Surekha Sikri, whose precise and subtle acting enlivened and enriched Delhi theatre in the 1970s and who gave a string of pitch-perfect performances in cinema and television, died on Friday morning in Mumbai following a heart attack. She was 76 years old at the time.
According to the actor’s agent, Vivek Sidhwani, “she had been suffering from problems stemming from a second brain stroke.” The first stroke occurred in September of last year.
Sikri addressed every role with honesty and empathy, her performance always inspired by an intense yet beautiful style, regardless of the medium. One of her three national prizes was for her performance in ‘Mammo’ (1994), which was well-deserved for her finely-grained portrayal of uneasiness and anxiousness that the character demanded. The other two come from Govind Nihalani’s telefilm “Tamas” (1988) and Amit Sharma’s film “Badhaai Ho” (2018).
Her portrayal of a cantankerous rural mother-in-law in ‘Badhaai Ho’ is one of her best, and it endeared her to a new generation of moviegoers. “Her language delivery, gestures, voice modulation, and character comprehension were all outstanding. And who can forget the gleam in those eyes?,” says the narrator. asks Arvind Gaur, director, Asmita theatre.
Surekha Sikri, a Delhi native, studied and polished her skill at the National School of Drama, where she was a respected member of the repertory company during its peak. MK Raina, a fellow actress, recalls being blown away by her work. “I had the pleasure of performing alongside her in the NSD repertory play ‘Kabhi Na Chhode Khet.’ When her son dies, there is a scene. I’d never seen anything like that before, with such a wide spectrum of acting. She was just amazing in John Osborne’s play, “Look Back In Anger,” directed by Ebrahim Alkazi. Unfortunately, no videos of her work at that time exist. “You could see she was a class apart even in a television series like ‘Balika Vadhu,’” adds Raina, who was a year junior to her at NSD.
‘Aadhe Adhure’ and ‘Sandhya Chhaya’ are two of her best-known pieces, in which she co-starred with Manohar Singh, another titan of Delhi theatre. In 1989, Sikri got the Sangeet Natak Akademi award.
Shyam Benegal, a well-known film director, remembers her as a “flawless” actor. “She was a very disciplined actor as a result of her theatre training. You didn’t have to notify her if you went on set with her when she was acting. You provided her the scenes, and she had to figure it out on her own. She knew what outfits she needed to wear, had her make-up done, and was well prepared with the lines she needed to say as the role she was playing… You might have a high-quality performance in a handful of takes,” says the actor.
In addition to ‘Mammo,’ he directed her in ‘Sardari Begum,’ ‘Zubeida,’ and ‘Hari Bhari,’ in which Sikri starred as the family matriarch who must battle old age while also serving as judge, jury, and mediator to the quarreling bahus.
Surekha Sikri was “happy-go-lucky” off stage, according to Raina. She had shown an impish side to this reporter during a quick phone conversation last year. Sikri told a story about skipping class at NSD to view the film “Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines” and being caught… We were barred from attending lessons for a week,” she explained.
Sikri also translated Bertolt Brecht’s “The Threepenny Opera,” which few people are aware of. “She was fluent in both Hindustani and English,” Raina adds. “Meticulous, thinking, and questioning, she was one of India’s top performers who has left a wonderful legacy in theatres, cinema, and television,” he said.
