She Came Into This Profession By Accident...Now, Is The Famous Daadisa!

Surekha Sikri in a different costume other than 'daadisa'! (courtesy)

I watched this programme, 'Guftagu' last Saturday in Rajya Sabha. It is very good.  Felt like watching Door Darshan programme, without the loudly dressed up anchors shouting or 'I know all' type of interviewers, never allowing the guest to 'think' and express themselves. Syed Mohammad Irfan, the interviewer here, is the best person for this type of programme, I feel.  He was looking at Surekha Sikri, the actor about whom I am writing here, with lot of respect and admiration.  He was prompting her whenever needed.  Otherwise, he was just listening intently.  Along with Surekha, I admired him too, here!

When did I first notice her? Maybe in Tamas, a Govind Nihalani television film/serial.  It came in Door darshan in the 80's as one hour series for four hours.  I still remember, the plot was so strong that my husband didn't even wanted to hear the background music and closed the door of his room when I was watching it.  A memorable film for me.  I noticed Surekha Sikri then.  And next, in one Rajasthani based story where she lives in a desert with her husband and loots the travellers who come to stay in their house as guests.  She kills her own son who came there as a traveller, without knowing that he was their son.  I can never forget her character in that movie.  Anyone remember the name of the movie? Then I noticed her in 'Mammo', a Shyam Benegal movie, where she acted very well along with another of my favourite actor Farida Jalal. She has acted in many other movies but I remember the above mentioned movies vividly.

Now, she is acting in a famous television serial, 'Balika Vadhu' which is running for the past 7 years, I think.  I and my husband had been watching it from day one! No, we are not couch potatoes watching many serials.  We watch only one or two serials at a time.  Now, it is Balika Vadhu and Ashoka.  And some musical reality shows.

This serial, Balika Vadhu, has got small small incidents and all of them give a positive message to our society, from child marriage to adult education.  Surekha is the strength/pillar of the serial.  She learnt Rajasthani language just to act in this serial.  Very strong minded character.  Her character changes from a strong minded, old fashioned woman to a modern, a 'full of love' woman here.  Have a look here . 

She is from Uttar Pradesh.  Father was in the Air Force and mother was a teacher. Studied in Aligarh and later became an NSD (National School of Drama) graduate.  Acted in theatres with NSD Repertory company for around 15 years and then shifted to Mumbai.  Then her movie and television career started.  She loves Hindustani music, can sing quite well and a bookworm too!! You can hear her giving more details of her life here:

'Mujhe stage pe khada hona nahin aathaa thaa'...she says here...now, she is the pinnacle of acting! She can act in any type of role now, whether it is a good lady or a bad, cunning lady! Everything comes natural for her.  She gives her 100% to the role, body language, expression in dialogue, everything.  

In another interview here, she says "The process of acting is a continuous learning experience. What I could do five years earlier, I can do better now. My growth as an actor reflects in my work. I have tried to give the character many shades; she is not a cardboard character. She proves that it is not necessary for a negative person to remain that way forever. That if she examines herself, does some soul-searching; she too can overcome her rigid mindset. Her character (as Daadisa in Balika Vadhu) proves that it is possible to change.”

She married Hemant Rege after a long courtship during 'Tamas' days.  Happily married couple they were.  He expired in 2009. Her only son is an artist and lives in Bombay.

She has done films like Sardari Begum, Deham (malayalam), Sarfarosh, Zubeida, Raincoat, and Little Buddha and won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress twice – for Tamas in 1988 and Mammo in 1995.  She has also won the Sangeet Nataak Akaademi Award in 1989 and the ASSOCHAM Ladies League’s Mumbai Women of the Decade Achievers Award, earlier this year.

Our whole family had been admiring her for the past many years.  I am so happy to write about her today.  These types of women influence us and it might reflect in some way in our life.  She is in my 'People whom I admire' list now!

Some pleasing songs...

This song is from yesterday's episode of Balika Vadhu, our favourite serial! The voice of Kailash Kher is so pleasing to the ears!

The original song by Kailash Kher.

We watch Music ka maha muqabla often. Though we liked the other musical shows directed by Gajendra Singh (saregama, saregamapa...and others), this one resembles like an English rock show! We enjoyed the other shows better. Still some gems are coming out of this show too.

These two songs are sung by a new singer Rehmaan. The emotion he expresses in them are beautiful.

Maula Meri le le meri jaan

Yaad piya ki aaye by singer Rehmaan

Anwesha sings 'Manmohanaa'. This young girl is going to go places. Here she is:

This is the toughest song sung by Rahul Vaidhya and Anwesha...an example of the high caliber of our budding singers.

This is a pleasant surprise, watching these young people singing pure classical based songs, so nicely. Now, you enjoy this! My next post will be about the baby kittens and their antics!

Balika Vadhu - Serial no.1!

We do not have a second thought about Balika Vadhu, being no.1 serial, even after 28 episodes!

The script is too good, background music is soft and the title song...all of us are bowled over by the title song (who is the singer - no one responded to my query!)! They are not displaying the names of the actors also. For background music they are using flute, ghatam, mridangam, tabla, saarangi, etc. unlike the shrilling sounds of keyboard violins!

Anandi, the child heroine is projected as a typical child, believing everyone and everything and we are going to see how she grows up slowly - how she is going to change. It is going to be happy/sad mixture - happy to see how she copes up with the situations, sad to see her suffering while facing the problems, the negative side of people, she has to deal with. Now she thinks if she lies, her nose will bloat! She feels sad for small things and within seconds, with the next sentence, she forgets everything and is happy again.

The incidents which are shown in the serial are still happening. The girls are not allowed to go to school, or allowed to go to school till they are 10-11 years old. Afterwards they are asked to do household work. Like daadisa says - first Anandi has to learn to cook and take care of the house. Anandi has got a good mother in law - best mother in law - who is there to protect her like a mother always. I liked the way Anandi said when Jagdish was eating slowly - we should eat food slowly for it to get digested easily - with a big smiling face because her stomach was full!

The last segment shows the parents of Anandi visiting her in her sasuraal. The look in her mother's face is enough for knowing the calibre of the actress, Raichura!

The music for the title song is by Lalit Sen. The song 'Kesaria....baalamu' is heard in the background often via instruments and vocal...beautiful song! Typical Rajasthani song!

Balika Vadhu - A well made serial with very good cast!

Balika Vadhu seems to be a good serial. Though sounds like a documentary with a social message, the way it is picturised and narrated, is very good. The cast is superb. We have seen them in many serials. Surekha Sikri, who plays the grandmother of the bridegroom, Jagdish (Avinash Mukherji), is a very good actress. She has acted in quite a number of films and serials too. Vaibhavi Raichura, who plays the mother of the bride, Anandi (Avika Gor) is also a very good actress - acted in 'Hum Paanch' in a tomboy role and in 'Aastha' in a good role. We have seen Anoop Soni (bride groom's father) and Chaitanya Adeep (bride's father) in some good serials.

Anandi, the main character, is very apt for the role of a child bride. Her acting is superb. She has got a twinkle in her eye and is very beautiful. They have not yet shown much about the character of the bride groom, Jagdish, but seems to be a good choice. So I think the serial will not be boring! And it is still 13 episodes old! Start watching in 'colors' channel at 8 p.m. and daytime repeats are also there!

Oh, I forgot to mention about the title song. We can keep on hearing it. Lalit sen's music is fantastic. Don't know who is singing. Anyone know? I did not see the name in the titles.

Enjoy! If you miss an episode, watch it in 'youtube'!