Surekha Punekar

Surekha Punekar is an Indian folk artist known for her Lavani performances.

Punekar during a performance in 2009

Punekar came from a financially poor family and used to work as maid to make ends meet. In her initial days as an artist, she performed in the various Tamasha troupes on the lavanis written by the well-known poet Bashir Momin Kavathekar. After performing in various Tamasha troups, she started her own Tamasha troupe with her sister Lata Punekar with support from Baba Pathan & Momin Kavathekar. However, this venture wasn't profitable so the troupe closed. She then tried performing stage shows under the banner Natarangi Nar from 1998 onwards. Initially it received cold response from the audience and she mentions once having performed for an audience of just three people.[1] However, this show gradually became very famous and eventually she got the opportunity to perform this show in the USA. In 2011, she debuted as a director of the stage show Nashikchi Naar.[2]

During the 2019 Indian general election, there was speculation that she would be a candidate of the Indian National Congress (INC) in the Pune Lok Sabha constituency. She fuelled this speculation in an interview given to Loksatta. However, the seat was contested by Mohan Joshi for the INC.[3]

Since 26 May 2019, she has been a contestant in the reality TV show, Bigg Boss Marathi 2.[4]