Veteran theatre artist and actor par excellence in TV and film, SUREKHA SIKRI has passed on. She died of a cardiac arrest this morning. She had been ailing for a bit. She was 75 and is survived by a son. A 1968 NSD graduate, Surekhaji shone on stage for over two decades as a member of the NSD Repertory.
She won the Sangeet Natak Academie Award in 1989. The same year she did a Doordarshan telefilm called PARINITI, directed by Prakash Jha and based on a short story by Vijaydan Detha. She just stood out in that movie. Just like her performances in TAMAS, MAMMO, SARDARI BEGUM, and several other movies and TV shows.
Over years she won the National Film Award for acting thrice. She won a Film Fare too and several other film and TV awards.
She became hugely popular all over India and the Indian diaspora playing the stern matriarch DAADISA in the hugely popular soap opera BALIKA VADHU that ran for 9 years on Colors TV.
Her latest stellar performance was in the 2018 hit film BADHAI HO. Alvida Surekhaji. Indian stage and screen have lost a gem.
