Amit Sharma Talks About Casting Surekha Sikri In Badhaai Ho ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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Surekha Sukri passed away last week, sending shockwaves across the industry. Young viewers, those who aren’t aware of her work, know the veteran actress as Badhaai Ho’s Daadi (grandmother). Surekhaji looked tailor-made for the character, but the same wasn’t the opinion of director Amit Sharma initially. Scroll below to know Sharma’s embarrassing memory.
Badhaai Ho was a huge hit upon its release and Surekha Sikri’s role was one of the major points behind the success. Unfortunately, initially, Amit Sharma was in doubt if she would fit the role or not. He had to audition Surekhaji for the role and was left in embarrassment.
As per SpotboyE, Amit Sharma said, “I’m embarrassed to say that initially I was not convinced she was the perfect fit for Daadi’s role. Maybe because I had only seen her in salwar-kameez. I wanted to see how she looked in a saree. I asked her to do an audition, and I felt really bad asking this from an actor of her experience and stature.”
“Do you know what her response was? ‘Chalo karte hain na’. And that was that. She came to my office and I wanted a saree look. Unfortunately, the costumes person had no saree ready that day. Surekhaji had to come back for another audition. She eventually had to do three auditions. By then I was convinced no one else could play Daadi,” Sharma added about how professional Surekha Sikri was.
“Both of us were at the National Awards function to receive our awards for Badhaai Ho. She was on a wheelchair looking more frail than ever. I bent down to talk to her. She put her hand on my head. I still feel her hand blessing me. I can’t believe she’s gone. Whenever I’d call her she would say, ‘Amit humein kaam chahiye.’ She wanted to keep working. I’d reassure her, ‘Karte hain na. Aap theek toh ho jaiaye.’. That never happened,” Badhaai Ho director remembered her.
