'Badhaai Ho' fame Surekha Sikri gets standing ovation at the 66th National Film Awards

Surekha Sikri who played the role of a grandmother in Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Badhaai Ho was felicitated and won the 66th National Film Award for The Best Supporting Actress. In a picture from the Award ceremony that surfaced on the internet, the veteran actress can be seen arriving in a wheelchair to pick up her award amidst being loudly cheered for. She was also the only one who received a standing ovation.  Look at the picture below- 

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Surekha Sikri felicitated 

Badhaai Ho

Badhai Ho starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Sanya Malhotra, Gajraj Rao, and Neena Gupta in the lead had also emerged as a box office winner. The coming-of-age family entertainer celebrates love, family and everything in between. The film revolves around the pregnancy of Priyamvada, essayed by Neena, who is in her later 40s or early 50s, and the news sees the entire family having a nervous breakdown with the news. The comedy-drama is originally directed by Amit Ravindernath Sharma and is jointly produced by Vineet Jain, Hemant Bhandari and Aleya Sen under the banner of Junglee Pictures and Chrome Pictures.

Women my age were earlier pieces of furniture in a film: Surekha Sikri 

Veteran actor Surekha Sikri says writers and filmmakers need to step up and give stronger roles to older female actors. The two-time National Award-winning actor believes cinema reflects society and that is one of the primary reasons why female actors of a certain age are not given notable roles.

READ: 66th National Film Awards: Akshay Kumar, Ayushmann Khurrana, Vicky Kaushal Honoured; WATCH

"Scripts are a reflection of what is happening around. It is a male-dominated world, so there are more male characters in films. There should be more roles for older female actors. People of my age were earlier pieces of furniture in a film. But now things are different," she told PTI.

Leaving aside a few exceptions, what Sikri, 73, dislikes is that "stereotypical parts" for the character of a grandmother continue to be written even today. "Roles like that of a dadi and nani, like a good dutiful or not-so-good, 'chalu' (cunning) person. The roles are not interesting, there are one dimensional kind of roles. Things have changed since few years, which is good, but not much. Scripts are coming in but I am always on the lookout for a good role."

(With inputs from PTI)