New Delhi: Legendary actress Zohra Sehgal, who essayed character roles with aplomb in a career spanning both theatre and cinema, died here today at the age of 102.
A Padma Vibhushan awardee, Sehgal breathed her last at Max hospital here around 4:30 PM.
"She died of a cardiac arrest this afternoon. She was unwell for last three-four days," daughter Kiran told PTI.
Sehgal would be cremated tomorrow at 11 AM at the Lodhi Road crematorium.
The news was broken in the night by historian Irfan Habib who tweeted, "Just confirmed that Zohra Aapa is no more..."
In another tweet, he said, "Extremely sad to know about d passing away of Zohra Sehgal, a woman who lived a full life on her own terms. Great loss to art and culture. RIP."
Prolific & full of life, Zohra Sehgal made a mark through her acting, which is admired across generations. Saddened on her demise.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 10, 2014Sehgal, a vivacious personality, 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.
A Padma Shri awardee, she also received the Padma Vibhshan in 2010.
Zohra Sehgal, was also an active member of Anhad (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy), an Indian socio-cultural organization established in March 2003, as a response to 2002 Gujarat Riots. Shabnam Hashmi, a relentless fighter at Anhad and one of very close friends of Zohra 
said, “I know her for more than 25 years and our relation got stronger as she would always come for the program. Even at this age, she was always enthusiast about attending them. My husband, Gauhar, Raza, on her 101st birthday shot a documentary with her and he too had a lot of interaction with her during that time. She was full of live and I have very rarely seen a woman like her, a fine actress and dedicated to her work till her last breathe. She could recite long poems and would remember all her lines. She was meticulous in everything she did. It’s a big loss for the cultural life of the country.”
When asked Shabnam on what were the things that worried Zohra she said, “She was most worried about growing communalism and curbing down of freedom of expression.”
“I am 53, and I have started to feel that how long can one go but she was always active, full of ideas and never lost her cool.”
Some of the personalities that were in touch with Zohra were Shubha Mudgal, Nandita Das, Sharmila Tagore and Naseeruddin Shah.
A video, which pays tribute to Zohra Sehgal made by ANHAD
Prolific & full of life, Zohra Sehgal made a mark through her acting, which is admired across generations. Saddened on her demise.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 10, 2014
102 years of greatness. I will always love you Zohraji. RIP #GrandOldLady of #IndianCinema #ZohraSehgal
— Dia Mirza Jasoos (@deespeak) July 10, 2014102 n a legacy that will always be a part of Indian cinema.It was an honour to know #ZohraSehgal and to b a part of films while she was.RIP
— PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) July 10, 2014Worked with her as an assistant on the sets of Kal Ho Naa Ho. She was definitely the youngest person on set then. RIP Zohra Sehgalji :(
— Punit Malhotra (@punitdmalhotra) July 10, 2014RIP Zohra Sehgal.....what a life....it's that moment when you truly celebrate the end of such a legendary and glorious era....
— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) July 10, 2014T 1541 - Zohra Sehgal passes away at 102 yrs ..what a journey and what an immensely loveable co star ! Prayers for her blessed soul !!
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) July 10, 2014 Watch: Zora Sehgal's emotional interview
