Just as the 1970s ended, she was seen in the comedy classic, Hrishikesh Mukherjee's "Gol Maal" (1979), where she essayed the role of Kamala Shrivastava, a middle-aged woman who sportingly plays mother to Amol Palekar, who went on to direct her in his 1985 film, "Ankahee". The next decade began with another career best, as a stern disciplinarian matriarch in Hrishikesh Mukherjee's "Khoobsurat" in (1980), closely followed by "Bhavni Bhavai" (1980). In 1980, she was also awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. During the 80s, she also appeared on the popular TV series, "Malgudi Days". In 1984, she appeared in "A Passage to India". Though she had far from given her career's best, she gave another powerful performance in Ketan Mehta's "Mirch Masala" (1985), Govind Nihalani's "Tamas" (1986) and once again she worked with Gulzar in "Ijaazat" (1987).