Mumbai, Jul 11: Veteran film actress, theatre and TV personality Zohra Sehgal passed away today. A heart patient, Sehgal was admitted to the Max Hospital in south Delhi's Saket area after being diagnosed with pneumonia on Wednesday. She died of a heart attack at 4.30 pm on Thursday.
Sehgal, often called Bollywood's laadli, was last seen in films like Cheeni Kum and Saawariya. In a career spanning almost eight decades, she acted in a number of Bollywood and even Hollywood films.
Sehgal use to reside with her daughter, renowned Odissi danseuse Kiran Sehgal. In 1994, she was diagnosed with cancer, but she fought the disease and recovered.
In 2008, Zohra Sehgal was named the 'Laadli of the Century' by the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF)-Laadli Media Awards.
As a youngster, Sehgal was passionate about dance. 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 worked with four generations of Bollywood's famous Kapoor family - and she didn't let age dampen her spirit at all.
Sehgal, considered a doyen of Indian theatre, appeared in over 20 films. She will be 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 De Chuke Sanam and Saawariya, had once said, "To call her a livewire is an understatement."
He couldn't think of a second name for a particular role in Saawariya other than her."It had to be Zohraji and no one else. There was a kind of hesitation within me - after all Zohraji is 94. But all our doubts were dispelled once she came on the sets," Bhansali had said during the shooting of Saawariya. "Her enthusiasm gets to all of us," he added.
She was perhaps one of the first Indians to have a taste of international entertainment. In the mid-1960s, she featured in an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's The Rescue of Pluffles, and then also anchored a few episodes of television series Padosi.
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.
Sehgal 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 wasn't ready to hang up her boots.
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. Small parts or big, Sehgal continued to spread smiles on the celluloid and will always be remembered as the grand old lady of Indian cinema.
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