“The only regret we have is that Maa (Zohra) had to live like a prisoner in her last few days”, says Kiran with anger quickly surfacing as she talks about how Zohra had become confined to the walls of her room in her duplex. She asked for a ground floor accommodation for her mother but it was denied by the urban development ministry.

She wrote to the Delhi Chief Minister’s office as well as the President’s office but to no avail. Apparently Zohra was too old and too rich to apply for the accommodation request meant only for artists under 60 years.

“A few months after her death we received a letter saying our request in now being processed. I was furious. Is this a joke?” says Kiran, adding how the government ought to have helped the internationally renowned Padma Vibhushan winning actress.

How Would They Want to Remember Her?



Kiran wants it to be a symbol of strength, for all the struggles she has seen her mother live through. Sujata, who has seen the brighter side of her grandmother’s career wants to remember her as the lady whose lap was there for her to lay her head on when the things were rough.