Veteran actor Surekha Sikri passed away due to a cardiac arrest on Friday. She was 75. Surekha Sikri had suffered a brain stroke in 2020 and was ailing for a while. She had also suffered a paralytic stroke in 2018. 

News agency PTI posted a statement from the actor's agent. It read: 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. She was surrounded by family and her caregivers. The family asks for privacy at this time. 

Surekha Sikri made her debut in the 1978 satire, Kissa Kursi Ka. Her career has spanned the worlds of theatre, film and television. She won the National film award thrice, for Tamas (1988), Mammo (1995) and Badhaai Ho (2018). 

Her other notable film appearances were in Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro, Sarfarosh, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, Zubeidaa and others.

On television, Sikri was praised for her negative appearance in the soap opera Balika Vadhu. Her last acting role was in Zoya Akhtar's segment in Ghost Stories (2020). She reportedly has a turn in the upcoming short film, Sheer Qorma.