Veteran actor Surekha Sikri died on Friday morning at the age of 75 following a cardiac arrest, her agent said. She suffered a brain stroke in September last year and had been unwell since. 

“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,” the actor’s agent Vivek Sidhwani said in a statement. 

“She was surrounded by family and her caregivers. The family asks for privacy at this time. Om Sai Ram,” he added.’

Also Read: When Surekha Sikri spoke about her wish to work with Amitabh Bachchan

Following her death, several of her colleagues, friends ahd fans took to social media to offer condolences. 

“Very Sad news !!! One of the greatest talent Surekha Sikari ji passed away leaving behind so many great performances in theatre and cinema!! She was a treat to watch on stage.can’t forget some of those memories of her act in theatre.great craft and a graceful person!! RIP (sic),” actor Manoj Bajpayee wrote. 

Her ‘Badhaai Ho’ co-star Neena Gupta also paid tribute to the late actor. 

“Surekha ji was a natural performer and would light up the screen with her performance. She was spontaneous and it was a delight to watch her act. We have spent a lot of time together during Badhaai Ho, especially during the breaks. We would often eat together and talk about various things. She was a beautiful lady. Besides the acting and interaction on sets, she was a very warm human being. She was so full of life even at her age. Surekha ji truly deserved all the adulation and the awards for her performance in Badhaai Ho,” she said, News 18 reported. 

Sikri is best known for movies like ‘Tamas’, ‘Mammo’, ‘Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro’, ‘Zubeidaa’, and ‘Badhaai Ho’. Contemporary audiences remember her as ‘Dadisa’ from the popular Indian soap opera ‘Balika Vadhu’.

Sikri was last seen in Netflix’s anthology ‘Ghost Stories’ (2020), in the story directed by Zoya Akhtar.

The actor was married to Hemant Rege till his death in 2009. She is survived by her son Rahul Sikri.