Zohra Sehgal

 ( 1912 Births ) 

The two continued to work at the Cultural Centre and established themselves as leading choreographers. During their time in Almora, Kameshwar Sehgal composed a noted ballet for human puppets and choreographed the ballet Lotus Dance. India's dances: their history, technique, and repertoire, by Reginald Massey. Abhinav Publications, 2004. p. 225 The duo later migrated to Lahore, where they set up their own dance academy, the Zohresh Dance Institute. Following the communal tension preceding the Partition of India, they moved to Bombay, with their one-year-old daughter, Kiran. Sehgal joined the Prithvi Theatre (where her sister, Uzra Butt also worked) in 1945, as an actress with a monthly salary of Rs 400, and toured across India with the group.

Also in 1945, Sehgal joined the theatre group, Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), acted in several plays, and made her film debut in IPTA's first film production, directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Dharti Ke Lal in 1946; she followed it up with another IPTA-supported film, Neecha Nagar. Directed by Chetan Anand and starring Rafiq Ahmed and Uma Anand, Neecha Nagar was one of the first projects of the parallel cinema movement in the subcontinent. Upon release, the film became a critical success and was screened as such international film festivals as Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d'Or. "Theatre and Activism in the 1940s" (essay by Sehgal), Crossing boundaries, by Geeti Sen. Orient Blackswan. Orient Blackswan, 1998; . p. 31. IPTA Encyclopaedia of Hindi cinema, Encyclopædia Britannica (India) Pvt. Ltd, Gulzar, Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee. Published by Popular Prakashan, 2003; pp. 63–64.

During her stay in Bombay, Sehgal became friends with several theatre and film personalities. She continued her association with theatre, appearing in successful productions including Ebrahim Alkazi's Din Ke Andhere (portraying Begum Qudsia) and K.A. Abbas's stage productions for IPTA. She lived in a rented house owned by Chetan and Uma Anand. She also worked as a choreographer for Hindi films, including Guru Dutt's Baazi and Raj Kapoor's Awaara (both 1951). Baazi University of Iowa.

After her husband's death in 1959, Sehgal moved to Delhi and was appointed as the director of the newly founded Natya Academy. She worked in the same position for about three years. Later in 1962, Sehgal was awarded a drama scholarship, which required her to move to London, United Kingdom. She briefly worked as a dance instructor at a Chelsea-based school run by Bharatanatyam dancer Ram Gopal. South Asian dance: the British experience, by Alessandra Iyer. Published by Taylor & Francis, 1997. p. 26. Following that, Sehgal made her television debut with a BBC adaptation of a Kipling story The Rescue of Pluffles, in 1964. She went on to appear in three episodes of the science fiction fantasy series Doctor Who in 1964 and 1965; the episodes that Sehgal worked in, however, are currently lost.

In 1993, the critically acclaimed play Ek Thi Nani was staged in Lahore for the first time, featuring Zohra and her sister Uzra Butt (who was now staying in Pakistan). A performance of its English version A Granny for All Seasons was held at UCLA in 2001. 15 November 2001: Performance Reading of "A Granny for All Seasons" UCLA. She became very active in Hindi films in grandmotherly roles from 1996, with frequent appearances in high budget movies such as Dil Se, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Veer Zara, Saawariya and Cheeni Kum. She was 90 when she did the film Chalo Ishq Ladaye in 2002, where she was the central character of the film and Govinda played her grandson. The film Ishq Ladaye had her riding a bike and fighting the villains as well. In 2008, at the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF)-Laadli Media Awards in New Delhi, she was named Laadli of the Century, and the award ceremony was presided by the then Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit. "Zohra Sehgal is ‘Ladli of the Century’", The Hindu, 16 May 2008. Zohra lives with her daughter Kiran who is a highly reputed Odissi dancer.... The Telegraph, 23 December 2006.