INTERVIEW | Salt-deprived diet may have led to Sridevi’s death; Naga shared her earlier falls, dental injury: Boney Kapoor

He also talks about launching his brother Anil Kapoor, and his progenies — Arjun Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor

| Updated: 03 October, 2023 1:54 pm IST
Boney Kapoor opens up about Sridevi's tragic death, Mr. India, and family in candid interview with Rohan Dua

In an episode of ‘Catch The Stars’ hosted by The New Indian Executive Editor Rohan Dua, prolific film producer Boney Kapoor talked his heart out about the death of his wife and Bollywood superstar Sridevi, filming of Bollywood’s revolutionary sci-fi film ‘Mr India,’ and his relationship with his family. He cautioned on how not to miss salt intake in the diet, recalling how its absence may have contributed to Sridevi’s fall, which was later brought to his notice by actor Nagarjun including previous such incident where she accidentally also broke her front teeth. He also insisted how he still fondly misses his wife, who he called  her Jaan, that his focus on production of regional movies is the fulfilment of her last wish before her untimely death.He also talked about launching his brother Anil Kapoor, and his progenies — Arjun Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor. Exceprts….

Rohan Dua: As a journalist, it is disturbing for me to see a person like you who burnt the proverbial midnight oil to build the career of a younger brother, who sat beside the pockets to give your full support and yet, received the brickbats on that unfortunate day.

Boney Kapoor: I had to withstand the disturbing accusations and was accused of killing her.

Amid very poor distaste, if I may say, when I had the privilege to look over the investigative files, I concluded that the forensic reports and certain other evidence pointed only towards death due to drowning.

RD: So I fail to understand why those accusations were made against you and how disturbed you felt after those accusations which were random coming from nowhere without even having spoken to the police?

BK: First of all, it was not a natural death, it was an accidental death. I decided not to speak about it because I had already spoken about it for over 24 to 48 hours when I was being interrogated and investigated. Dubai Police told me that we had to go through because there was pressure from Indian media. I said, well, I have nothing more to say than what I already have been saying.

They also discovered that there was no foul play and I went through all the intense interrogation there where they put me through a lie detector and all those things. The post-mortem report said that it was an accidental death by drowning.

She wanted to look good because when you are on screen, you look much broader and she wanted to make sure that she is chiselled and in good shape to maintain good looks on screen. It was not just for the film that she was doing then. She had come down to 46-47 kgs. You would notice it in the film ‘English Vinglish’.

Before this incident, she had had a blackout on a number of occasions and doctors kept telling her, ‘You have low BP (blood pressure) so do not follow a severe diet and don’t avoid salt.’ Most women believe salt increases water retention that’s why you feel puffy. That was one reason. I would also tell her not to completely avoid salt. I would also ask her to include a pinch of salt when having salad.

After her unfortunate demise, Nagarjuna came to our home to offer his condolences and he told me that she was on a crash diet when she was doing a movie with him. He recollected that she fell in the bathroom and broke her teeth, and had those artificial caps.

Even during one of Pankaj Parashar’s film which was never completed, she had a similar problem. I was not aware of what Nagarjuna told me. But I was aware of Pankaj Parashar’s situation. It was not something I would ask Sri. But I knew that she had this tendency of going on a strict diet where she gave up salt.

I used to push our doctor and then I used to push her myself (against completely stopping salt consumption) during dinner with quips like “soup with no salt,” and “food with no salt.” Unfortunately, she didn’t take this seriously and we also thought it can’t be this serious till the incident happened.

In fact, whoever and whenever I meet some friends, their wives, I tell them that if you are on a diet make sure you maintain the necessities to keep your BP normal. Basically, it is in your hands how you maintain your health. Don’t go for anything extreme, even if you are dieting, don’t go for anything so extreme where you give up on things that are necessary for your body.

 

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