Sridevi's final hours - What transpired before the veteran actress passed away

Sridevi with husband Boney and daughter Khushi Kapoor at Mohit Marwah-Antara Motiwala's wedding last week

Two days after partaking in the festivities of nephew Mohit Marwah's February 22 wedding in Ras Al-Khaimah, veteran actor Sridevi passed away in a hotel room of Dubai's Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel. The 54-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest on Saturday, when she was apparently found unconscious in the bathroom by a staffer.

When mid-day contacted the hotel, an employee on the condition of anonymity said that the actor was residing alone. "At around 10.30 pm, she called the room service to request for water. When the server reached her room within 15 minutes, the actor did not attend to multiple doorbells. After a few minutes, fearing something was amiss, the staffer raised an alarm. When we broke into the room, we found her on the bathroom floor. This was around 11 pm. She had a pulse when we found her."

The source adds that while Sridevi appeared healthy, should she have been feeling uneasy, she may have attributed it to the exhaustive wedding ceremonies. "We rushed her to [Rashid Hospital], where she was declared dead on arrival."

Contrary to reports, Sridevi was not in company of husband Boney Kapoor at the time of suffering the attack. Boney had returned to Mumbai on Thursday after the wedding, while Sridevi headed to Dubai to attend an auction of her paintings. mid-day had reported about the event on January 5. The developments were confirmed by a family member.

A lengthy autopsy procedure was conducted, reportedly under the supervision of Dr Khaled Alburaiki. An official reportedly told the Khaleej Times, "Since she is a high-profile personality, we cannot rush the post-mortem procedures." Given that the actor was declared dead on arrival, the authorities could not issue a death certificate without conducting the autopsy. Publications in Dubai reported that the body could not be repatriated on Sunday as reports from the Dubai police were awaited till late evening. It was suggested that the body would not be flown in before today.

Also Read: Sridevi's mortal remains to be flown back from Dubai to Mumbai on Monday

A private chopper, provided by Anil Ambani, was flown out of Mumbai at 1 pm to bring back the mortal remains of the actor. Sanjay Kapoor told mid-day, "People have been helpful and are trying to do their best to help us in this situation. The authorities have to follow the procedure. We have to abide by the country's laws. The police is doing their best to help us with the formalities."

The actor refuted suggestion that Sridevi had a previous history of an ailing heart, stating, "She was hale and hearty, and looked happy at the wedding. I am shocked at how quickly things turned for the worse. She was looking forward to Janhvi's [daughter] debut, and her own films. None of us saw this coming." The actor's body is expected to be brought to her home in Lokhandwala. The cremation is scheduled to take place today.

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