People gather during the funeral of Indian actress Sridevi in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. (Xinhua/Stringer)
NEW DELHI, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The funeral procession of Indian Bollywood superstar Sridevi which began Wednesday late afternoon in India's western city of Mumbai culminated at crematorium, where her family will be performing the actress's last rites.
The 54-year-old Sridevi died on Saturday in Dubai, where she had gone to attend a family wedding.
Her body was carried in a specially decorated truck to the Vile Parle's crematorium for last rites.
Sridevi's body, wrapped in the Indian national flag, was placed in a glass casket decked with flowers.
The vehicle carrying the casket had big portraits of the star on the front and side. She was cremated with state honors.
Thousands of fans holding flowers and pictures of their beloved star had gathered to pay homage to her. Some were seen moving alongside the truck weeping.
"The crowd that has gathered on roads to pay respects to the superstar in her final journey is an indication how popular she was," a local government official said.
The post-mortem report released by Dubai police on Monday said 54-year-old Sridevi died due to "accidental drowning" in the bathtub of her hotel apartment after losing consciousness. The report said traces of alcohol were found in the blood of Sridevi, which is assumed to have led to her loss of consciousness.
Her body was brought to Mumbai Monday night after a three-day wait and has been kept for public viewing at the sports club near her residence in Lokhandwala locality from morning until late afternoon.
Top Bollywood actors paid their respects to Sridevi and are expected to attend the funeral.
Authorities have deployed huge contingents of police to regulate the crowd.
The news of Sridevi's death came as a huge shock to the entire film fraternity and to her fans.
Bollywood actors too were seen arriving at the stadium to pay their respects to the fellow actress.
The actress has acted in over 300 films during her career.
She rose to fame not only in Hindi film industry (Bollywood), but also was acknowledged for her acting in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada cinema. Of late she had started a comeback in the industry in 2012, followed by another film "Mom" in 2017.
Sridevi received India's fourth highest civilian honour Padma Shri award in 2013.
