Urmila Matondkar mourns demise of veteran actress Surekha Sikri; pays heartfelt tribute

Veteran award-winning actress, Surekha Sikri passed away due to cardiac arrest on July 16, Friday at the age of 75. She is popularly known for her role in the television show, Balika Vadhu. The news was confirmed in a statement released by her manager.

"Three-time national award-winning actress, Surekha Sikri has passed away following a cardiac arrest early this morning at the age of 75. She had been suffering from complications arising from a second brain stroke. She was surrounded by family and her caregivers. The family asks for privacy at this time. Om Sai Ram", the statement read. 

Bollywood pays heartfelt tribute to Surekha Sikri

The demise of the award-winning actress has left the industry in sadness. Actress and politician Urmila Matondkar also took to Twitter to pay her tribute. She wrote, "RIP #SurekhaSikri Ji. Actor par excellence."

Many others have also come forward grieving the actor's demise. Actors like Dia Mirza, Ayushmann Khurrana, Manoj Bajpayee, Randeep Hooda, Gulshan Grover, Urvashi Rautela, and many more took to their social media handles to pay their tribute.

Manoj Bajpayee said, "Very Sad news!!! One of the greatest talents Surekha Sikari 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"

Actress Neena Gupta, who was seen working with Surekha Sikri in the movie Badhaai Ho, shared a video. In the video, she shared how she was inspired by the actress and spoke about her experience working with her. 

Surekha Sikri's health condition

At the age of 75, Surekha Sikri had suffered a second brain stroke in September 2020. A few weeks later, she was discharged from the hospital and was undergoing chemotherapy. Since then she was waiting to recover fully before joining work again. 

In 2018, she also suffered from a paralytic stroke. She was very unwell in the last few days and was in a wheelchair. 

Surekha Sikri is known for working in several films and is counted among one of the most talented actresses in the industry. She was also honoured with three national awards. The actress was famously known for the role of 'Dadisa' in the television serial Balika Vadhu. She was last seen in Netflix's anthology Ghost Stories directed by Zoya Akhtar.