Born on December 5, 1960, actress Sarika Thakur was born in New Delhi. Sarika started her film career as a child actor at the age of four, during the 1960s in Bollywood, playing the role of a boy 'Master Sooraj'. Her most notable appearance as a child artist was in the 1967 musical superhit Hamraaz. (All photos/mid-day archives and Shruti Haasan's official Instagram account)
In picture: Sarika with daughter-actress Shruti Haasan.
Sarika believes that her personality has been shaped tremendously by the fact that she began acting at the age of four. "It was traumatic; it still is for child actors. You are exposing the child to emotions that are irregular. In Humraaz, I was a toddler who witnesses a murder. The feelings associated with the experience have stayed with me. Ideally, one should counsel child actors and see whether they have the emotional capability to deal with the roles they enact," said Sarika in an old interview with mid-day.com.
In picture: Sarika with younger daughter Akshara Haasan.
As an actress, Sarika is known for her work in films such as Geet Gaata Chal, Madhu Malti, Griha Pravesh, Bin Phere Hum Tere, Satte Pe Satta, Bheja Fry, Manorama Six Feet Under, Club 60, among others.
In her early 20s, Sarika fell in love with south superstar Kamal Haasan. She gave birth to daughter Shruti Haasan, out of wedlock. Shruti was born in 1986, after which Sarika and Kamal Haasan tied the knot two years later in 1988. Sarika and Kamal Haasan's second child Akshara was born in 1991.
In picture: Little Akshara Haasan with her parents - Kamal Haasan and Sarika.
Just like their parents, Shruti and Akshara are also part of the film industry now. Sarika's elder daughter Shruti started her career as a child artist. She sang in films and appeared in a guest role in her father Kamal Haasan's Hey Ram before making her adult acting debut in Bollywood in 2009 with Luck. She has acted in several Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. Her other daughter Akshara has worked as an assistant director before making her acting debut in 2015 with R Balki's Shamitabh that had megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush in the lead.
"I am not strict with my daughters. Shruti and Akshara are responsible girls and I am proud to see them doing so well for themselves. They have started their careers with some really good people and are ahead of what I was at their age in my time," Sarika told PTI.
On Niranjan Iyengar's chat show Sarika's daughter Shruti Haasan had stated, "As a couple, my mom and dad were the most beautiful couple I have ever seen. There was a lot of love and warmth between them and it was wonderful to be around them at that time." She had also stated on the show, "I would also like to have a child out of wedlock first and then get married."
Sarika and Kamal Haasan's marriage hit rock bottom after the latter's reported affair with co-star Simran. The couple got divorced and he's been with Tamil actress Gouthami since 2004.
After dabbling into acting, she also became a noted costume designer for films, mostly made by her husband Kamal Haasan. Sarika, in 2000, even won the National Film Award for Best Costume Design for the film Hey Ram, which starred Kamal Haasan.
In 2007, Sarika's performance in Parzania earned her the National Film Award for Best Actress. She played the role of a Zoroastrian woman who loses her child during the 2002 riots of India.
Sarika was last seen in 2016's Baar Baar Dekho, where she played Jai's (Sidharth Malhotra) mother. She moved away from acting in 2016.
"There were no exciting scripts and roles being offered and instead of complaining and waiting for a good script, something we actors usually end up doing, I thought taking a break was a better idea and do something I had not done before and that new space was theatre, something I have always loved but only as an audience. Unlike films, in theatre I was the outsider and today after two and a half years, I am part of the theatre family in a small way and so happy. It is one of my good calls," said Sarika.
In 2019, Sarika started her production house NautankiSa Productions and was joined by friend Sachin Kamani and her younger daughter Akshara.
Turning into a theatre producer, Sarika backed a play by Aamir Khan's daughter Ira Khan, who is like her own baby.
Unafraid to swim against the tide, she doesn't mind exploring theatre at a time when artistes are cashing in on the digital boom. "The idea is to produce art in every form. Creators now have so many platforms to share content," she said.
On the personal front, when asked Sarika what's a typical day in her life like, she said, "If Akshara wakes up late, she sees me cooking. And if she wakes up on time, she sees me doing jhaadu pota (sweeping) before the maid arrives. But I also need my own time. In the morning when I wake up, I read, I write. I don't like talking to anyone before I have had my six cups of tea."
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