Gajraj Rao remembers the veteran actress Surekha Sikri as an 'emotional anchor' of the film, Badhaai Ho. The 2018 Bollywood hit saw Gajraj and Surekha playing on-screen son and mother.
Paying a tribute to the late actress, who passed away on Friday due to a cardiac arrest, Gajraj took to social media to pen an emotional note.
"Making a film is like travelling in a train, where the journey is a destination in itself. You meet all kinds of co-passengers here. Some open up their tiffins and hearts to you, while some guard their luggage and eye you with suspicion. Badhaai Ho will always be that special train journey which brought me to a new station in life, and I'm truly thankful that we had someone like Surekha ji as the emotional anchor of this ship," the actor wrote on Instagram while sharing multiple pictures with actress Surekha Sikri from the sets of Badhaai Ho.
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Remembering her as someone who was humble and had child-like enthusiasm, Gajraj added, "She was definitely the youngest at heart on the sets, and had no airs about her stature or endless experience as an actress. Her craft was defined by her years of homework and 'riyaaz' as an actress, combined with a child-like enthusiasm (sic)."
Thanking her for her wisdom, he concluded, "As all journeys must end eventually, we bid goodbye to Surekha ji today. Thank you, Surekha ji, for all the wisdom and memories you have left us with. #rip #surekhasikri #badhaaiho@iamitrsharma (sic)."
The actress suffered a brain stroke for the second time in September 2020 and had been keeping unwell since then. She suffered a paralytic stroke in 2018.
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A veteran of Hindi theatre, Sikri made her debut with the 1978 political drama film, Kissa Kursi Ka, and went on to play supporting roles in numerous Hindi and Malayalam films, as well as television shows. In recent years, two projects brought her immense accolades - television show Balika Vadhu and film Badhaai Ho. While the former got her two Indian Telly Awards (Best Actress in a Negative Role in 2008 and Best Actress in a Supporting Role in 2011), the latter brought home three awards: the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress.