In one of her earliest interviews, the late actor and performer Zohra Sehgal said, “Mujhe adventure se zyada kya chahiye tha… (I wanted nothing more than an adventure).” Those close to her have mentioned how Zohra—deemed one of the country’s first female actors to have gained recognition both on home ground and internationally—was always on the lookout for exciting escapades.
Celebrating her contribution to the Indian film and television industry, India International Centre is hosting the ‘Zohra Sehgal Festival of the Arts’—the two-day festival replete with film screenings and performances commenced on Saturday. “We have been doing this [Festival] ever since she passed away in 2014. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we could not do it [for the last two years]. This year, we somehow managed to make the Festival happen,” shared Zohra’s daughter Kiran Segal, who is a classical dancer.
The event on Saturday commenced with screenings featuring a recital of Hafeez Jalandhari’s nazm (verse) Abhi to Main Jawan Hoon by Zohra along with excerpts from the artist’s interviews. On and Off the Records (2024)—the film focuses on the intimate and integral relationship between the evolution of 20th Century Hindustani classical music and recording technology—by Pratik Biswas was also screened.
This was followed by Tilism-e-Hoshruba, a dastangoi performance by Nusrat Ansari and Poonam Girdhani—it was adapted and directed by Mahmood Farooqui. “The performance is very relevant because Zohra aapa promoted culture and art, especially in Urdu. Our piece has had humorous elements as well—we thought this piece would be a great medium to remember her,” shared Ansari. The evening concluded on a soulful note as the audience listened to a number of tracks by city-based Qawwali group Nizami Brothers.
Catch it live
WHAT: Odissi dance recital by Sangini Kumar and accompanying artists
WHEN: Today; 6:30 pm
WHAT: East marries West: a jugalbandi between the sitar and cello
WHEN: Today; 7:30 pm