I came across this article on sm.I didn't knw that she had a stroke last year.She was brilliant in Badhaai Ho.I hope she recovers soon.
"I want to walk again..." - Surekha Sikri
Interviews by Farhana Farook | Mar 16, 2020
The afternoon is still. And so is Surekha Sikri’s suburban home. I’m asked to wait in the drawing room as she’s readying herself inside. A soft conversation from the room inside breaks the silence. “Khichdi khaa lijiye na,” a young voice urges her gently. “Pure ghee daala ke nahin?” asks a voice firm and familiar. “Main khud khaaongi,” she further insists. Soon I’m ushered inside. I walk in with trepidation – part of it from being in awe of her talent, part of it from not wanting to burden someone convalescing after a stroke early last year.
She’s seated on a chair, with a table attached on which is placed a warm bowl of the dal-rice concoction. Her grey tresses drop in curls, still moist after the wash. What’s arresting are her kajal-rimmed eyes, reflecting the fire of an ongoing battle. She gives a shy smile, her dark eyes betraying the excitement. They’re the prisms of her soul. Hope, despair, regret, gratitude… they reflect every emotion through the conversation. There’s a strong ‘spiritual’ presence in the room. A designated corner has images of deities with a huge photograph of Sai Baba enjoying top-billing…
Awards & rewards
The past year can best be dubbed as bitter-sweet for Surekha. Audiences loved her acerbic act in Badhaai Ho and warmed up to the 74-year-old actor, who spoke matter-of-factly about sex in her conservative household. She was honoured with the Best Supporting Actress award at the recently concluded 66th National Film Awards. The actor accepted the honour on a wheel chair and received a standing ovation for both her talent and spirit. Last year, she had won the Filmfare Award Best Supporting Actress for the same film. But she chose not to attend the function then. “I regret not attending the Filmfare Awards.
I feared I’d spoil the moment by coming in a wheel chair. I didn’t have the confidence to do that. One should walk up to the stage proudly to receive the award,” she muses. “Mere saath hamesha aisa kyun hota hai? Whenever there’s a special occasion, a hurdle crops up,” she thinks aloud. “But now I try to remain optimistic. I check myself when I begin to think negatively. Whatever you visualise about yourself, a blueprint of that is formed in the astral world. It comes back to you,” she says.
She has been honoured with the National Award for Best Supporting Actress twice before too — for Govind Nihalani’s Tamas (1988) and Shyam Benegal’s Mammo (1994). Surekha, who doesn’t believe in blowing her own trumpet, admits that winning an award at this juncture has been special. Badhaai Ho, featuring Ayushmann Khurrana, Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao along with Surekha, dealt with middle-age pregnancy and the societal damnation it incurs. “Playing Durga was a dream role. It had an arc, a graph,” she says of her role of the sparring mother-in-law. “The saas-bahu equation undergoes a turn when Durga takes up for her pregnant daughter-in-law Priyamvada (Neena Gupta). Her monologue where she sides with her daughter-in-law saying, “Uski marzi woh ‘sexy’ karein!” was a joke that shook the taboo off sex in everyday conversation. “My son Rahul is unmarried or else I’d have been a great mother-in-law,” she chuckles. “My nieces, Heeba (Shah, actor) and Bushra, are like my daughters though. My elder sister, Parveen Murad (ex-wife of actor Naseeruddin Shah), was hugely talented. She was an ophthalmologist. She studied law. She could sculpt, paint… My younger sister Phoolmani stays in my building. Interesting name isn’t it?” she says her affection for her sisters palpable. She goes on to talk about her late husband Hemant Rege, who passed away in 2009. “I loved my husband dearly. I miss him. He was in ad production. We had a good marriage. He was a sweet and affectionate gentleman,” she says softly. Her first marriage had ended in a divorce. “Rahul is my son from the first marriage. He’s an artist,” she shares.
All the world’s a stage
Surekha spent her childhood in Almora (U.P). Later, she attended the Aligarh Muslim University. While in AMU, Al Kazi (ex-director National School of Drama) staged the play, King Lear, there. She filled up the NSD form that was being distributed and got into the drama academy in Delhi in 1968. “Al Kazi taught us how to raise our performance. He paid attention to detail. He’d do the lighting and music himself,” she reminisces. She worked with the NSD Repertory Company for over a decade. Her first play was the Greek tragedy, The Trojan Women in which she played Helen of Troy. Look Back In Anger and Cherry Orchard were her other popular plays. Prolific in theatre, she was given the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1989.
Small and Big
Surprisingly, Surekha, an avid theatre artiste, found it difficult to get theatre assignments in Mumbai. “I approached some groups but couldn’t break through,” she sighs. Her debut film was Amrit Nahata’s political drama Kissa Kursi Ka (1978). Since then she’s done notable roles in Govind Nihalani’s telefilm Tamas, Saeed Mirza’s Salim Langde Pe Pat Ro, Shyam Benegal’s Mammo, Sardari Begum, Zubeidaa and Hari Bhari, the Aamir Khan starrer Sarfarosh and Rituparna Ghosh’s Raincoat. “I didn’t do well in Tamas,” she reverts instinctively to her self-deprecating tone. “When I watched it later, I found myself lacking in emotion. I underplayed it too much.” Reading my thoughts, she quickly checks herself, “I can’t help being self-critical. I’m always looking for mistakes in my body language and voice inflexion.”
She had a great run on television. Banegi Apni Baat (1994) and Just Mohabbat (1996). Both running for four years, had the audience thawing to her. But she found television a bit erratic. “The character would suddenly change to play to the gallery, the storylines kept altering. I’d wonder what’s going on… But I’m thankful for every bit of work I got.” Years later, it was her character, Dadisa, in Balika Vadhu (2008-16), which made her the nation’s most-loved matriarch. “Dadisa is closest to me as a person. She’s like me – emotional yet balanced.”
Minding her step
Post her recent illness, she had to drop out of Faraz Arif Ansari’s upcoming LGBT romance, Sheer Qorma, starring Shabana Azmi, Divya Dutta and Swara Bhaskar. “Faraz returned my dates. I felt so bad. I wanted to work with him. He’s such a sensitive guy. I guess I couldn’t fulfil his expectations. Meri chaal dhal badal chuki hai because of the disability,” she says matter-of-factly.
She remembers the moment vividly when life took a turn for her. “I got a stroke while I was in Mahableshwar for a shoot. There was a clot in my brain. I was getting ready to eat in my room when my foot slipped as though I had stepped on soap,” she says with a wry laugh.
“I fell on my head hit and hit the furniture. I was found lying on the floor by my director.” Since then it’s been one day at a time for Surekha, who’s determined to get back on her feet.
The tough phase has unearthed several lessons. “It taught me to appreciate myself and my work.” She’s also learnt a thing or two about relationships. “That one must be kind and gentle. I was rough and blunt at times. I have to be guarded in my speech and not hurt people even unintentionally. There were times when I didn’t behave properly. Farz nahin nibhaya rishton ka... I ask forgiveness from all the souls I may have troubled in this lifetime and the past ones. Please forgive me…” she says breaking down. The nurse rushes forward to offer her water. Then getting a hold on herself and her humour she says, “Thank God the interview is not on video!” She looks with affection towards the young nurse and says, “Sister Pinky looks after me well. I’m ever so grateful to have her.”
One day at a time Surekha’s committed to her daily schedule, which involves physiotherapy among other things. She enjoys listening to Punjabi Sufi music. “I find it healing,” she says. She points to Sai Baba’s picture kept in the spiritual corner in the room. “It seems He’s looking straight in your eyes. Such saadgi (simplicity)! I tell Him aaya kijiye mere khwabon mein.” Food is another thing she’s particular about. “I like a tasty nashta… usually upma or samosa,” she smiles. What also keeps her engaged is watching news. Not many of her colleagues have the time to visit her. “I don’t have complaints. I understand they are busy working round the clock,” she says.
Her recent role in Zoya Akhtar’s Ghost Stories has won her praise yet again. “It’s a pleasure to work with passionate people. I play Mrs Malik, an old bedridden lady. She’s searching for her son,” she reveals. Surekha believes her best is yet to come but there’s an immediate dream she wants to fulfil. “I want to walk again.” To that I say, “Yes, of course you will.” The smile on her face widens. “When people tell me positive things, I believe God is speaking to me through them.” On a parting note, how would she describe Surekha the person? “I am still trying to find myself. I’m getting there dheere dheere…,” she grins. It’s been more than an hour and the nurse reminds her that her khichdi lies unfinished. She resumes eating dheere dheere…
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