'Pathaan brought back the smile on Pamela Chopra's face'

Pamela Chopra's passing was not quite unexpected -- she had been in the hospital ICU for 15 days -- but her death has left sons Aditya and Uday Chopra devastated.

"Adi is not saying much. For the past two days, he has withdrawn into a shell completely. His wife Rani (Mukerji) has her hands full. She is trying to supervise everything," a close friend of the Chopras tells Subhash K Jha.

"Pam aunty's health was deteriorating, and Adi knew it was coming. But then, who can accept the departure of a parent?"

Of the two Chopra sons, Adi was more dependent on his mother.

"Especially after Yashji's death, Adi went to his mother before taking important decisions. He is shattered. I don't think the enormity of the tragedy has sunk in completely," says the friend.

Ironically, tragedy has struck the Chopra family at a time when their production house has made a grand comeback to the blockbuster domain with Pathaan.

"Pam aunty was in a celebratory mood. She was worried about the debacles that the banner had faced in recent times. Pathaan had brought the smile back on her face," the family friend says.