The husband of Bollywood actress Sridevi, who drowned in a hotel bathtub here, tonight broke his silence to pay a heartbreaking tribute.
Boney Kapoor said he found it difficult to find the right words to describe his pain after India mourned her passing and her funeral took place with thousands turning out to pay their respects in Mumbai.
Mr Kapoor, 62, a film producer, who was married to the star for 21 years, said: ‘Losing a friend and mother of your two young daughters is a loss inexplicable in words.
Sridevi Kapoor, pictured with her husband Boney and their daughters Jhanvi and Khushi, was found dead in a bath in her room at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers hotel in Dubai
He said: ‘…To me she was my love, my friend, mother to our girls, my partner.
‘To our daughters she was their everything…their life. She was the axis around which our family ran.
‘The curtains never come down on an actor’s life because they shone on the silver screen forever.
He added: ‘My only concern at this time is to protect my daughters and find a way to move forward without Sri.
‘She was our life, our strength and the reason we always smiled. We love her beyond measure.’
Mr Kapoor was in her hotel suite on Saturday evening when she failed to emerge from the bathroom. When he forced open the door, she had drowned.
Sridevi was filmed dancing with and embracing husband Boney Kapoor during her nephew’s wedding at the weekend, days before she was found dead in her hotel bathtub
Police have confirmed her death was accidental and sources in Dubai said he had been devastated and was ‘breaking down every ten minutes’ over the four days it took to clear formalities and fly her body back to Mumbai for today’s Hindu funeral service
After countless Bollywood stars and thousands of fans turned out at the funeral in Mumbai, he appealed for privacy.
He said:’ As we bid goodbye to my beloved wife and Kushi and Janhvi’s mama, I have a sincere request. Please respect our need to grieve privately.
‘If you need to talk of Sri, let it be of the special memories that connect each of you to her.
‘She was and is an actor that is irreplaceable. Love and respect her for that.’
His final message to his wife who died while he waited for her to finish a bath and join him for a romantic meal was: ‘Rest in peace my love. Our loves will never be the same again.’
Husband Boney Kapoor, center, stands beside the body of Indian actress Sridevi as the same is carried in a truck during her funeral in Mumbai, India