New Delhi: Hers was the smile that could launch a thousand ships. Legendary film, theatre and television actress Zohra Sehgal has finally called it a day on Thursday at the age of 102. Fondly called Bollywood's 'laadli', Zohra was last seen in films such as 'Cheeni Kum' and 'Saawariya' in a career spanning almost eight decades.
Sehgal breathed her last at the Max hospital here around 4:30 PM. "She died of a cardiac arrest this afternoon. She was unwell for last three-four days," her daughter, renowned Odissi danseuse Kiran Sehgal, said.
Sehgal would be cremated tomorrow at 11 AM at the Lodhi Road crematorium.
The news was broken in the night by historian Irfan Habib who tweeted, "Just confirmed that Zohra Aapa is no more." In another tweet, he said, "Extremely sad to know about d
passing away of Zohra Sehgal, a woman who lived a full life on her own terms. Great loss to art and culture. RIP."
The last few public photos of her reflected her spirit for living life to the brim - attacking a birthday cake on her 100th birthday with a raised knife and revelling in the adoration. In 2008, Zohra Sehgal was named the 'Laadli of the Century' by the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF)-Laadli Media Awards.
She resided in New Delhi with her daughter. Cancer, detected in 1994, could not dampen her indomitable spirit. In her long and well lived life, the talented Sehgal has been a prolific dancer among other things.
Her tryst with showbiz began with dance when she joined Uday Shankar in 1935 and worked with him for a few years. She went on to teach dance in Almora later, and that's where she met painter and dancer Kameshwar Sehgal and married him. She later took to dramatics with the Prithvi Theatre in 1945. She worked with them for 14 years, travelling to various cities, and even joined the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA).
From Prithviraj Kapoor to Raj Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor, she has worked with four generations of Bollywood's famous Kapoor family.
Zohra, a doyen of Indian theatre, had appeared in over 20 films. She is best remembered for her appearances in 'Bhaji on the Beach' (1992), 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', 'Bend It Like Beckham' (2002), 'Dil Se...' (1998) and 'Cheeni Kum' (2007).
Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who directed her in two of his films- 'Hum Dil...' and 'Saawariya', had once said: "To call her a livewire is an understatement."
While she was in London, she featured in a film called 'The Courtesans of Bombay', directed by James Ivory in 1982. There was no looking back in international showbiz thereafter. She went on to feature in TV series like 'The Jewel in the Crown', 'My Beautiful Launderette', 'Tandoori Nights' and 'Never Say Die'.
Zohra came back to India in the 1990s. She was around 80 years old then. While many would have thought she would quit the entertainment world, she was not ready to call it quits.
On the small screen, she featured in 'Amma and Family', and bagged roles in big banner movies. When it comes to awards, in 1998 she was honoured with the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honours, following which she received the Kalidas Samman in 2001, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2004. In 2010, she was bestowed with the Padma Vibhushan.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)
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