Zohra hatke!

The occasion was the inauguration of the annual theatre festival of the National School of Drama, and so actors and students of the craft constituted the audience at this function.
But the chief guest was veteran actress Zohra Sehgal, who got a standing ovation for an entirely unscheduled performance!
The festival, which also marks the end of the golden jubilee celebrations of the NSD, opened with speeches from Anuradha Kapoor, director, NSD, and Amal Allana, chairperson, NSD.However, the special invitee of the evening, Sehgal, was asked to say a few words. Called the ���youngest old lady��� ever to grace the stage, Zohra was in full flow as she addressed the audience, recalling her days on the road while touring with the Prithvi theatre group which was headed by Prithviraj Kapoor.
As she finished her speech, an audience member requested her to render ���a couple of lines from Abhi Toh Main Jawan Hoon.��� Zohra shot back with alacrity, ���Do line hi kyun, mujhe phir poora hi kehna padega!��� To the delight of the audience, she launched into a wonderful rendition of the song! By turns sulky, playful and coy, Zohra held the spectators in the palm of her hand and delivered the lines flawlessly, without even the slightest stammer. And when she finished, the entire audience rose to their feet as one, to give her a thunderous standing ovation. Suddenly embarrassed by the attention, the veteran of 2,662 performances with the Prithvi theatre alone, then hid behind her shawl, prompting further cheers and applause from her audience. As a member of the audience, Gourab Ghosh, commented, ���We came here for the play, but we didn���t expect an impromptu acting lesson!���