Remembering Veteran Actress of Indian Cinema – Zohra Sehgal

Considered as the grand dame of Indian theatre and films, veteran actress Zohra Sehgal died on Thursday (July 10) at New Delhi after suffering from a cardiac arrest. She was 102-years-old. Looking back, we remember her immense contribution to cinema and her zest for life.

Seen here, Zohra Sehgal watches the screening of a short film made on her on her 100th birthday. (Source: Express Archive)

Born in a traditional Muslim family on April 27, 912, in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Sahibzadi Zohra Begum Mumtaz-Ullah Khan was third of her seven children. She grew up in Chakrata near Dehradun. After losing her mother at a young age, Zohra Sehgal was sent to Queen Mary College, Lahore along with her sister. She defied all stereotypes when she decided to take up acting. (Source: Express Archive)

Zohra Sehgal traveled to Europe where she took admission in the Mary Wigman's ballet school in Dresden, Germany. After studying dance for three years, she began her career as a dancer with Uday Shankar in 1935, performing across Japan, Egypt, Europe and the US. (Source: Express Archive)

When Uday Shankar moved back to India in 1940, she became a teacher at the Uday Shankar India Cultural Centre at Almora. It was here that she met Kameshwar Sehgal, a young scientist, painter and dancer from Indore.

Seen in this picture, Gursharan Kaur, wife of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, with Zohra Sehgal on her 100th birthday in 2012. (Source: Express Archive)

The couple married on August 14, 1942 and had two children, Kiran and Pavan. They later migrated to Lahore to set up their own Zohresh Dance Institute. However, they soon returned to Mumbai and Zohra Sehgal joined Prithvi Theatre in 1945 as an actress. She earned a monthly salary of Rs 400, and toured every city across India with the group, for the next 14 years.

Zohra Sehgal at her residence in New Delhi. (Source: Express Archive)

During this time, Zohra Sehgal also joined the leftist theatre group, IPTA. She acted in several plays, making her film debut in IPTA's first film production, 'Dharti Ke Lal' in 1946, directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. She also acted in Chetan Anand's 'Neecha Nagar', which gained international recognition and received the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Zohra Sehgal along with her daughter Kiran Sehgal. (Source: Express Archive)

Zohra Sehga also did the choreography for several Hindi films, including Guru Dutt's 'Baazi' (1951) and the dream sequence song in Raj Kapoor's film 'Awaara.'

Actress Neetu Singh greets Zohra Sehgal. (Source: Express Archive)

After Zohra Sehgal's husband died in 1959 and then she moved to Delhi and became director of the newly founded Natya Academy. She later moved to London on a drama scholarship in 1962. She met Ram Gopal, an Indian-born Bharatnatyam dancer, and worked as a teacher in the ‘Uday Shankar style’ of dance at his school in Chelsea. (Source: Express Archive)

Zohra’s acting was not limited to Indian theatre and films. In 1964, she landed a role in a BBC adaptation of a Kipling story, 'The Rescue of Pluffles.' She also anchored 26 episodes of BBC TV series, 'Padosi' (Neighbours; 1976–77), following which, Zohra had several small appearances in a number of films. (Source: Express Archive)

In 1982, Zohra got her first big break in international cinema and was signed by Merchant Ivory Productions. She acted in 'The Courtesans of Bombay' directed by James Ivory. She also bagged an important role as Lady Chatterjee in the television adaptation 'The Jewel in the Crown' (ITV, 1984). 'The Raj Quartet', 'The Jewel in the Crown', 'Tandoori Nights', 'My Beautiful Laundrette' are some of her other works. (Source: Express Archive)

In the mid 1990s, Zohra Sehgal made her return to India. Apart from acting in several films, plays and TV series, she began to perform poetry. Her first performance was at a memorial to Uday Shankar organised by his brother, Ravi Shankar in 1983. After that, she received a number of invited and even traveled to Pakistan to recite verses for 'An Evening With Zohra.' (Source: Express Archive)

Zohra Sehgal has appeared in a number of popular Bollywood films like 'Dil Se,' 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', 'Veer Zara,' 'Saawariya', 'Cheeni Kum'.

Zohra Sehgal in a still from ‘Cheeni Kum’ with Tabu and Amitabh Bachchan. She played Big B's nagging mother. (Source: Express Archive)

She also shared the screen with various heroes including Prithviraj Kapoor, Ashok Kumar, Dev Anand, Govinda, Sharukh Khan, Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Ranbir Kapoor.

Zohra Sehgal pictured along with late actor Shammi Kapoor. (Source: Express Archive)

In 2012, Zohra Sehgal became the longest-living actor to have appeared on ‘Doctor Who’. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 1998, Kalidas Samman in 2001.

Zohra Sehgal and Neesha Singh in film 'Booa Fatima'. (Source: Express Archive)

In 2004, the Sangeet Natak Akademi. India’s National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama presented her with its highest award, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for lifetime achievement. She received the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honor, in 2010.

Zohra sehgal with Randhir Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Karishma Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor. (Express archive photo)