Looks like 2012 is the year of centuries... First it was Sachin's 100th Century and now it is the cutest grandmom of the industry- Zohra Sehgal's 100th Birthday!
On 27th April this year, Zohra Sehgal- the legendary stage and film artiste, turned 100 and her zest for life made everyone realise that she is still 16 at heart."Abhi na jaana chhod kar... ki cake abhi kata nahin...ki pet abhi bhara nahin..." was what she said while cutting her birthday cake.
How many of us really live life completely and truly? How many of us know someone who has a 100 year long story worth telling? Well, Zohra Sehgal definitely has lived a long life and her story is worth telling. During her birthday celebrations on Friday, "Zohra Sehgal: Fatty"- a biography detailing her amazing life and career was unveiled by Gursharan Kaur, the wife of Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India.
Zohra Sehgal was born Sahibzadi Zohra Begum Mummtaz-ullah Khan, in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Her journey towards becoming an actress started off as a real journey from Lahore to Europe. On her uncle's insistence, she travelled from Lahore in a car, via Iran and Egypt to Europe to train under a British actor.
After this it was the start of her career from Europe, to her becoming a dancer in Uday Shankar's troupe, to her days at the Prithvi Theatre, her marriage to Kameshwar Segal, family and movies.
From Prithviraj Kapoor to Raj Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor, she has worked with four generations of Bollywood's famous Kapoor family - and she hasn't let age dampen her spirit at all.
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. In 2008, at the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF)-Laadli Media Awards in New Delhi, she was felicitated as the 'Laadli of the century'; the award was handed over by the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit.
Fridaymoviez salutes the spirit, the zest, the enthusiasm for life and the cheer that Zohra Sehgal still spreads.