Surekha Sikri (19 April 1945 16 July 2021) was an Indian

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

actress. Sikri received several awards, including three

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

and a

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

. A veteran of

Hindi theatre Hindi theatre is theatre performed in the Hindi language, including dialects such as Braj Bhasha, Khari Boli and Hindustani. Hindi theatre is produced mainly in North India, and some parts of West India and Central India, which include Mumbai and ...

, she made her debut in the 1977 political drama film ''

Kissa Kursi Ka ''Kissa Kursi Ka'' () is a 1977 Indian Hindi-language political satire film directed by Amrit Nahata, who was a member of Indian parliament and produced by Badri Prasad Joshi. The film was a satire on the politics of Indira Gandhi and her son ...

'' and went on to play supporting roles in numerous

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

and

Malayalam films Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ''Elippathayam' ...

, as well as in

Indian soap opera Indian television drama (in Indian English Indian serials) are television programs written, produced, and filmed in India, with characters played by Indians and episodes broadcast on Indian television. India's first television drama was '' Hum ...

s. Sikri won the

National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress The National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasti ...

thrice, for her roles in '' Tamas'' (1988), ''

Mammo ''Mammo'' is a 1994 Indian Hindi 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 Critics Award f ...

'' (1995) and ''

Badhaai Ho ''Badhaai Ho'' (; ) is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma and produced by Sharma, Aleya Sen and Hemant Bhandari under Chrome Pictures and Vineet Jain under Junglee Pictures. It stars Ayushmann ...

'' (2018). She was awarded the

Indian Telly Award for Best Actress in a Negative Role Indian Telly Award for Best Actress in a Negative Role is an award given bIndiantelevision.comas part of its annual Indian Telly Awards for TV serials, to recognize a female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a negative role, t ...

in 2008 for her work in the primetime soap opera ''

Balika Vadhu ''Balika Vadhu'' (English: The Child Bride) is an Indian soap opera that was aired on Colors TV between 21 July 2008 and 31 July 2016 with 2,248 episodes. The story is set in rural Rajasthan and revolves around the life of a Child marriage, ch ...

'' and won the

Indian Telly Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Indian Telly Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female is an award given bIndiantelevision.comas part of its annual Indian Telly Awards for TV serials, to recognize a female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a Suppo ...

for the same show in 2011. In addition, she won the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

in 1989 for her contributions towards Hindi theater. Her appearance in ''

'' (2018) got her immense recognition and appreciation from viewers and critics. She won three awards: the

Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress The Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress is given by '' Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role. Although the Filmf ...

and the

Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress The Screen Award for Best Actress is one of the Screen Awards of merit presented annually by a distinguished panel of judges from the Indian "Bollywood" film industry, to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a Su ...

for her performance in the film.

Early life and background

Sikri belonged to

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

and she spent her childhood in

Almora Almora ( Kumaoni: ''Almāḍ'') is a municipal board 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: ''Naintāl''; ) is a city and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the High Court of the state being located there and is the headquarters o ...

. At the beginning of her career, she attended

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) 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 capita ...

. Later, she graduated from the

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a theatre training institute 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 indepe ...

(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

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 is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...

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 ''

''.

Death

Sikri died on 16 July 2021 at the age of 76 of a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

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

brain stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functio ...

Filmography

Films

* ''

'' (1977) - Meera * ''Anaadi Anant'' (1986) * '' Tamas'' (1988) - Rajo * ''

Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro ''Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro'' () is a 1989 Indian film directed by Saeed Akhtar Mirza, with Pavan Malhotra as lead. The film won Best Feature Film in Hindi and Best Cinematography at 37th National Film Awards. Plot The film is set in the pe ...

'' (1989) - Ameena * ''

Parinati ''Parinati'' (English: ''The Inevitable'') is a 1989 Hindi film directed by Prakash Jha.

'' (1989) - Ganesh's wife * '' Nazar'' (1990) - Bua * ''Karamati Coat'' (1993) - Old Woman * ''

Little Buddha ''Little Buddha'' is a 1993 drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, written by Rudy Wurlitzer and Mark Peploe, and produced by usual Bertolucci collaborator Jeremy Thomas. An international co-production of Italy, France, and the United Kingdom, ...

'' (1993) - Sonali * ''

'' (1994)Surekha Sikri
''

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

''. - Fayyazi * '' Naseem'' (1995) * ''

Sardari Begum ''Sardari Begum'' is a 1996 Indian musical film directed by Shyam Benegal. The film stars Kiron Kher, Amrish Puri, Rajit Kapur and Rajeshwari Sachdev. The film's lead actress Kiron Kher won the 1997 National Film Award - Special Jury Award. ...

'' (1996) - Idbal Bai * ''Janmadinam'' (1998, Malayalam film) - Amma (Sarasu's mother) * ''

Sarfarosh ''Sarfarosh'' () is a 1999 Indian action drama film written, produced and directed by John Matthew Matthan and starring Aamir Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Sonali Bendre and Mukesh Rishi. John started working on ''Sarfarosh'' in 1992. Seven years ...

'' (1999) - Sultan's Mother (special appearance) * '' Dillagi'' (1999) - Kiran * ''

Cotton Mary ''Cotton Mary'' is a 1999 film co-directed by Ismail Merchant, best known as the producer half of Merchant Ivory, and the Indian actress and writer Madhur Jaffrey, who also co-starred. It is a sensual film, shot in coastal South India. Plot Li ...

'' (1999) - Gwen * '' Hari-Bhari'' (2000) - Hasina * ''

Zubeidaa ''Zubeidaa'' is a 2001 Indian film directed by Shyam Benegal and written by Khalid Mohammed. It stars Karisma Kapoor, Rekha, Manoj Bajpayee, Surekha Sikri, Rajit Kapoor, Lillete Dubey, Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal, and Shakti Kapoor. A.R. Rah ...

'' (2001) - Fayyazi * ''

Deham ''Deham'' (The Body) is a 2001 film directed by Govind Nihalani based on playwright Manjula Padmanabhan's play ''Harvest''. It has Kitu Gidwani, Joy Sengupta, Alyy Khan, Surekha Sikri and Julie Ames in lead roles. It is a futuristic story depi ...

'' (2001) - Om's mother * '' Kali Salwar'' (2002) - Anwari * ''

Mr. and Mrs. Iyer ''Mr. and Mrs. Iyer'' is a 2002 Indian English-language drama film written and directed by Aparna Sen and produced by N. Venkatesan. The film features Sen's daughter Konkona Sen Sharma as Meenakshi Iyer, a Tamil Iyer Brahmin who is a Hindu. Rahu ...

'' (2003) - Najma Khan * ''

Raghu Romeo ''Raghu Romeo'' is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language black comedy film directed by Rajat Kapoor, starring Vijay Raaz, Sadiya Siddiqui, Maria Goretti (actress), Maria Goretti, Manu Rishi and Saurabh Shukla. The film was released on 15 August 2003 to cr ...

'' (2003) - Mother * ''

Raincoat A raincoat is a waterproof or water-resistant garment worn on the upper body to shield the wearer from rain. The term rain jacket is sometimes used to refer to raincoats with long sleeves that are waist-length. A rain jacket may be combined with ...

'' (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 ''Humko Deewana Kar Gaye'' (translation: ''You Made Me Crazy in Love'') is a 2006 Indian Hindi romantic drama film directed by Raj Kanwar, produced by Raj Kanwar, Bhushan Kumar & Krishan Kumar and starring Anil Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif ...

'' (2006) * ''

Sniff Sniff may refer to: * Sniff (Moomin character), a character in the Moomin stories * ''Sniff'' (film), a 2017 Indian Bollywood film * Sniff, the action of inhaling * Sniff, odor sampling, see olfaction * Sniff (domino game) Muggins, sometimes ...

'' (2017) - Bebe * ''

'' (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 ''Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani'' (English: ''Once There was a King and Queen'') is an Indian television period drama that aired on Zee TV on 27 July 2015. The show initially focused on the love story of Rani Gayatri ( Drashti Dhami) and Ranaji ( Sid ...

'' as Ranaji's grandmother ("Badi Rani Ma") (2015–2017) *''

Pardes Mein Hai Mera Dil ''Pardes Mein Hai Mera Dil'' ( ''My Heart Lives In A Foreign Land'') (International title:Chasing My Heart) is an Indian television series produced by Ekta Kapoor under her banner Balaji Telefilms for Star Plus. The story, set in Austria, is i ...

'' as Indumati Lala Mehra (Dadi) (2016–2017) *''

'' as Kalyani Devi Dharamveer Singh/Dadisa (2008-2016) *''

Maa Exchange ''Maa Exchange'' is a Hindi language Indian reality television series which premiered on 12 January 2011 on Sony TV. The series is produced by Ronnie Screwvala Rohinton Soli "Ronnie" Screwvala (born 8 September 1956) is an Indian entrepreneur ...

'' *'' Maha Kumbh: Ek Rahasaya, Ek Kahani'' as Rudra's grandmother (2014–2015) *''

Saat Phere - Saloni Ka Safar Saat may refer to: * Beren Saat (born 1984), Turkish actress * Joosep Saat (1900–1977), Estonian politician, journalist and academic * Mari Saat (born 1947), Estonian writer * Othman Saat (1927–2007), Malaysian politician * Theo Saat (1928–2 ...

'' as Bhabo (2006–2009) *''

Banegi Apni Baat ''Banegi Apni Baat'' is an Indian television drama series that aired on Zee TV from 1993 running to 1997. The series was produced by Tony Singh (director), Tony Singh and Deeya Singh. It starred many Indian television actors, such as Irrfan K ...

'' *''

Kesar ''Kesar'' (saffron) is an Indian television serial that aired on Star Plus from 19 April 2004 to 31 May 2007. The story follows the life of a young girl named Kesar. The series was supposed to go on air as ''Karvachauth'' on Zee TV. However, as ...

'' as Saroj *''

Kkehna Hai Kuch Mujhko Kkehna Hai Kuch Mujhko is a TV series by Balaji Telefilms, broadcast on Sony Entertainment Television, from 11 March 2004 to 2005. It aired Friday to Sunday 8:30 PM The serial showed Pallavi Joshi as protagonist Reva Kapoor, and her journey fro ...

'' *''Saher'' *''Godan'' *'' C.I.D.'' as Maithali (1 Episode, 2007) *''Samay'' *''

Aahat ''Aahat'' (English: ''An approaching sound'') is an Indian thriller/ horror television anthology series created by B. P. Singh for Sony Entertainment Television. The series premiered on 5 October 1995. The episodes of first, second and fift ...

'' *'' Mano Ya Na Mano'' *''

Just Mohabbat ''Just Mohabbat'' is an India television series which aired on Sony Entertainment Television channel from 1996 to 2000. The series was directed by Tony and Deeya Singh. The story revolved around the life of Jai (Harsh Lunia and later Vatsal She ...

'' as Mrs. Pandit (1996–2000) *'' Kabhie Kabhie'' as Lakshmi Pathak *''Sanjha Chula'' (1990)

Awards and nominations

Sikri has won the

three times, more than any other actress. Her other accolades include a

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

award, a

Screen Screen or Screens may refer to: Arts * Screen printing (also called ''silkscreening''), a method of printing * Big screen, a nickname associated with the motion picture industry * Split screen (filmmaking), a film composition paradigm in which mul ...

award and six Indian Television Academy awards.

References

External links

* *
Surekha Sikri
at ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''
Surekha Sikri
at ''

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

'' {{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 Hindi theatre Filmfare Awards winners Screen Awards winners Actors from Mumbai