Shocked with Sridevi's news, Jitendra has some past things to share..

Legendary actress Sridevi's demise has shocked the entire nation. While people are still trying to come over the fact of losing her meanwhile, the forensic reports are yet to handover to the family members. Reportedly, after suffering from cardiac arrest many celebrities from the B-town and her co-stars have been paying the visit to Anil Kapoor's house.

However, just like everyone are shocked her co-star Jeetendra too, is in a state of shock and is trying to come out of it. The actor spoke about the tragedy of Sridevi being no more just when their film Himmatwala (the film that got the duo's career on track after a period of the lull), marked the 35th anniversary.

Speaking to a leading daily, Jeetendra revealed, "We all know how it changed both our fortunes. Not many know that Rekha was the original choice for Himmatwala. But I guess Sridevi was destined to do the film - she bagged the role and the film became one of the biggest grossers of the year. And with it, Bollywood woke up to the magic of Sridevi. Today [February 25] marked the 35th anniversary of the film's release and it's tragic how she passed away just a day before... I was terribly shocked when I heard about her demise."

He further recounted the first time he met the legendary actor. "I first met Sridevi at the 100th-day jubilee function of one of her Tamil films. I walked up to this bright-eyed girl and congratulated her on her performance. Little did I know that we would be working together in a few months' time. I was going through a low phase after Deedar-E-Yaar (1982) - the film suffered heavy losses and brought me back to square one as an actor and producer. Sridevi, too, was coming out of Solva Saawan (1979), her debut film as a full-fledged heroine in Bollywood. The film didn't fare well and almost put her out of the Hindi film industry. So Himmatwala, directed by K Raghavendra Rao, was a turning point for both of us," he said.

Calling Sridevi one of his closest co-stars, Jeetendra added, "Sridevi was one of my closest co-stars and we did 15 movies together. She was an actor par excellence. What was even more admirable about her was her dedication to the craft - she would keep rehearsing a scene until she was fully satisfied with it. I had deep admiration for her discipline towards her work."

He also got nostalgic about how he used to get nervous around her when it came to dancing. "I remember I used to be nervous whenever I would have to dance with Sridevi. She was a fabulous dancer who would get the steps perfectly, right at the first attempt while I had to keep doing rehearsals to match up to her. I have so many beautiful memories of Sridevi. It's still so difficult for me to come to terms with the fact that the woman, who ruled over everyone's hearts with her shy smile and bright eyes, is no more," he added.

Jeetendra's son Tusshar Kapoor posted a heartfelt post on Insta commemorating the 35 years of Himmatwala and mourning the demise of the iconic star. "Ironically, today is also the 35th anniversary of #Himmatwala! Mam u will be missed! Huge loss for the audiences that welcomed her back to films!" he wrote.

However, now it is being all the more shocking as according to the Forensic reports the actress did not die due to heart-attack but, by accidental drowning. It is being said to have that under the influence of alcohol, Sridevi lost her balance and fell into the bathtub and drowned. Currently, now her body has been released for embalming from Dubai.

CREDITS: MIDDAY

CREDITS of Forensic reports: GULFS NEWS AND KHALEEJ TIMES