In a recent interview with Etimes, the legendary filmmaker Shyam Benegal expressed his views about the late actress Surekha Sikri. He worked with Surekha in three of his films, including Zubeida, Mammo, and Sardari Begum. The filmmaker said that Surekha Sikri never gave a bad performance in her life and was always outstanding.
Shyam Benegal said, “She was an outstanding actress; I have worked with her in three films, ‘Sardari Begum’, ‘Zubeida’, and ‘Mammo’. She was brilliantly trained at the NSD and was one of their star pupils when she came out; at the time Ebrahim Alkazi was the director.”
Talking about her theatre performances, he said, “She performed in some very brilliant productions of the NSD repertory. I saw her in a play in Delhi and that’s how I thought I should take her to films here. She had a huge reputation as an actress in theatre. As you know, she has delivered some brilliant performances in cinema too, but what happens in cinema is that the people who are written about are largely the ones who play starring roles. Surekha never gave a bad performance in her life. All her performances were outstanding!”
The filmmaker said that she was extremely professional and very particular about her work. “She was a thorough professional and that too the last cross of the T, in the sense that when you took her in a film and told her what her part was and her lines, she would be there for the shoot not only on time but with the lines absolutely pitch-perfect and her costume and makeup in place. You didn’t have to worry about her at all. At that time you didn’t quite understand and appreciate the quality of the actress she was and also her discipline.”
Actress Surekha Sikri died on Friday, at the age of 75. Actors from the TV, theatre and film industry mourned her demise.
