Veteran actor Surekha Sikri passed away on Friday at the age of 75. The talented actor died due to cardiac arrest. Her manager told a leading news portal, “Three-time national award winning actress, Surekha Sikri has passed away following a cardiac arrest earlier this morning at the age of 75. She had been suffering from complications arising from a second brain stroke. She was surrounded by family and her caregivers. The family asks for privacy at this time. Om Sai Ram.”
Surekha first appeared on the silver screen in the 1978 film Kissa Kursi Ka. She went on to do several critically acclaimed films. But her role in the TV serial Balika Vadhu gave her much deserved fame. With her role of Kalyani Devi Singh, she became a household name. She then also garnered much appreciation for her role in the 2018 hit film ‘Badhaai Ho’ also starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao and Sanya Malhotra.
On Surekha Sikri’s death, her Badhaai Ho co-star Neena Gupta has shared some fond memories of her. Neena shared a video on Instagram and said, “I heard about the sad news of Surekha Sikri’s death this morning. I thought I should share my sorrow with you. When we were students at National School of Drama, she was in the repertory company and they used to play parts. Without her knowledge, we would sneak in to have a peek at her acting and I would think ‘I want to become an actress like this’, which is many many years ago. Then we worked together in Badhaai Ho and before that in Saloni. Irrespective of that, I used to look up to her when she did her scenes. I learnt a lot from her and there was still so much more to learn from her.”
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“And what commitment she had in that age! We had a scene together in Badhaai Ho where she rebukes my in-laws. When it was her turn to give the cue, when my shots were going on she was told ‘you give a normal cue no need to (makes a hand gesture of hitting)’. But no, be it 10 takes, but she gave the cue with the same gusto when she performed. We come across very few people like this. I feel so sad that she is no more. It’s very sad. Thank you for listening to me,” she further added, remembering working with her on Badhaai Ho.
Surekha Sikri’s family and the entertainment industry are mourning her sad demise.