Sridevi Kapoor, famous Bollywood actress, died Sat., Feb. 24 due to accidental drowning while in Dubai. She was 54. Her autopsy has revealed low levels of alcohol in blood tests, in connection with what was originally thought to be a heart attack and subsequent accidental drowning.
Kapoor was Bollywood's greatest female actress, opening the door for women in India's society. Her death is considered sudden and unexpected.
It is also considered strange.
Sridevi Kapoor and her husband Boney Kapoor, Bollywood movie producer, ate dinner at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Afterwards, she went to take an evening bath and surprisingly was found by her husband, who had to force open the door and subsequently discovered Shridevi comatose in the bathtub, submerged in the water.
“He tried to revive her, and when he could not, he called a friend of his. After that, he informed the police at 9 p.m.,” a source said to reporters, according to Aol.com.
The initial investigation by Dubai authorities concluded that Sridevi drowned after losing consciousness in the bathtub of the hotel they stayed at, the Jumeirah Emirates Towers.
Traces of alcohol were found by blood tests, a possible connection to her drowning.
“The investigation is still going on to determine the circumstances surrounding the accident as the forensic report only says that she drowned,” an official said following her death over the weekend.
The police delved into the moments that happened before and during her death, which led to a prolonged repatriation of Sridevi's body.
The Dubai Police finalized the investigation Sunday late evening, because of legal formalities.
Dubai authorities have been assisting Sridevi’s family to repatriate her body to Mumbai.
Anil Ambani, the Indian entrepreneur, had supposedly offered to bring back Shridevi to her home via his private jet.
Dubai Police officials had been conducting the postmortem and forensic investigation, saying Sridevi died of a heart attack after falling in the tub. Sridevi and family had been at the wedding of Mohit Marwah, her nephew, and Bollywood actor, with the wedding occurring at Ras Al Khaimah, according to Gulf News.
The conclusive report has yet to be divulged publicly, as expectations of how her cardiac arrest happened with the conclusion of "accidental drowning" being tied together still needing to be explained.
In response, many have taken to social media with anger because of the media's coverage of her passing. News outlets have been speculating on scenarios of how she died, some have included showing bathrooms and bathtubs. These hypotheses have done nothing but incite the public because they perceive it as mockery, according to the BBC. The added problem of the false news that she had a heart attack did not help the public's disposition.
Sridevi has been in more than 300 films within fifty years, starting at the age of four with 83 movies in Telugu, according to The News Minute.
Sridevi Kapoor was a huge figure in Bollywood, ever-present in India's mainstream culture, and her sudden death is shocking and a great loss to Bollywood. Many are in mourning in India and expect to find out the step-by-step circumstances of her death, which, for now, seems to be an untimely heart attack and semi-intoxication leading to her drowning. With the investigation now closed, the question remains is what will be released to the public?