-in-law Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar. It was director Gauri Shinde's "English Vinglish" in 2012 that marked Sridevi's comeback. Her nuanced performance as a middle-class woman, learning to speak English to feel accepted by her family, won accolades, and the film was also a commercial success. Last year, she was seen in revenge-drama, "Mom", opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna. She also shot for a special appearance in superstar Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film, "Zero", which releases in December.

Sridevi was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour, in 2013.