Sridevi's childhood friend Pinky Reddy has now spoken up, and revealed that Sridevi was unwell before she travelled to Dubai for the wedding of her nephew Mohit Marwah.
In an interview given to , Ms Reddy has claimed, "I spoke to her the day she was leaving for Dubai. She was down with fever and was on antibiotics. She was feeling tired, but she said that she has to go for the wedding."
A devastated Ms Reddy said, she feels like she "has lost a sister", but is extremely upset at the speculation surrounding Sridevi's death.
"It hurts me that people are making her death into such a joke. The messages [being circulated] make me angry. People are saying that she underwent liposuction and took fat burners. Why can't people remember the good things about her instead of talking about all this? After she has gone, how can they even utter such mean and vile things," she asked.
"I have spoken to Boney and he is shattered," she said, reference to Sridevi's husband, Boney Kapoor.
Producer- director Boney Kapoor shared a heart-rending message via Sridevi's twitter handle on Wednesday, saying "To the world she was their Chandni...the acto par-excellence.. their Sridevi... but to me she was my love, my friend, mother to our girls. To our daughters she was their everything...their life."
Nevertheless, speculation is rife about the cause of Sridevi's sudden death, and especially about the 'traces of alcohol' that were reportedly found in her body during the post mortem.
Many people including BJP leader Subramaniam Swami have openly questioned this finding, stating Sridevi was far too health conscious and didn't drink alcohol. He has even questioned the post mortem finding that her
Whilst various outlets in the Indian media have been slammed for insensitive reporting of Sridevi's death, with one reporter even trying to simulate how she may have fallen in the bath-tub, others have speculated on the real cause of her death.
Veteran Indian actress Simi Garewal's tweet likened the tragedy to Whitney Houston's death (who died hours before the 2012 Grammy Awards due to accidental drowning caused by suspected drug overdose).
For family, friends, fans and a majority of the film fraternity, the sudden news of the diva's passing feels like an unspeakable tragedy. They are finding it hard to come to terms with the reality, still unable to believe that their beloved Sridevi is no more.
And many, like producer- director Shekhar Kapur are appealing to the world to end the speculation and just remember the superstar that she was.
The sentiment was perhaps best summed up by Boney Kapoor in his tweet on Wednesday, "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 and that is irreplaceable. Love and respect her for that."
