The Legendary Zohra Sehgal: The Badass Performer Who Lived Life to The Fullest

She became hugely popular as an actress at an age when most choose to retire into oblivion. That was one of the reasons that made Zohra Sehgal a legend. At the age of 100, she cut her birthday cake like a 5-year old wild child and her mischievous smile could make anyone chuckle just thinking about it. She was a woman of many talents and lived life to the fullest minus any regrets. Maybe that’s the reason why she continued to work with full zeal and her death came as a big shock to many people. While many women can’t come to terms with the standards of beauty, Zohra had a funny take on beauty and growing old. She famously said once: You are seeing me now, when I am old and ugly. You should have seen me then, when I was young and ugly.

A Woman Of Substance

Every person she worked with was in awe of her energy and talent. And why not? Look at her make some beautiful moves in the movie Dil Se with Preity Zinta:

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Thanga kolusalle kuku kuyilalle maaratha mayillallae ho.. 😍 #adorable #Zohrasehgal #dilse #maniratnam #malayalam #classic #arrahman

A post shared by Malayalam | Kerala (@imalayalam) onDec 17, 2015 at 9:43pm PST

Here’s a video of her reciting some beautiful lines by Ahmed Faiz with élan:

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Here's Zohra Sehgal giving voice to Faiz Ahmed Faiz's Mugse pehli si Mohabbat. She makes it sound both romantic and tragic at the same time. If you have a slightest interest in Urdu poetry, this poem can't be unfamiliar to you. And if you listen Pakistani music, this poem would surely be in your playlist. I can never ever get over this masterpiece of poetry. #faizahmedfaizpoetry #zohrasehgal - Follow for more daily posts - @kuchankahealfaaz786 #urdupoetry #urduzone #urdulines #urdulovers #love #life #allamaiqbalpoetry #allamaiqbal #ahmedfaraz #kuchankahealfaaz786# #ahmedfarazpoetry #nfak_lines👌💯💕 #nfak #nizamuddinauliya #naseeruddinnaseer #nusratfatehalikhan #jaunelia #mirzaghalibpoetry #mohsinnaqvi #mirzagalib #mirzagalib #parveenshakir #india #pakistan #jaunelia #jaunelialegend #jaannisaar #jauneliapoetry #allamaiqbalpoetry #allamaiqbal #kuchankahealfaaz786# #ahmedfaraz #azizmian #ahmedfarazpoetry #parveenshakir #love #life #nfak_lines👌💯💕 #nfak #nizamuddinauliya #naseeruddinnaseer #nusratfatehalikhan #mirzaghalibpoetry #mirzagalib#dofollow @kuchankahealfaaz786 📝Shaan

A post shared by Kuch ankahe alfaaz_7863007 (@kuchankahealfaaz_7863007) onMar 6, 2019 at 11:22am PST

A Life Of Struggles

Born as Sahibzadi Zohra Begum Mumtaz-ullah Khan in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur, Zohra was blinded in one eye due to glaucoma at the tender age of one. She also lost her mother at a very young age but life took a turn and she ended up becoming the first Indian to study at the Mary Wigman's ballet school in Germany. After watching a performance by the famous choreographer Uday Shankar, she ended up meeting him and that was another turning point in her life as she came back to India to become a teacher at his dance academy.

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A Winner All The Way

Known for her work in movies like Bhaji on the Beach, Dil Se, Veer Zaara, Saawariya, Bend It Like Beckham and more, Zohra had a successful career spanning 14 years in Prithviraj Kapoor's Prithvi Theatre too. For her work, she was awarded by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and also received the Padma Shri in 1998 and Kalidas Samman in 2001.

In life and in death, Zohra Sehgal’s face will continue to remind many people about living life with flamboyance and full zest for generations to come. To know about more inspirational women like her and their exceptional stories, keep reading Her Zindagi.