Veteran Bollywood actor Zohra Sehgal dies aged 102

'The grand old lady of Bollywood' enjoyed a career spanning seven decades, landing roles in Doctor Who, Caravaggio and Bend It Like Beckham after moving to Britain in the 60s

Zohra Sehgal (left)

The veteran Indian actor Zohra Sehgal, whose work spanned Bollywoodclassics and Doctor Who adventures, has died in New Delhi at the age of 102. "She died of a cardiac arrest this afternoon," her daughter, Kiran Sehgal, said on Thursday. "She [had been] unwell for the last three to four days."

Sehgal began her career as a dancer, touring Japan, Europe and the US as part of a musical troupe. Her subsequent involvement with the leftwing theatre organisation IPTA led to a screen debut in the Bengal famine sage Dharti Ke Lal and launched a career that would span seven decades. Sehgal's second feature, the social-realist drama Neecha Nagar, went on to win the top prize at the 1946 Cannes film festival. Other notable films include Afsar, Saaya and Cheeni Kum.

Sehgal's Indian credits would eventually lead to her being dubbed "the grand old lady of Bollywood", although the performer was based in the UK for 30 years from the early 1960s. She acted on TV in Doctor Who and The Jewel in the Crown and took supporting roles in various British films, including Caravaggio, Bhaji on the Beach and Bend it Like Beckham.

'I’ve squeezed the best out of life'… Zohra Sehgal in The Jewel in the Crown in 1984. 

"I've lived life to the fullest – I've squeezed the best out of life," she told the Times of India in 2009. A good husband, children, family and most importantly my work. I am close to 100 and even with such a shrivelled-up face and figure, I can boast that I've still got work, fame and money."