Actress Zarina Khan, who played the role of the Mehra family matriarch in the TV show Kumkum Bhagya, died at the age of 54 after reportedly suffering a cardiac arrest a few days ago. Zarina Khan's character was popularly known as Indu Daadi on the show Kumkum Bhagya. Tributes for Indu Daadi poured in from the lead actors of the show Shabir Ahluwalia and Sriti Jha on social media. Sharing a selfie with Zarina Khan from the sets of the show, Shabir Ahluwalia remembered the late actress and wrote: "Ye chand sa roshan chehera." Shabir Ahluwalia headlines the show's cast as Abhishek Prem Mehra. Sriti Jha, who plays Shabir's onscreen wife, shared some of her favourite memories featuring Zarina Khan, including one in which she can be seen dancing, with the broken heart emoji.
Mrunal Thakur, who featured as the recurring character Bulbul Arora on the show, left a heart-wrenching reaction on Shabir's post. Shabir Ahluwalia's wife Kanchi Kaul also dropped the broken heart emoji.
Kumkum Bhagya actor Anurag Sharma, speaking to ETimes, said that that the news of Zarina Khan's death has left the entire team of the show "shocked": "Yes, it's true. The news is very shocking. She was a sweet lady, full of life. Even at this age she was so energetic. I have seen someone like her, she was a very person. I think she worked as a stunt woman at the beginning of her career and she was exactly like a fighter in real life."
Anurag Sharma added that he worked with Zarina Khan last month: "She was a sweet lady, full of life. Even at this age she was so energetic. I have seen someone like her, she was a very person. I think she worked as a stunt woman at the beginning of her career and she was exactly like a fighter in real life. I shot with her last month and we had a good time. She was all fine, but suddenly this news came today on our group. I pray her soul rests in peace."
Apart from Kumkum Bhagya, Zarina Khan was also part of the popular show Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai. Kumkum Bhagya, one of Ekta Kapoor's most popular TV soaps, began in 2014 and is still on air. Zarina Khan played the role of Indu Daadi since the show's inception.
