The late celebrated icon Sri Devi left a hole in the Bollywood industry when she passed away in 2018, leaving behind an impressive film legacy. On the announcement of her death, many Bollywood actors, including Pakistani celebrities like Sajal Aly, mourned the loss of a giant. Five years later, her husband, producer Boney Kapoor, has opened up about her sudden death in an interview with ‘The New Indian’.
The producer said it was Sri Devi’s constant habit of crash diets had caused her health problems to prolong, saying that the family physician had often scolded the late actress. “She often used to starve; she wanted to look good,” Kapoor stated.
“She wanted to look good because when you are on screen, you look much broader and she wanted to make sure that she is chiselled and in good shape to maintain good looks on screen. It was not just for the film that she was doing then. She had come down to 46-47 kgs. You will notice it in the film ‘English Vinglish’.”
Boney further elaborated that doctors consistently scolded the late actress after she had a number of blackouts because of her refusal to add salt to her diet.
Salt can retain water and cutting it out from diet can make people look thinner.
The producer said he urged his late wife to not follow a harsh diet because of her low BP.
“Most women believe salt increases water retention, that’s why you feel puffy. That was one reason. I would also tell her not to completely avoid salt. I would also ask her to include a pinch of salt when having salad.”
Boney recalled that South Indian star Nagarjuna came to visit him to offer condolences for Sri Devi’s demise, and revealed the actress’s crash diet took her to a point that she “fell in the bathroom and broke her teeth, and had those artificial caps.”
Boney said he urged the actress to stop following such a strict diet plan, however, “unfortunately, she didn’t take this seriously and we also thought it can’t be this serious till the incident happened.”
Sri Devi passed away in Dubai while she was getting ready to go on a dinner date with her husband. She suffered a cardiac arrest while in the bath tub and could not be revived. According to a news source, Boney had found her motionless in the hotel bathroom, in a bathtub full of water. When she didn’t wake up, he called the police at 9 pm.
Speaking on the brutal interogation by the Dubai police, Boney Kapoor opened up about the disturbing allegations claiming he had killed her, and why he chose not to speak about the factors behind her death.
“First of all, it was not a natural death, it was an accidental death. I decided not to speak about it because I had already spoken about it for over 24 to 48 hours when I was being interrogated and investigated. Dubai Police told me that we had to be through because there was pressure from Indian media. I said, well, I have nothing more to say than what I already have been saying.
They also discovered that there was no foul play and I went through all the intense interrogation there where they put me through a lie detector and all those things. The post-mortem report said that it was an accidental death by drowning.”
