Google Doodle celebrating Zohra Sehgal

Today’s Doodle, illustrated by guest artist Parvati Pillai, celebrates iconic Indian actress and dancer Zohra Segal, one of the country’s first female actors to truly achieve recognition on the international stage. Among Segal’s notable early work was a role in the film “Neecha Nagar“ (“Lowly City”), which was released on this day in 1946 at the Cannes Film Festival. Widely considered Indian cinema’s first international critical success, “Neecha Nagar” won the festival's highest honor: the Palme d’Or prize.

Sahibzadi Zohra Begum Mumtaz-ullah Khan was born on April 27, 1912 in Saharanpur, British India. She attended a prestigious ballet school in Dresden, Germany in her early 20s and later toured internationally with the Indian dance pioneer Uday Shankar. After she returned to India, she transitioned to acting, joining the Indian People’s Theatre Association in 1945.

Segal moved to London, England in 1962 and built an international profile over the following decades with roles in British television classics like “Doctor Who“ and the 1984 miniseries “The Jewel in the Crown.” In the mid-1990s, she returned to India, where she continued acting on the stage and in Bollywood films. In 2002, the year of her 90th birthday, Segal appeared in her memorable role in the film ”Bend it Like Beckham,” and continued to act well into her 90s.

Over the years, India has recognized Segal’s prolific contributions with some of the nation’s highest awards: the Padma Shri (1998), the Kalidas Samman (2001), and the Padma Vibhushan (2010).