Grief-stricken Sridevi fans throng forensic centre for hours

Dubai - The 54-year-old's rise to stardom was a phenomenal chapter in the country's film industry.

From a 12-year-old school student to a 45-year-old civil engineer in Dubai, scores of Indian residents living in the UAE were grief-stricken at the news of actor Sridevi's untimely death.
The 54-year-old's rise to stardom was a phenomenal chapter in the country's film industry. With a filmography spanning 300 movies in more than five Indian languages, there was not a single household in India that didn't sing songs of praise about the veteran actor.
Standing with her father wearing a hoodie and a glimmer of hope in her eyes of catching one final glimpse of her dancing idol, 12-year-old Akshara Rajeth narrated the story of the ageless charm Sridevi had cast on millions of her fans for close to four decades.
A grade six student of GEMS Our Own English School, she had an Indian social studies exam paper to write today. After completing her exam, she didn't waste a moment to turn up with her father, an executive at a Dubai company, at the general department of forensic science and criminology in Al Qusais, where scores of social workers and a handful of die-hard Sridevi fans queued up since morning.
"She hailed from Tamil Nadu, and I knew her as a Tamil star much before the world saw her talent as a South Indian and then a Bollywood phenomenon. She was our pride and we will miss her, " said another die-hard fan Rajagopalan, who made his way too, to the forensic department.
Sunil Singh who was visiting Dubai  said:. "It was a real shock to hear that the heroine that charmed generations was no more. I couldn't just sit at home. That's how much she meant to her fans."
A Dubai-based civil engineer Usman Mohammed Ibrahim, from Chennai, India has been waiting at the forensics centre since 10am. He said: "I've seen her all her movies since my childhood. especially the Tamil movies. When my sister called this morning to tell that my favourite actor is no more, I couldn't stop weeping," he added.
abhishek@khaleejtimes.com 
amira@khaleejtimes.com 
 

• Dubai