Surekha Sikri dies of cardiac arrest at 75; three-time National Award winner was battling effects of second brain stroke

Veteran actor Surekha Sikri died on Friday morning at the age of 75 following a cardiac arrest, her agent said. In a statement shared with the media, the agent said the actor had been suffering from complications arising from a second brain stroke. “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. “She was surrounded by family and her caregivers. The family asks for privacy at this time. Om Sai Ram,” he added. Sikri had suffered a brain stroke in September last year and was discharged after a few days. She is best known for her performances in Tamas, Mammo, Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro, Zubeidaa, Badhaai Ho, and daily soap Balika Vadhu. She won National Awards for Best Supporting Actress for Govind Nihalani’s 1988 period television film Tamas, Shyam Benegal’s 1994 film Mammo, and most recently, Amit R Sharma’s 2018 family comedy Badhaai Ho. She was also honoured with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1989 for her prolific work in Hindi theatre. Sikri was last seen in Netflix anthology Ghost Stories (2020) in the story directed by Zoya Akhtar. She is survived by her son Rahul Sikri. (With inputs from Press Trust of India) _(Also read — Surekha Sikri in one of her last interviews: Feels like I've been discovered by a whole new generation)_ ( Also read — Surekha Sikri passes away: From Badhaai Ho to Balika Vadhu, a look at celebrated actor's notable performances )