| Madhubala |
|
| Birth name | Mumtaz Begum Jehan Dehlavi |
| Born | February 14, 1933
Delhi, India |
| Died | February 23, 1969
|
| Spouse(s) | Kishore Kumar
|
Madhubala (Hindi: ???????, Urdu: ) (February 14, 1933 – February 23, 1969) was a Bollywood actress considered by many to be one of the most beautiful actresses to have graced the screens of Indian cinema.
Early life
Madhubala was born Mumtaz Begum Jehan Dehlavi in Delhi, the 5th child of a poor, conservative Pashtun Muslim family of 11 children. A Muslim Holy Man is said to have predicted that the young Mumtaz would earn fame and fortune, but would lead an unhappy life and die at a young age. Madhubala (literally, damsel of honey) has been regarded with utmost admiration by multiple generations of Hindi moviegoers even up to the present day. Her father, Ataullah Khan, was a coachman in Dehli who migrated to Bombay remembering the holy man's words and searching for a better livelihood. The family struggled for over a year, and Mumtaz entered Bollywood as a child-artist under the name Baby Mumtaz. Madhubala's sister Chanchal was also a notable actress in the 1950s and had acted in some films with her.
Early work
Her first film was Basant (1942). Devika Rani was impressed by her performance and changed her name to Madhubala. She was to appear in Jwar Bhata (1944) with Dilip Kumar in the lead role. Although Madhubabla was unable to work in the film, this was her first meeting with him. Producer-director Mohan Sinha taught her to drive at the age of twelve.
Breakthrough
Her big break came when Kidar Sharma gave her a chance to act opposite Raj Kapoor in Neel Kamal (1947). Madhubala had finally arrived on the Indian screen. Over the next two years she blossomed into a captivating beauty (fans referred to her as the "Venus of the Screen"). In 1949, Madhubala starred in the Bombay Talkies production Mahal. The film became a super hit with the song "Aayega Aanewaala" helping to make the careers of both Madhubala and playback singer Lata Mangeshkar.
Madhubala had many other hits following Mahal, including a spate of films opposite the leading men of the day: Ashok Kumar, Rehman, Dilip Kumar, and Dev Anand. In the mid-1950s, however, some of her films flopped. She silenced her critics in 1958, when four of her films turned out to be superhits: Phagun opposite Bharat Bhushan, Howrah Bridge opposite Ashok Kumar, Kala Pani opposite Dev Anand and Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi opposite her husband-to-be, Kishore Kumar.
Critics said that Madhubala's beauty was greater than her acting ability, but this was in part due to unwise choices on her part and on the part of her father, who was her manager. She was the sole support of a large and desperately poor family, and seemed to take on any role she could get, even if her credibility as a serious actress was compromised.
Relationship with Dilip Kumar
Madhubala and Dilip Kumar first met on the set of Jwar Bhatta (1944), and worked together again on the set of Tarana (1951). At their first meeting, she was eighteen years old and he was twenty-nine. The legend goes that, as in Mughal-e-Azam, she sent him a note inside a flower, and he was amused and intrigued by this and engaged in a dalliance with her. However, her feelings for him were extremely serious. During the nine-year shooting of Mughal-e-Azam (1960), she wanted to marry Kumar, but he paid her little attention and finally married someone else, while continuing an affair with her. There is also one school of thought that says that she was not allowed to marry by greedy relatives who were dependent on her income and were afraid of losing it.
Anarkali was the role of Madhubala's lifetime. Her ill health might have prevented her from continuing, but she was determined to revive herself and continue. Director K. Asif was unaware of the extent of Madhubala's physical illness. Obsessed with realism, in the scenes where she is imprisoned, he put real chains on her. She was badly cut and her skin turned blue. Seeing this, her father tried unsuccessfully to persuade Asif to use plastic chains.
Friends noticed that Madhubala seemed to lose her emotional vitality during this period. Some have speculated this was due at least in part to depression, as Kumar remained indifferent toward her except as an occasional amusement. On August 5, 1960 Mughal-e-Azam released and became a major blockbuster. She was nominated for a Filmfare Award but lost. Some fans suspect that Filmfare has been rigged for years and that Madhubala lost because she wouldn't pay bribes.
Madhubala's affair with Kumar lasted seven years, between 1951 and 1958. In 1958, their affair was ended by her father in a highly emotional and widely publicized court case. Madhubala and Kumar were forcibly separated. They were working on another film together at the time, and were unable to complete it. Toward the end of her life, Madhubala married voice actor and singer Kishore Kumar (no relation).
Marriage
Madhubala received simultaneous marriage proposals from three men and turned to Nargis, a close friend, for advice. Nargis suggested that Bharat Bhushan would respect her, as he was a widower, while Pradeep Kumar and Kishore Kumar were already married. However, she had already made up her mind on Kishore Kumar.
She accepted his proposal, as he was the first man who came into her life on the rebound during the filming of Chalti Ka Naam Gadi and Jhumroo. Her father had informed Kishore that Madhubala would be flying to London for a complicated operation, and that he could marry her on her return. Kishore, however, knew she wanted to get married before she died, and he wanted to fulfill her desire.
They had a civil ceremony in 1960. His parents refused to attend the wedding and never really accepted Madhubala, as they thought she had broken their son's marriage. When Madhubala went to touch her father-in-law's feet he moved away. Madhubala and Kishore also had a Hindu ceremony to please his parents, but they were still not happy.
Later work
In 1960, it was Mughal-e-Azam that marked one of her greatest performances as the doomed courtesan Anarkali Wali. Sadly, being plagued with a persistent heart disease, she was confined to bed for the last nine years of her life. She did have the odd release in this period like Passport (1961), Jhumroo (1961), Boy Friend (1961), Half Ticket (1962) and Sharabi (1964), but they were mostly old films that managed to limp towards release. In fact, Jwala, was released in 1971, two years after her death. She died as one of the most beautiful and most charming women on the Indian cinema.
Death
Madhubala's heart problem was discovered in a routine check-up in 1950 when heart surgery was not available. She had to put on a brave face, and her illness was kept a secret from the industry for many years. She frequently coughed up blood on the sets. She moved back to her bungalow a couple of weeks or so later because her in-laws' attitude was upsetting her. She realised she had made a mistake in marrying Kishore. The doctors in London refused to operate on Madhubala, as they thought she would die during the operation. Even she did survive, it would only be for a year.
She tried making a comeback opposite Raj Kapoor in Chalack (1964), but she collapsed on the first day of shooting and the film was shelved. Her illness eventually claimed her life in 1969, after she suffered from a hole in her heart. She was buried with her diary at Santacruz Burial Ground by her family and Kishore Kumar. In this short life, she made over 70 films, and to this day remains one of the most enduring legends of Indian cinema.
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