Zohra Sehgal, the name is enough. This is the name of the actress and dancer who worked with Kapoor Khandaar till the fourth generation. And finally, at the age of 102, she left the world saying goodbye. Today is the death anniversary of Zohra Sehgal. He died on this day in the year 2014. As long as Zohra Sehgal lived, her age was a year more than Indian cinema. Sehgal was one such actress of Hindi cinema who never got old with her vivacity. She is considered the first female actress in India who got recognition on the international stage.
Zohra Sehgal was born on 27 April 1912 in the Nawabi family of the princely state of Rampur. Her full name was Sahibzadi Zohra Mumtazulla Khan Begum. Jumping on trees, fussy eating, plucking fruits from orchards, and harassing people passing by were among the habits of Zohra's childhood. In an interview, when he was asked what is the secret of his vivacity even at this age? He said humor and sex. Sex is very important to move forward in life. I still want sex.
His mother died at a young age. Her mother wanted Zohra to go to Lahore to study, so she went with her sister to enroll in Queen Mary College. There was a strict veil in the college. He was fond of dancing. She became the first Indian woman to be admitted to the Marie Wigman Ballet School in Germany. For three years, Zohra learned a new age dance here. During this, he met the famous dancer of India, Uday Shankar. Uday Shankar was overjoyed to see the interest in traditional dance and said that he would see work for them as soon as he reached his homeland.
In 1935, Zohra Sehgal joined Uday Shankar in Japan. After Japan, through Egypt, Europe and America, Zohra saw a lot of world with Uday Shankar. Returning to the country, Zohra started teaching in the school in Almora with Uday Shankar. It was here that he met Kamleshwar Sehgal. Who was a scientist living in Indore? He was also fond of painting, and Indian dance.
Zohra and Kamleshwar got married. Zohra's husband was eight years younger than her. The marriage of Zohra and Kamleshwar was not liked by all. The situation had become like a riot, but later everyone agreed. The fire of the partition of India came even to his house. Both reached Lahore and but they found it difficult to survive in Lahore, so both of them fled to Bombay with the year-old girl Kiran.
Her film Neecha Nagar had released on 29th September in 1946 at the Cannes Film Festival and is considered India's first international critical success. The film won the festival's highest honor, the Palme d'Or prize. Actor, dancer Zohra Sehgal learned ballet in Germany in her early 20s and later toured with the dance pioneer Uday Shankar. She started acting in movies in 1945. Winning the Padma Shri in 1998, the actor went on to get the nation's highest awards such as the Kalidas Samman in 2001, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2010. She was also the recipient of India's National Academy for Music, Dance, and Drama's Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for lifetime achievement.
In 1945, Zohra Sehgal joined Prithvi Theater. Zohra Sehgal did the choreography for superhit films like 'Baji', 'CID', 'Awara' and 'Nau Do Gyarah'. Apart from the film world, Zohra Sehgal was fond of good food. His favorite things were pakoras, curries, and mutton korma. When a guest came to the house, she would immediately ask him to make pakoras and when served, she used to eat more than the guests herself.
Zohra Sehgal may have gained immense fame in film and TV, but she used to get satisfaction in theater as an actress. He loved theatre, although films were a good way of earning. Zohra Sehgal was last seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya in 2007. In 2010, the Government of India honored Zohra Sehgal with Padma Vibhushan.
