Later, she joined the Indian People’s Theatre Association, and acted in KA Abbas’s first film Dharti Ke Lal in 1946 and Chetan Anand’s celebrated Neecha Nagar. After doing several plays and a few films she moved to London and taught dance, along with acting in serials like Mind Your Language, and films like Courtesans of Bombay, Bhaji on The Beach, Tandoori Nights and My Beautiful Laundrette, establishing herself as one of the best known Asian actors in the UK.

When she returned to India, she continued to perform on stage, and played the beloved grandmother in films like Dil Se, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Veer Zaara and Amitabh Bachchan’s mother Cheeni Kam.

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She was often requested to recite Hafeez Jallandhari’s iconic poem Abhi to main jawaan hoon, which she made her own and always brought the house down with her impassioned rendition. It is said, age is just a number, Zohra Segal proved it, by crossing the age of 102, leaving behind a vast and rich body of work.

Deepa Gahlot is an award-winning film and theatre critic and an arts administrator. She tweets at @deepagahlot