Zohra! A Biography in Four Acts

Zohra Segal (1912-2014) spanned an Indian century of the arts, and this
elegant biography traces her remarkable journey.
Born into a family with connections to the nawabs of Rampur, Zohra
Mumtazullah Khan chose adventure over tradition when she was 18, travelling
to Germany to learn modern dance. For the rest of her life, she continued to
defy convention and was associated with transformative initiatives in the arts.
In 1935, she was recruited by the bohemian genius Uday Shankar and toured
the world with his dance troupe. In 1943, she set up a unique dance school in
Lahore with her husband Kameshwar, eight years her junior. In Bombay two
years later, she joined Prithvi Theatres, founded by the legendary Prithviraj
Kapoor, and travelled across India, taking socially relevant plays to the
people—through the turbulence of Partition, the heady idealism following
Independence, and the tragedy of Kameshwar’s suicide. In 1962, Zohra went
to London on a drama scholarship and stayed on for 25 years, becoming part
of a tiny band of Asian artistes who would change the complexion of British
theatre. From here to pioneering roles in TV series and films like Doctor
Who and Bhaji on the Beach was a natural progression. Back in India, she
found Bollywood at her door when she was well past eighty. Playing the
unconventional grandmother—by turns charming and crusty—she became a
star, unlike any other before or since.