Family, friends bid farewell to Zohra Sehgal

Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, theatre personality MK Raina and Prasar Bharti CEO Jawahar Sircar were among those who turned up to pay their last respect.

Zohra's body was kept in an open area for some time before being taken for the final rites.

Azmi remembered the actress for her vivacious personality.

"I worked with her for the first time in a play in 2002. She was around 90-year-old at that time. She was always punctual at the rehearsals. She was thorough professional and always had a smile on her face. She always used to crack jokes," Azmi said.

Akhtar said it was not possible to write the history of 21st century theatre without Zohra Sehgal.

"She had contributed a lot to every field where she had worked, be it dance, theatre or cinema. She had a cheerful personality," he added.

Dikshit said she had many inspiring memories of Sehgal.

"It was hard to describe Zohra Sehgal. She was a great artiste and a very cheerful human being. She had a brilliant memory. Our country will always remember her. She never took anything negatively."

Raina said Sehgal's death marked the end of an era in theatre. "She was punctual and highly professional. She was always prepared with her dialogues. Her presence used to make the environment lively," he said.

The veteran star spoke about death at her 102 birthday in April this year, saying she was preparing herself to die with a smile. She had told her family that she wanted a simple funeral.

Sehgal had a great innings as an artiste, performer and actor that spanned more than seven decades. She started her career as a dancer with Uday Shankar in 1935. She had appeared in many Bollywood films as a character actor as well as in English language films besides television series and plays.

Often called the grand old lady of Bollywood, she last appeared in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's ‘Saawariya’ in 2007.

She worked with some of the biggest stars of this era, be it Amitabh Bachchan in ‘Cheeni Kum’, Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Dil Se’ or Salman in ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’.

A Padma Shri awardee, she also received the Padma Vibhshan in 2010.

Read more Latest news from Entertainment News

Don't want to cause 'national embarrassment' by dancing: Karan Johar

Karan, one of the judges on the show, did not mind hitting the dance floor himself earlier.
"This season I am keeping myself away from dance. I think I have caused national embarrassment by dancing, so I am not going to dance," Karan told at the launch of the new season "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa".
  
The other judges on the show are choreographer-director Remo D'souza and actress Madhuri Dixit.

The 13 celebrity contestants are Purab Kohli, Andy, Sukhwinder Singh, Karan Tacker, Sophie Chaudhary, Kritika Kamra, Mouni Roy, Sreesanth, Puja Bose, Palak (Kiku Sharda), Shakti Mohan, Akshat and Ashish Sharma.

The contestants performed during the launch this evening.

"This season will be a challenge for contestants as they will have to learn to earn (marks)," Madhuri said. Remo also made it clear that they will be more strict this tíme with contestants.

The show is slated to go on air from this weekend on Colors channel.

Source: Latest News from Entertainment News 

'Yudh' an endeavour to be different: Amitabh

In an interview, the 71-year-old veteran speaks about the show, about his TV journey and about working on the growing medium.

When asked to shed some light on his new endeavor the actor told "Yudh" is the name of the character I play Yudhishtir! But there is a 'yudh' (war) in his life too, which he battles with on many fronts. I had wished to do a serial some day. Endemol came up with this project and idea. I liked it and then we set about building a team and getting down to constructing it.”

Talking about the standard of other fiction shows on television he said “I am no judge. The audience is. The ones that garner good ratings are obviously the ones that must come in the category of good. I suppose they set the standards.”

When asked what prompted him to take the plunge into fiction on television especially at a time when his hands are full with so much to do, he said “Nothing. Just the desire to work on an aspect I had not attempted.”

Speaking about his role in ‘Yudh’ he said “the basics are the same. No matter what medium, we actors are acting. And that is how you shall see this serial as well. But Anurag Kashyap and the team wished that they present it differently from what has been coming in the category of soaps and serials. That is the endeavour.”

When asked if he watch any television and does he think the content on Indian television has shown a healthy growth over the years, he said “Yes, I do watch TV and yes, the growth of television in India is by far the largest and the greatest in the world. With about 800 channels currently operative, it's perhaps larger than the entire volume of global channels put together. TV in India has overtaken the return of cinema three fold, within a spate of the last 10 to 15 years. Compared to a 100-year film industry, this must be looked upon as a healthy growth.”

He has proved to be a game-changer on television with Kaun Banega Crorepati.

When asked what expectations his audiences can have from ‘Yudh’, he said “I am no game-changer, nor do I ever aspire to be one. I just want to do my stipulated work. The audiences will decide the fate of ‘Yudh’. And that is how it should be.”

Talking about the new phase and endlessly reinvented career Big B quoted “Phases in a person's life need deeper thought and consideration and comment. TV is just another aspect of a profession I already practice. This fresh attempt is another project. Let us not give it so much importance.”

Source: Latest News  from Entertainment News