Mumbai, Jul 16 (IANS): The late National Award-winning actress Surekha Sikri has worked in several memorable films since she made her debut in the 1978 film, "Kissa Kursi Ka". Her later notable works include the TV series such as "Just Mohabbat" and "Balika Vadhu", besides the film "Badhaai Ho".

A recent outing that one simply cannot forget is the 2018 OTT anthology "Ghost Story", where she played an ailing, bedridden woman. It was something that came tantalisingly close to her real-life health situation at that point of time.

"Ghost Stories" dropped last year. The then 74-year-old actress featured in the segment directed by Zoya Akhtar, which talked about the horrors of abandonment in oldage.

Sikri played the ailing paralysed old lady Mrs. Mallik, who was being taken care of by a nurse named Sameera played by Janhvi Kapoor.

Beyond the eerie mood and theme of the film, Sikri's portrayal in Zoya's segment was searing and struck a connect with the audience, more so because she was bedridden in real life, too. She was not keeping in the best of her health as she had suffered from complications owing to a second brain stroke.

She had suffered a brain stroke in 2020 and a paralytic stroke in 2018, the year her big hit "Badhaai Ho" released. Sikri passed away on Friday aged 75.