And now the tweets have started. Which is expected. Always the first reaction after a death. In this case, they are interestingly similar and interestingly wide-ranging.
We just went through this with Shashiji’s death, and now the same pattern is happening, as it always does. Those who are part of the film industry but not necessarily close to the family will post a tweet. Not in an attempt to gain attention or anything shallow like that (well, usually not), but because it is the expected thing to do. As a junior member of the film fraternity, when an elder dies, you show your respect for her and for the family by posting an appropriate simple tweet. And then the media equally respectfully reports it (in this case, I am getting tweets from rediff here. There are even more I have not repeated)
The people who truly knew the family, they are slower to respond. Because often they are actually with the family. Or, sometimes, they are so defeated that it is taking them time to figure out what to say. Or they are aware that what they say will be heavily repeated and wish to be sure it is correct. So far, we have not heard from Shahrukh Khan who worked with her once and will be aware anything he says will be repeated multiple times, and Amitabh who worked with her twice and must also be aware that whatever he says will be repeated.
There are a few of the larger names who are beginning to be heard from. Kamaal Haasan and Rajinikanth, possibly her co-stars who knew her best, both issued lengthy statements. And both are flying to Bombay today to be with the family and at the funeral. Their statements now are partly due to press ambushes which forced them to speak before they might have been fully ready.
(First half in Tamil, then he repeats in English)
Rajinikanth followed his press ambush with a simple twitter message:
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.
The family is beginning to gather, Arjun Kapoor had left Dubai and the wedding early to go to his film shoot. He flew in to Bombay this morning from the shoot, heading to his uncle Anil Kapoor’s house. Meanwhile the press has gathered outside of Sridevi and Boney’s building. And the first mourner to be photographed visiting is Neelima Azeem, Shahid’s mother and the mother of Jhanvi’s first co-star. An appropriate person to come, she has a special bond with the family at this moment, the one person as focused on getting Jhanvi’s film released and released well as Sridevi herself.
But what I find most interesting so far are the twitter tributes from those who were not close to Sridevi or her family. It is so wide-reaching and so sincere. Everyone from Madhuri Dixit who would have known her casually through awards shows and so on although they never worked together, to Sunny Deol and Anupam Kher who worked closely with her.
It is also so respectful and professional, and yet personal. As I said, she was a deeply private person who let few people in to the real Sridevi. And yet simply knowing the professional Sridevi was still enough to create a sense of loss.
Sunny Deol: The moment the camera rolled SHREE would light up the floor ……….. We did a few films together and I enjoyed working with her though we rarely spoke. I am going to miss her. Her fans r going to miss her the world is going to miss her.
Rishi Kapoor: Woken up to this tragic news. Absolute shock. Sad. Heartfelt condolences to Boney and their two daughters!
Even those who didn’t know her at all are tweeting. And not tweeting like with Shashi, a respectful acknowledgement of the loss to the entire industry, but a personal sense of loss. A loss as an audience member, as a “fan”.
Alia Bhatt: Nothing makes sense. I have no words.. just completely shocked. RIP Sri Devi. My icon forever. Love you.
Twinkle Khanna: Chandni now and forever… too young and terribly heartbreaking #RIPSridevi
And of course Aamir put it best, this odd sensation of being yourself a movie star and yet experiencing the death of another star not as a personal loss, or a loss of a colleague, but as a fan.
Aamir Khan: I am disturbed and saddened by the untimely and tragic passing away of Srideviji. I have always been a huge fan of her work. Equally I have always been an admirer of the grace and dignity with which she conducted herself. My heartfelt condolences to everyone in the family. I join all the millions of her fans mourning her demise. Ma’am, we will always remember you with love and respect. a.
One final tweet which I think put it best. Ekta Kapoor, who surely must have known Sridevi her whole life, considering how often her father and Sridevi worked together in her childhood. Ekta keeps her tribute simple and respectful.
Ekta Kapoor: The strongest women have the weakest hearts sometimes…#RIPSrideviji.
dontcallitbollywood 
yes true , versatile , down to earth … and the first lady super star … unexpected, tragic and sudden
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SRK’s remark will be scrutinized closely as he not only worked with her in ARMY but also worked with her in what will be her last film appearance, ZERO.
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Something else that just occurs to me, Shahrukh has a favor pending. I am sure Sridevi agreed to be in Zero with the unspoken understanding that this would be the start of a back and forth between their two households, perhaps she would ask Shahrukh to do the music launch for Jhanvi’s film or something like that. Not a direct quid pro quo, but an understanding.
Only know Sridevi’s favor is way way bigger than before since it is her last time on screen, and she isn’t around to tell Shahrukh how she wants him to pay her back. I mean, at this point, he would feel the need to not just do a music launch, but straight up produce Jhanvi’s next film, or something on that level.
On Sun, Feb 25, 2018 at 12:37 PM, dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m fascinated by the web of relationships in Bollywood. I read an interview today with Megan Fox where she said “Hollywood is morally bankrupt… As long as you survive filming and they’ve gotten what they need from you they don’t really care if you drop dead afterwards.” And Bollywood seems to be drastically different. Everyone may not like each other but they feel obligated to look after one another.
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Yes, absolutely. I’ll be putting up a post in a moment about the additional small gestures coming out, and there is a strong feeling that they are all doing everything they can to help.
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SRK tends not to make comments on social media about deaths and even birthdays. He’s said before that it’s like shouting into an abyss. In Sridevi’s case, it seems like they were becoming more friendly lately. SRK and Gauri met up with Sridevi and Boney on their Los Angeles trip this summer. There are pics of them hanging out together. Sanjay Kapoor and his wife are also some of SRK and Gauri’s closest friends. I wonder if they’re maybe with the extended family and hence not paying attention to social media.
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If I remember right, Sanjay and his wife where at Shahrukh’s party with their daughter. Somehow I got a vibe of “friends through the kids”. Sanjay’s daughter seemed close with Suhana, and the parents seemed like the kind of involved parents who would make a point to get to know the family’s of their child’s friends and stay close if they liked each other. I am also seeing reports that Karan has taken a big role in taking care of Jhanvi right now. Just overall I am beginning to get a picture of people who are close not so much because of shared jobs, but because of shared parenting, these teenage girls are what bring them together. It makes me very curious what kind of a role Shahrukh might take in Jhanvi’s career moving forward.
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Sanjay Kapoor and his family have been close friends with SRK and Gauri from before they had children. They are not friends because of the kids. In fact, there are many baby pics of Suhana with baby Shanaya. The Kapoors and Pandeys have been part of the Khan inner circle for decades.
However, I don’t think that extends to Anil and Boney’s family. Sonam recently made some controversial comments about SRK not wanting to work with her even though there were multiple chances. I’m not sure how much SRK would be involved in Jhanvi’s career. Of course he would help out if asked.
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Thanks for the background! I was reading some other things, and it sounds like Sridevi’s appearance in Zero might have been part of a complex series of slow moves towards bringing her into the Dharma-Red Chillies family. And I do mean family, it wasn’t just a business deal. Karan was launching and mentoring Jhanvi (and now seems to have essentially adopted her), Sridevi made an appearance in Zero, and was in talks to be part of Shiddat, Dharma’s big historical. With that kind of commitment on all sides, I am feeling the beginning of a move towards cautiously turning friendly acquaintanceship into close friendship and collaboration, only it was still at the beginning stages and now has been left pending.
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Amitah Bachchan was the first one who tweeted, saying, “I fear an impending doom” (in Hindi)
The timeline doesn’t exactly imply if he is talking after hearing about Sridevi’s condition or like most people are saying, he has a sixth sense.
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As a regular follower of Amitabh on twitter, I can say that he is ALWAYS tweeting weird poetic stuff like that. So I am going on coincidence rather than premonition.
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