It’s a strange feeling and a terrible loss after the great innings we had with Surekha Sikriji. I used to call her the Goddess of acting — there was no one who could match [her screen presence]. The last one or two years were rather difficult, especially for an artiste like her who could no longer do her favourite thing — acting because of the physical limitations, owing to her age and health. Despite her health, she was immensely brave about it and wanted to [continue acting]. She was a bit of a recluse and would refrain from sharing her troubles with anyone.

I remember catching up with her at a Balika Vadhu milestone party during the initial phase of the show. I was amused to see her dance happily with her husband [Hemant Rege] who passed away [in 2009], a year after she joined Balika Vadhu. During one such celebration where we all had decided to dress up as characters from Balika Vadhu, I had donned a Rajasthani metal neckpiece that Dadisa’s character always wore. She instantly recognised that I had dressed up as her, even though I had paired it with a salwar suit. While she loved it, she also joked that it was not entirely like Dadisa. Given her serious demeanour, I was surprised to hear her make a joke.