One of Indian cinema's brightest stars, Sridevi, faded away late on Saturday night, sending shock waves through fans across the country.
Actress Sridevi, arguably one of the greatest stars to have ruled both the Southern and Northern film industries, died in the United Arab Emirates of cardiac arrest last night. She was only 54.
Sridevi's younger daughter Khushi and a friend were with her in her final moments.
The actress had gone with family, bar older daughter Jahnvi, to attend actor Mohit Marwah's wedding in the UAE. She and Khushi had stayed on after the event.
Marwah is a nephew of Sridevi's husband Boney Kapoor. Kapoor had returned to India after the wedding and was in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, when Sridevi breathed her last.
Several stars and celebrities from film industries across the country expressed shock and grief on learning of the death of the actress, who began her career in Tamil cinema and went on to rule Bollywood, as popular Hindi cinema is sometimes called.
Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook had condolence messages flowing in from across the country.
Two superstars who acted with her in her first Tamil film, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, were among the first to express grief.
"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," said Rajinikanth.