Mumbai: Actor Rani Mukerji remembered Bollywood diva Sridevi as a "guiding light" in her life, saying her untimely death is the most painful thing she has dealt with after her father's demise.

The actor said she felt close to Sridevi, known has India's first female superstar, considered her an "inspiration personally and professionally."

"For me it's the most painful thing I have dealt with after my dad's passing away. And her face is coming in front of me again and again. The love she had for me was so tremendous and intense that I feel somewhere I have lost a guiding light in my life.

"She has been my inspiration personally and professionally. She was very close to me. She was like my 'maasi'. She was someone I looked up to. I just feel there is one more person I have lost in my life I loved and who loved me back," said Rani.

The 54-year-old actor passed away in her hotel room in the Jumeirah Emirates Towers late on Saturday.