I was interrogated for 24 hours: Boney Kapoor opens up on wife Sridevi's untimely death
Bollywood's renowned filmmaker Boney Kapoor has opened up for the first time about the untimely demise of his superstar wife, Sridevi. Touted as India's first female superstar, Sridevi was found unconscious in a bathtub in her Dubai hotel room in 2018, when she had flown to attend a family wedding. She was 54.
Post her passing away, Boney was under scrutiny and was also interrogated by the Dubai police following Sridevi's death. The producer was eventually let go but the death of the love of his life had impacted him tremendously. Now, in a first interview five years after the Judaai star's demise, Boney spoke about what happened that night and how he was questioned regarding Sridevi's death as well.
When asked about accusations against him, Boney told The New Indian, “It was not a natural death; it was an accidental death." The filmmaker furthered, "I had decided not to speak about it because I spoke about it for almost 24 or 48 hours together when I was being investigated and interrogated. That is how I got a clean chit from the Dubai police. In fact, the officers said we had to go through this because there was a lot of pressure from Indian media."
Boney went on, "Well, I said I have nothing more to say than what I have been saying. And they discovered there was no foul play. I went through all the tests, including lie detector tests and all those things. And then, of course, the report which came clearly stated it was accidental death by drowning.”
Boney also shared that the late star used to avoid salt. “From the time she was married to me, she had blackouts on a couple of occasions, and the doctor kept on saying she had a low BP issue, don't get into this severe diet where you avoid salt," he continued.
“It was unfortunate. Later when she passed away. Nagarjuna had come home to offer his condolences, and he told me that during one of her movies, she was again on a crash diet, and that’s how she fell in the bathroom and broke her teeth,” Boney remarked.
Boney also spoke about his controversial marriage to the star which took place in 1996. Before her, Boney was married to Mona Shourie Kapoor and fathered two kids with his first wife, Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor and Anshula Kapoor.
He said, “My second marriage, my marriage with Sri (took place in Shirdi). We got married on June 2." The producer then addressed the rumours that claim their daughter Janhvi Kapoor was born before the marriage. "We exchanged vows, we spent a night there and it was only in January when her pregnancy was seen that we had no choice, but to marry publicly. It took place in Shirdi, on June 2. (But), in public, we were married only in January (1997). That is why some scribes still write she (Janhvi) was born before marriage, something like that,” Boney added.
About Sridevi's demise
On the fateful night, Sridevi was getting ready at a hotel room in Dubai for a dinner date with her producer-husband. She suffered a cardiac arrest before leaving which led to her sudden demise.
The Mom star then went to the washroom. After 15 minutes had passed and Sridevi did not come out, Boney knocked on the door to check on her. When he got no response, he forced open the door to find his wife lying motionless in the bathtub full of water, the source added.
Sridevi, Boney and their younger daughter Khushi Kapoor were in Ras Al Khaimah last week to celebrate the wedding of her actor-nephew Mohit Marwah. Boney had returned to Mumbai after the wedding but decided to return to Dubai to "surprise" his wife. The autopsy was completed on the evening of February 25 and the body is expected to be flown back via a private plane to Mumbai on February 26.
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