Surekha Sikri (19 April 1945 16 July 2021) was an Indian actress widely known for her performance in

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

films A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. She has received several awards, including a

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Time ...

and three

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

. A veteran of Hindi theatre, she made her debut in the 1977 political drama film '' Kissa Kursi Ka'' and went on to play supporting roles in numerous

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and

Malayalam films Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

, as well as in

Indian soap opera Indian television dramas, often called Indian series or serials, are scripted television programs made in India, featuring Indian actors. These dramas are broadcast on Indian television networks. India's first television drama, '' Hum Log'' ( ...

s. Sikri won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress thrice, for her roles in '' Tamas'' (1988), ''

Mammo ''Mammo'' is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language film by Shyam Benegal. It stars Farida Jalal, Surekha Sikri, Amit Phalke and Rajit Kapur. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1995. Farida Jalal won Filmfare Crit ...

'' (1995) and '' Badhaai Ho'' (2018). She was awarded the Indian Telly Award for Best Actress in a Negative Role in 2008 for her work in the primetime soap opera '' Balika Vadhu'' and won the Indian Telly Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the same show in 2011. In addition, she won the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

in 1989 for her contributions towards Hindi theater. Her appearance in '' Badhaai Ho'' (2018) got her immense recognition and appreciation from viewers and critics. She won three awards: the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film.

Early life and background

Sikri belonged to

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

and she spent her childhood in

Almora Almora ( Kumaoni: ') is a municipal corporation and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the ...

and

Nainital Nainital (Kumaoni language, Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a town and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the Uttarakhand High Court, High Court of the state being ...

. At the beginning of her career, she attended

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capital, New Delhi. ...

. Later, she graduated from the

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a drama school situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an independent school ...

(NSD) in 1971, and worked with the NSD Repertory Company for over a decade before shifting base to Mumbai. Surekha Sikri was the recipient of 1989

Personal life and death

Her father was in the Air Force and her mother was a teacher. She was married to Hemant Rege and she has a son, Rahul Sikri, who lives in Mumbai and works as an artist. Her husband, Hemant Rege, died due to heart failure on 20 October 2009. Noted actor

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He was notable in Indian parallel cinema and has starred in various international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfa ...

is her former brother-in-law, as his first marriage was with her step-sister Manara Sikri, also known as Parveen Murad. She is their daughter, Heeba Shah's, maternal aunt. Heeba acted as the younger version of her aunt's character, ''Dadisa'' in the television serial '' Balika Vadhu''. Sikri died on 16 July 2021 at the age of 76 of a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

in Mumbai. She had been suffering from the complications of two previous brain strokes.

Filmography

Films

* '' Kissa Kursi Ka'' (1977) - Meera * ''Anaadi Anant'' (1986) * '' Tamas'' (1988) - Rajo * '' Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro'' (1989) - Ameena * '' Parinati'' (1989) - Ganesh's wife * '' Nazar'' (1990) - Bua * ''Karamati Coat'' (1993) - Old Woman * '' Little Buddha'' (1993) - Sonali * ''

'' (1994)Surekha Sikri
''

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

''. - Fayyazi * '' Naseem'' (1995) * '' Sardari Begum'' (1996) - Idbal Bai * ''Janmadinam'' (1998, Malayalam film) - Amma (Sarasu's mother) * '' Sarfarosh'' (1999) - Sultan's Mother (special appearance) * '' Dillagi'' (1999) - Kiran * '' Cotton Mary'' (1999) - Gwen * '' Hari-Bhari'' (2000) - Hasina * '' Zubeidaa'' (2001) - Fayyazi * '' Deham'' (2001) - Om's mother * '' Kali Salwar'' (2002) - Anwari * '' Mr. and Mrs. Iyer'' (2003) - Najma Khan * '' Bokshu – The Myth'' (2002) * '' Raghu Romeo'' (2003) - Mother * '' Raincoat'' (2004) - Manoj's mom * '' Tumsa Nahin Dekha'' (2004) - Daksh's grandma * '' Jo Bole So Nihaal'' (2005) - Mrs. Balwant Singh (Nihaal's mom) * '' Humko Deewana Kar Gaye'' (2006) * '' Sniff'' (2017) - Bebe * '' Badhaai Ho'' (2018) - Durga Devi Kaushik * '' Sheer Qorma'' (2020) * '' Ghost Stories (2020 film)'' * '' Kya Meri Sonam Gupta Bewafa Hai?'' (2021) (Posthumous release, final role)

Television

*'' Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani'' as Ranaji's grandmother ("Badi Rani Ma") (2015–2017) *'' Pardes Mein Hai Mera Dil'' as Indumati Lala Mehra (Dadi) (2016–2017) *'' Balika Vadhu'' as Kalyani Devi Dharamveer Singh/Dadisa (2008-2016) *'' Maa Exchange'' *'' Maha Kumbh: Ek Rahasaya, Ek Kahani'' as Rudra's grandmother (2014–2015) *'' Saat Phere - Saloni Ka Safar'' as Bhabo (2006–2009) *'' Banegi Apni Baat'' *''

Kesar This is the list of current and formerly broadcast series by the Indian television channel StarPlus. Current broadcast Former broadcast Acquired series Anthology series Children/teen series Comedy series Drama series Mythological s ...

'' as Saroj *'' Kkehna Hai Kuch Mujhko'' *''Saher'' *''Godan'' *''

C.I.D. Cid may refer to: * Cid (soil) * Cubic inch (c.i.d., cid), a displacement unit for internal combustion engines * Cid, a slang term for lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) * Content-ID, a URI scheme (cid:) that allows the use of MIME within email Peop ...

'' as Maithali (1 Episode, 2007) *''Samay'' *'' Aahat'' *'' Mano Ya Na Mano'' *'' Just Mohabbat'' as Mrs. Pandit (1996–2000) *'' Kabhie Kabhie'' as Lakshmi Pathak *''Sanjha Chula'' (1990)

Awards and nominations

Sikri has won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress three times, more than any other actress. Her other accolades include a

Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of India's most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, ...

award, a Screen award and six Indian Television Academy awards.

References

External links

* *
Surekha Sikri
at ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''
Surekha Sikri
at ''

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Sikri, Surekha 1945 births 2021 deaths Actresses from New Delhi 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Indian film actresses Indian stage actresses Indian television actresses Indian soap opera actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Hindi television National School of Drama alumni Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Best Supporting Actress National Film Award winners Actors in Hindi theatre Filmfare Awards winners Screen Awards winners Actresses from Mumbai