Legendary Bollywood actress Sridevi dies at 54

LOS ANGELES: Sridevi Kapoor, best known by her mononym Sridevi and a major Bollywood star, died Saturday night in UAE of cardiac arrest. She was 54.

Her brother-in-law confirmed the news to the Indian Express. Sridevi and her family were in the United Arab Emirates for a wedding, and she was reportedly with her husband, producer Boney Kapoor, and daughter Khushi at the time of her death.

Sridevi worked in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films before debuting in Hindi films. Her success led to other regional actresses like Jaya Prada to follow her to Bollywood.

Her career began at the age of four when she starred in M.A. Thirumugham’s devotional ”Thunaivan.” She made her Bollywood debut when she was 12 in ”Julie,” and landed her first adult role in the following year in K. Balachander’s ”Moondru Mudichu” opposite Kamal Hassan.

She went on to gain Bollywood success after her first leading actress role in 1978’s ”Solva Sawna” and 1983’s ”Himmatwala.” She appeared in numerous films throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, including ”Mr. India” and ”Chandni.” She took a 15-year hiatus beginning in 1997, but returned in 2012 with the blockbuster ”English Vinglish.” Last year she starred in ”Mom.” Sridevi was nominated for 10 Filmfare Awards and won five. The government of India awarded her Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honor, in 2013.

Actress Priyanka Chopra remembered Sridevi on Twitter. ”I have no words,” she wrote. ”Condolences to everyone who loved -Sridevi. A dark day. RIP.”

”Lion” actress Priyanka Bose also paid tribute. ”She broke all conventions with her skill and still brought so much grace in all she did,” she wrote. -Reuters