The actress, known simply as Sridevi, died of a heart attack on Saturday while at a family wedding in Dubai.

Over five decades, she featured in almost 300 films, including classics Mr India, Chandni, ChaalBaaz and Sadma.

She was considered one of the very few Indian female superstars capable of huge box office success without the support of a male hero.

Top Bollywood figures, sporting giants and leading politicians reacted with shock, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “saddened” by her death.

Crowds gathered outside Sridevi’s home in Mumbai as news emerged.

A spokesperson for Sridevi’s husband, who is the producer Boney Kapoor, told the Indian news agency Asian News International that her body would be flown from Dubai to Mumbai on Monday.

Why was she such a huge box office draw?

Sridevi worked in films in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi languages.

Her acting career began at the age of four and by 13 she was cast in the adult role of a complicated woman avenging her lover’s death.

Sridevi debuted as a lead actress in a Bollywood film in 1978, soon becoming one of India’s biggest film stars.

The actress decided to take a break from the film industry after the release of Judaai in 1997.

She made a comeback in 2012, starring in English Vinglish.

In 2013, the Indian government awarded her the Padma Shri – the fourth highest civilian honour.

She was considered one of the very few Indian female superstars capable of huge box office success without the support of a male hero.

How did she die?

The actress was in the United Arab Emirates to attend the wedding of her nephew, Mohit Marwah.

Her husband and daughter, Khushi, were with her when she passed away on Saturday, reports say.

Her brother-in-law, Sanjay Kapoor, said it had happened at about 23:00 local time (19:00 GMT), according to news site The Indian Express.

He did not provide any further details.
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By: BBC

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Mike Ocquaye Jnr., Ghana’s High Commissioner to India, made this revelation at the premiere of Indian stage play ‘Niyati’ last weekend at the National Theatre.

The High Commissioner told JoyNews that the two countries have agreed to have a work relationship for their film industries.

“The Americans have done it with Hollywood. The Nigerians have done it with Nollywood but the Indian film industry is the biggest in the world…At the moment the Ghana film industry has signed an MoU with a section of the Indian film industry,” he said.

Mike Ocquaye Jnr added that the new friendship will be of a great help to the Ghanaian movie industry.

“For example, the first thing they proposed is that the Indians will come here with their production crew to come and film some of their movies in Ghana,” he stated.

“They will come and spend money in our hotels. They will spend money in terms of food. Use the carpenters here to build the stage,” Mr. Ocquaye added.

The Indian movie industry has recently gained much visibility in Ghana following the showing of one their telenovelas ‘Kumkum Bhagya,’ ‘Veera,’ and others on some Ghanaian television stations.

These telenovelas have garnered huge viewership in the country even though some have detested their introduction onto Ghanaian television.

A few months ago, some Kumawood film makers petitioned the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to help them fight the influx of telenovelas in Ghana.

According to them, these telenovelas are depleting the Ghanaian culture and reducing sales of Ghanaian movies.

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By: Kwame Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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