In a sad piece of news, three-time National Film Award-winning actress Surekha Sikri is no more. The veteran actress died of cardiac arrest at the age of 75.
Sikri's manager confirmed her sad demise to a leading news portal. Sikri who became a household name as Kalyani Devi in Balika Vadhu, had an illustrious career spanning over four decades.
Sikri made her debut in the 1978 political drama film Kissa Kursi Ka and went on to play supporting roles in numerous Hindi and Malayalam films, as well as in Indian soap operas. A veteran of Hindi theatre, Sikri won her first National Film Award in 1988 for her film Tamas. Her second National Award came in 1995 for Shyam Benegal's Mammo. The Nazar actress won her third National Film Award for the 2018 comedy-drama Badhaai Ho, co-starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Sanya Malhotra.
The actress had been unwell for a long time. Sikri's manager while talking to Indian Express said, "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," her manager shared the heartbreaking news.
She is survived by her son Rahul Sikri from her first marriage. Her husband Hemant Rege, died due to heart failure on October 20, 2009. National Film Award-winning actor Naseeruddin Shah is her former brother-in-law, as his first marriage was with her step-sister Manara Sikri also known as Parveen Murad.
In 2020, Sikri suffered a brain stroke and was discharged from the hospital in a few days. She was born in Uttar Pradesh and spent most of her childhood in Almora and Nainital. She graduated from the National School of Drama in 1971. Some of her best films are Sarfarosh, Zubeidaa, Sheer Qorma, Sardari Begum, Dillagi, Anaadi Anant etc.
On the work front, Sikri was last seen in director Zoya Akhtar's short film in the Netflix anthology Ghost Stories.