Legendary Actress Zohra Sehgal Turns 100

Bangalore: She had delivered many spirited performances in both theatre and films since last 7 decades. Veteran actress Zohra Sehgal, the grand old lady of Indian cinema whose spirited performance in many a film and stage production has entertained audiences during the past seven decades, turns 100.

Sehgal, who has starred in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Dil Se and Cheeni Kum, was last seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya (2007).

She was born on April 27, 1912 at Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, third of her seven siblings — and grew up in Chakrata, now in Uttarakhand (near Dehra Dun). She began her career as a dancer with Uday Shankar in 1935, and performed across Japan, Egypt, Europe and the United States. She married scientist, painter and dancer Kameshwar Sehgal in August 1942. The couple had two children, Kiran and Pavan.

Amitabh Bachchan calls her the lady who is still like a child when she acted as his mother in the film Cheeni Kum. Considered the doyenne of Indian theatre, Sehgal acted with the Indian People's Theatre Association and Prithviraj Kapoor's Prithvi Theatre for 14 years. She was active in theatre mostly, but also did a few films in between. She choreographed for a few Hindi films as well including Guru Dutt's Baazi (1951) and the dream sequence song in Raj Kapoor's Awaara.

Sehgal moved to London on a drama scholarship in 1962, and appeared there in many TV productions including The Jewel in the Crown, Tandoori Nights and My Beautiful Laundrette. She also featured in the Rudyard Kipling’s the Rescue of Pluffles and anchored a few episodes of TV series Padosi.

After her husband’s demise in 1969 which made an impact on her life but yet she made a comeback to the theatre. She is an atheist since she was young and she managed to fight her cancer courageously. She is also well known for her one linear which is very contagious. Returning to India in the mid-1990s, Sehgal acted in several films, plays and TV series.

Her film credits include Masala (1991), Dillagi (1999), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), Bend it Like Beckham (2002) and Veer-Zaara (2004). Known for her feisty spirit and zest for life, Zohra spread smiles with her roles in Sawaariya and Cheeni Kum even at 94. Sehgal was awarded the Padma Shri in 1998, the Padma Bhushan (2002) and Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award, in 2010. In 2008, she was named the ‘Laadli of the Century' by the United Nations Population Fund — Laadli Media Awards. Incidentally, Sehgal's 100th birthday falls in the year when Indian cinema is also celebrating its completion of a century.