Madhubala Death Anniversary Feb 23
(reproducing my write-up on her birth anniversary from the Sadabahar Geet Chat thread)
Madhubala....
The actress that charmed and disarmed millions by not just her giggling persona or luminous beauty, but also her undeniable screen presence.
It's true her looks overshadowed her acting skills, and she was given glam, flower pot roles that just required her to look pretty. So her good looks ended up being kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy for her, more's the pity.
I remember not long ago, a member had posted in the Bollywood forum that Madhubala is a one film wonder (referring to Mughal-e-Azam) and I had countered their point of view. I'm reproducing that post below:
I beg to differ. On the face of it, it seems like Madhubala was overshadowed by every other actress of her times - Meena Kumari, Nargis and Nutan were no doubt the better actors, Vyjayanthimala and Waheeda Rehman - the better dancers. Yet Madhubala held her own. She carved her own niche, one that hasn't been yet replaced, imho.
While her choice of films (and life choices) may seem poor and together with her continued ill- health may have led to her seeming downfall, I still feel she brought her own special charm and illuminating presence to all the movies she's done.
Look at her expressions in "Jaanewale se mulaqaat" from Amar - the grief seems to be coming from within her the way her throat moves with melody! Likewise in "Woh din kahan gaye bata" from Tarana where she was just about 19 years old. The kind of maturity she brought to that performance was noteworthy!
Her comic timing is something that is so under-rated- "Chalti ka naam gaadi" and "Half-ticket" were more Kishore Kumar films, and she was required just to play off him, but if you watch her expressions in "Main Sitaron ka Tarana" or "Aankhon mein tum" or "Haal Kaisa hai", you'll know what I mean when I say she was criminally under-utilized.
In "Mr and Mrs 55" she plays a spoilt heiress who is transformed by love and although the movie was a tad misogynistic, I think she turns in a beautiful performance! The initial happy-go-lucky Anita's obsession with the star Tennis player, Ramesh may come across as immature and silly, but Madhubala elevated that portrayal by bringing in a sweet innocence and charm to it.
All in all, I think her luminous beauty often got in the way of her being considered a serious actress and most of her roles ended up being the empty, glam, flower-pot roles, but even then she shone. Look at Kala Pani where she plays second fiddle to Dev Anand's character, but still manages to make her Asha an independent, strong and smart woman, holding her own ground. When Dev asks, in a moment completely smitten by her beauty, "Tum itni khoobsoorat kyon ho, Asha"? I echo his thoughts, since her beauty is what everyone sees, at the cost of ignoring everything else that she was capable of.
I had this friend in college - a cynical, unemotional, stoic guy who would laugh at me and tease me for showing any emotion of any kind during movies. I remember his reaction after he watched MeA - the scene where Anarkali is in chains in prison, looking frail and ill. She rises to her feet, the chains drag her down, and she falls to the ground. My friend's face was contorted in grief and anger, his fists were clenched tight, and with barely suppressed fury he hissed, "If I could, I would just punch my way into the screen and beat the s**t out of that Akbar"! That, to me, is Madhubala's impact as an actor!
I still feel as passionate about her contribution to Hindi cinema. In a short career, spanning just over a decade she made her way into the hearts and minds of the public, so much so that even international media was prompted to call her the World's biggest star. In fact, Frank Capra wanted to cast her, but her father was so strictly controlling that he did not allow her to go to any meetings or interviews. She was only allowed to go to a shoot and then back home. The only time she could break free from this was when James Burke did that famous photoshoot on her for Life Magazine in 1951.
Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi (aka Madhubala) was born in 1933, and raised in Delhi, being the fifth of 12 children. Her father was an employee on the Imperial Tobacco company, and had the infamous temper attributed to the Pathans (which they were), and one day in a fit of anger he ended up losing his job. The family was in dire straits, and although her father was an orthodox Muslim (he did not even allow his daughters to attend school), there was no way out but to let his daughter bail them out of their financial doldrums. Even as a child, Madhubala was fascinated with movies and would spend hours imitating famous stars before the mirror. At the age of 7, Madhubala sang on radio and then they were advised to go to Bombay to seek work in films. She starred as Baby Mumtaz in several films, while staying in a cowshed in Malad. Later, they moved to a rental apartment.
She had a near brush with death - before her illness became known. The house they stayed in was destroyed in a dock explosion, and the family survived only because they had gone away to the theater during the time. She went on to do several films which did not make a mark, and in 1945 during a shoot she vomited blood.
Her first successful starring role was in Kidar Sharma's Neel Kamal opposite Raj Kapoor, with whom she went on to star in several films. Devika Rani suggested that she change her screen name to Madhubala.
And then came Mahal in 1949, and it was hugely successful.
Her personal life was troubled though. She was burdened with being responsible for all her family, including her siblings. At such a young age! She was only 7 when she began earning. She knew Hindi and Urdu, but she hired a tutor to learn English. Her first relationship was with Prem Nath. They broke up because of religious reasons, and he went on to marry Bina Rai. I remember my dad saying how similar she looked to Madhubala and commenting that perhaps that was why Prem Nath gravitated towards her.
Then of course was the fabled romance with Dilip Kumar that began on the sets of Tarana (1951). They were both very serious about each other, and being from the same religion there seemed like nothing could hamper their union. But fate had other plans. They had been seeing each other close to 7 years, and were signed on for Naya Daur by B.R. Chopra. Madhubala's father was worried about her safety in the outdoor location for the film - because some untoward incidents had happened there with women recently. And he asked for the location to be changed. B.R. Chopra refused, and filed a lawsuit against Madhubala and her father for holding up the film. Dilip Kumar testified for B.R. Chopra and went against Madhubala. It broke her heart. Their relationship ended, but even later, her sister tells the story of how he would keep telling her he would marry her if she left her father and her family, which of course, she declined to do. But she never got over him. Later, she married Kishore Kumar in 1960 after being proposed to by Pradeep Kumar and Bharat Bhushan.
But by then, her ill-health had caught up with her. She had valiantly worked all through, not wanting to inconvenience her producers - although she had been asked to take it easy. But the ventricular septal defect had compromised her heart and also her lungs. She would be breathless and would cough up blood- or bleed through her nose. Mughal-e-Azam may have been her magnum opus but the physical exertions she had to endure, in addition to the mental agony of being close to DK, with whom she wasn't even on talking terms anymore, eventually took its toll.
She went to London to seek treatment and they gave her 2 years to live provided she lived a laidback lifestyle. She was 27! Imagine that kind of pronouncement at such a young age, and that too for such a lively, vibrant personality with a zest for life! What that must have done to her.
She was kept literally confined and bed-ridden in Kishore Kumar's flat in Bandra on doctor's advice and she hated it. He did not live with her and she felt abandoned, so she went away to her father's place. But her brother-in-law Ashok Kumar has spoken about how the illness and her helplessness because of it made her bad-tempered. She would be crying and screaming and ranting that she did not want to live like this and praying for a miracle cure because she did not want to die! Unfortunately, there was no cure for her illness in those times.
Her career also saw a lot of ups and downs because of her health issues. Her production company failed to take off. Even so, producers wanted her, because she was loved by people. The characters she played were smart, independent women, not afraid to speak their mind- be it Anita from Mr. and Mrs. 55, Asha from Kala Pani, or Renu from Chalti ka naam gaadi.
She died in 1969 at only 36. And left such an indelible imprint on our hearts and souls that I wonder what crazed heights she would have reached had it not been for her health setbacks. Then again, maybe her mystique and allure still lingers because we were blessed by her presence only for a short time.
We appreciate her more.
My favorite Madhubala movies -
Tarana : for the scorching chemistry with DK and the songs! I can watch their scenes in this one over and over!
Mr. and Mrs. 55 : for her brilliant comic timing - especially the scene where she tells Guru Dutt's character, Pritam to wait outside the registrar's office where her matrimony-phobic aunt has fixed up her marriage with him, only to divorce later for her inheritance. Anita, not knowing he's the one she's marrying, tells Pritam - Tum ruko. Main jhat se shaadi karke aayi! 🤣
Amar: Now this movie wasn't great, but Madhubala's performance was. And her character, Anju, a social activist is just so righteous, and so admirable that you cannot help but root for her. Wow! To give up the man you love, and insist he marries the village girl he ruined! Again, superb acting by her in this one.
Chalti ka naam gaadi: Where she plays the feisty Renu who knows her mind, and is not afraid to speak up. She fearlessly tells her dad she does not want to marry the man he picked for her (Sajjan) but is in love with Mannu (Kishore Kumar). And her expressions in 'Main Sitaron ka Tarana' are a hoot- she keeps up admirably with Kishoreda's madness in this one. To me, she was the only leading lady who could match his zaniness on screen! 😆
Kala Pani: Again here she plays an independent working woman, and manages to hold her own in a film that's dominated by Dev's character. She shines in the scenes with him! Their chemistry is great too - the scene in the newspaper office where he first sees her, and Dev's incredulous expression is a must see. He looks gobsmacked at her beauty - just like all of us! 😆
Mughal-e-Azam: There's nothing much left to say about this epic. Just that among acting stalwarts like DK and Prithviraj, Madhubala's performance as Anarkali is what has lingered in my heart and soul. That pain in her eyes when she's singing 'Bekas pe karam kijiye', or the desolation in her stance when she's being taken for the finale execution and 'Khuda nigehbaan' is playing in the background, or the defiance in her eyes when she sings and dances to 'Pyar kiya toh darna kya'. Every Madhubala moment in this epic is worth cherishing, imo!
They called her the 'Marilyn Monroe of India', So unfair!
To me, she's just Madhubala.
She was called the actress with a million-dollar smile, but it wasn't actually worth that.
It was priceless.
.. gonna copy the one from my Sadabahar music chat thread in a while.
It makes me weep
Advocate Anjali Awasthi
Health and Fitness
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