Neena Gupta remembers Badhaai Ho co-star late Surekha Sikri's 'gusto' while shooting film: 'What commitment she had'

Actor Neena Gupta on Friday remembered the 'commitment' and 'gusto' of late actor Surekha Sikri when they worked together in the 2018 film Badhaai Ho. Taking to Instagram, Neena paid tribute to the late actor and shared a video. She also recalled her student life in the National School of Drama when she looked up to Surekha Sikri as her inspiration.

Sharing the video, Neena Gupta said about Surekha Sikri, "It's said grief is lessened if shared. Today morning I received a sad news, of the death of Surekha Sikriji. I thought of sharing my pain with you. When we were students in (National) School of Drama she was in the repertory company and they used to play parts. Without her knowledge, we would sneak in to have a peek at her acting and I would think 'I want to become an actress like this', which is many many years ago. Then we worked together in Badhaai Ho and before that in Saloni. Irrespective of that, I used to look up to her when she did her scenes. I learnt a lot from her and there was still so much more to learn from her."

Neena recalled a scene with Surekha Sikri when they were shooting for Badhaai Ho. Neena said, "And what commitment she had in that age! We had a scene together in Badhaai Ho where she rebukes my in-laws. When it was her turn to give the cue, when my shots were going on she was told 'you give a normal cue no need to (makes a hand gesture of hitting)'. But no, be it 10 takes, but she gave the cue with the same gusto when she performed. We come across very few people like this. I feel so sad that she is no more. It's very sad. Thank you for listening to me."

Surekha Sikri died on Friday morning following a cardiac arrest at the age of 75. In a statement shared with the media, her agent Vivek Sidhwani said the actor was suffering from complications arising out of a second brain stroke. Sikri had suffered her first brain stroke in September last year. The actor was married to Hemant Rege till his death in 2009. She is survived by her son Rahul Sikri.

The Delhi-born artiste, spent her childhood days in the hills of the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. She completed her graduation from the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Uttar Pradesh, and then enrolled for the National School of Drama (NSD) in 1968.

She had made her acting debut with the 1978 political drama film Kissa Kursi Ka, and since then she had entertained viewers with her several versatile roles. The three-time National Award-winning actor is best known for her performances in Tamas, Mammo, Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro, Zubeidaa and Badhaai Ho.

Also Read | Surekha Sikri tribute: Badhaai Ho star Sanya Malhotra, Balika Vadhu star Mahhi Vij and others remember late actor

The actor made her foray into television in the 1990s with Sanjha Chula and went on to feature in popular shows like Kabhie Kabhie, Just Mohabbat, CID, Banegi Apni Baat and Balika Vadhu.

In 2019, she had received the National Film Award for her role in the film Badhaai Ho. She was last seen in Netflix's Ghost Stories in 2020.