With an artistic doodle, Google, today, paid tribute to renowned Indian dancer, choreographer and actor Zohra Sehgal which perfectly captured the dancer in one of her most iconic poses from the movie Dil Se.
Zohra Sehgal was a well-known face in the Indian as well as in the international arena. She has won the Padma Shri award in 1998, Kalidas Samman in 2001 and Padma Vibhushan in 2010.
On this day in 1946, Neecha Nagar, starring Sehgal, was released at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Palme d’Or prize. The movie, according to Google is Indian cinema's first international critical success.
Born in Saharanpur, on April 27,1912, Sehgal was trained in ballet and Indian contemporary dance.
In her early twenties, she trained at the prestigious Mary Wigman’s ballet school in Germany and later was under the tutelage of Indian contemporary dancer Uday Shankar.
As a dancer, she performed across Japan, Egypt, Europe and the US. She choreographed for a few Hindi films as well, including classics like Guru Dutt’s Baazi and the dream sequence song in Raj Kapoor’s film Awaara.
Considered the doyenne of Indian theatre, Sehgal worked with Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) and Prithviraj Kapoor’s Prithvi Theatre for 14 years.
She also acted in foreign movies and classic TV series like Doctor Who, Bend it like Beckham, and The Jewel in the Crown.
Some of her other works include Hum dil de chuke sanam, Veer Zaara, Cheeni Kum and Saawariya.
She passed away in Delhi in 2014 at the age of 102.
With agency inputs...