The effervescent Miss Hawa Hawai of Bollywood, Sridevi, passed away at the age of 54, leaving film fraternity, the common man and Twitteraati shocked.

The Padma Shri awardee who died following a massive cardiac arrest in Dubai’s Ras Al Khaimah, was in the UAE to attend her nephew’s wedding.

Social media was abuzz following a tweet by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan who had wrote about a sense of disquiet. “ Na jaane kyun, ek ajeeb si ghabrahat ho rahi hain ,” Bachchan senior has posted in a midnight tweet.

Hours later, when the news of Sridevi’s death came, social media was quick to point out Bachchan’s eerie premonition. He and Sridevi had shared screen space in films such as Khuda Gawah .

Superstar

Sridevi was also known as the Lady Amitabh Bachchan for her sheer power to pull audience to the theatres with her diversity of emotions and brilliant comic timing.

The leading lady scorched the silver screen in the 80s and 90s with cult films such as Mr India , Chaalbaaz , Chandni , Moondram Pirai/Sadma , Ladlaa and English Vinglish .

Besides Bachchan, Sridevi also shared screen space with Kamal Hassan, Rajesh Khanna, Rajnikanth, Jeetendra, Rishi Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Adil Hussain, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna, among others.

Sree Amma Yanger Ayyappan who adopted the screen name Sridevi first faced the camera as a child artiste in Moondru Mudichu in 1976. The actor whose body of work spanned five decades acted in over 300 films. She also received six Filmfare awards over those years.

She also had a short-lived stint on small screen with sitcom Malini Iyer .

Post her marriage to Bollywood film producer Boney Kapoor in 1997, she took a hiatus from films.

In 2013, she returned to the big screen with Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish , playing a housewife who learns English after feeling left out in her family.

Sridevi’s last role will be as herself in SRK’s forthcoming Zero directed by Aanand L Rai. Her last released film was Mom (2017).

Meanwhile, Twitterati reacted with shock over the sudden death of the legend.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of Sridevi. He tweeted: “Sddened 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: PM.”

The Congress extended its condolences to the late actress. “We regret to hear about the passing away of Sridevi. An actor par excellence. A legend who will continue to live in our hearts through her stellar body of work. Our deepest condolences to her loved ones,” the party tweeted.

‘Magnificent lady’

Actor Kamal Hassan with who she shared screen in several hit films including Sadma, tweeted: “Have witnessed Sridevi’s life from an adolescent teenager to the magnificent lady she became. Her stardom was well deserved. Many happy moments with her flash through my mind, including the last time I met her. Sadma ’s lullaby haunts me now. We’ll miss her.”

Superstar Rajinikanth too tweeted: “I’m shocked and very disturbed. I’ve lost a dear friend and the industry has lost a true legend. My heart goes out to her family and friends. I feel the pain with them #RIPSridev... you will be missed.”

President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted: “Shocked to hear of passing of movie star Sridevi. She has left millions of fans heartbroken. Her performances in films such as Moondram Pirai , Lamhe and English Vinglish remain an inspiration for other actors. My condolences to her family and close associates...”

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