Guwahati: National Award-winning actor Surekha Sikri has died in Mumbai at the age of 75. The actor was ailing for some time and had suffered a brain stroke in 2020 and a paralytic stroke earlier in 2018.
The veteran actor’s career spanned theatre, films and television. She made her debut with the 1978 political drama film Kissa Kursi Ka and played author-backed roles across films in various industries. She received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress thrice, including Tamas (1988), Mammo (1995) and Badhaai Ho (2018).
Born in Uttar Pradesh, she graduated from the National School of Drama (NSD) in 1971. She also won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1989. The actor’s father was in the Air Force and her mother was a teacher. She married Hemant Rege and they have a son together, Rahul Sikri.
The actor found a lot of popularity with her role of stern matriarch Kalyani Devi in TV soap Balika Vadhu. She was part of the show from its inception in 2008 till its end in 2016. Her act as a matriarch in 2018’s Badhaai Ho was also much appreciated, for which she also received a National Award. The actor had arrived in a wheelchair to pick up her award.
