Old is Gold (Golden Era Of Bollywood)

Madhubala: - For some reason she remains the gold standard of Bollywood heroines. The one with the best face and the most enigmatic smile. She was hugely successful, romanced the greatest stars of the industry and died young. She's our Marilyn Monroe. There is no comparison of her talent and beauty. Her movies are legend: Half Ticket, Boy Friend, Jhumroo, Barsaat Ki Raat were all her films but what make her eternal was Mughal-E-Azam.

Bollywood Impact:- Mahal, Mughal-E-Azam, Badal, Tarana, Barsaat Ki Raat, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Naqab, Howrah Bridge and lots more.

Controversy: - Madhubala loved Dilip Kumar for five long years. Dilip Kumar was the top actor of the time and her hero in Mughal-E-Azam. They clicked on screen, but alas, the romance didn't work. They parted ways during the film Naya Daur which she didn't do. On the rebound she married Kishore Kumar, but did not stay with him for even a month. She remained married to him, but lived on her own.

Meena Kumari:- Another of the tragic queens, like Madhubala she also lived life large and died young. Her role is Pakeezah and the line by Raaj Kumar: "Aapke paaon khoobsurat hain. Inhe Zameen pe na rakhiyega, Maile ho Jayenge" was for her. She became popular with Baiju Bawra and was the first actress to win an award. She loved Dharmendra but could not make it work for him. Both pined for each other. She had the ability to communicate pain beautifully and effectively. Her films Parineeta, Sharda, Daera, Pakeezah and many more are about that. But the best of the lot are Sahib, Biwi aur Ghulam and Chhoti Bahu. This latter film was famous also for being the first movie in which the music was scored by RD Burman. Meena Kumari was the queen of pain.

Bollywood Impact :- Baiju Bawra, Sahib,Bibi Aur Ghulam, Parineeta, Aarti, Main Chup Rahungi, Pakeezah. Like all great characters she had an imperfect personal life and it is said she was an alcoholic (though she did not look it) and she is said to have died because of her habit.

Things we don't know about her:- Meena Kumari was a competent poet too and has written many beautiful poems.

Suchitra Sen :- She was one of quiet beauties. Sultry in an intellectual sort of way. She had astonishing presence and could hold her own against the best actors of her time, who were Dilip Kumar and Sanjeev Kumar. She dominated the Bengali industry and was noticed by Bollywood who brought her over and she worked here for 20 years. Her first Hindi film was Bimal Roy's "Devdas" (1955), as Paro, alongside Dilip Kumar and Vyjayantimala. She acted in critically acclaimed films Mamta and Aandhi, which still stand the test of time. In "Aandhi", Suchitra depicted a powerful politician, whose marriage ended because her husband, played by actor Sanjeev Kumar, opposed her career. The film was banned for a small period, because it mirrored the life of former Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.

Bollywood Impact: - Devdas, Aandhi were her best films, although she has done more Bengali films than Hindi. She was best paired with Uttam Kumar ( Bengali actor) in the industry.

Things we don't know: - She did not have a happy marriage and it was rumoured, falsely, that her face was ruined by her husband Dibanath Sen. But no one has seen her in public in a long time. Recently she was ill and was admitted to hospital. Her daughter Moon Moon Sen grand daughters Riya Sen and Raima Sen were the only ones to meet her.

Vyjayantimala:- She was the first Southern beauty to dominate Bollywood, making way later for Rekha and then Sridevi. She acted for 20 years and had one of the most expressive faces of any heroine ever. She also was trained is classical dance and many of her films had her spin to a solo number in full costume. Her 1954 mega hit Nagin had eight solo dance sequences, all of which she performed in one take. She played the character of Chandramukhi in Bimal Roy's Devdas. Spotted by Tamil film makers at a very early age, she became a star at the age of 15 when her first film Vazhkai was a hit

Bollywood Impact: - Naagin, Devdas, Jewel Thief, Ganga Jamuna, Leader, Naya Daur, Sangam, Suraj, Prince, New Delhi. She stopped working once she got married and shifted to Chennai.

Things we don't know :- In Bimal Roy's "Devdas", Vyjayantimala won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress as Chandramukhi, which Madhuri Dixit played in 2002. She refused the award and demanded the Filmfare committee only consider her for the Best Actress category and not as a Supporting Actress.

Waheeda Rahman :- Imran Khan (Cricketer) calls her the ideal woman. She was also enigmatic and difficult to penetrate because she was intelligent. She was sophisticated and was not easy to be seen just as eye candy as today's actresses are. This cult beauty was discovered by Guru Dutt in his film C.I.D where she played a negative role. Later she give many hits with Guru Dutt: Kagaz Ke Phool, Chaudhvin Ka Chand and then Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam and she made a hit pair with Dev Anand.

Bollywood Impact :- Pyaasa, Kagaz Ke Phool, Sahib , Biwi Aur Ghulam, Ram Aur Shyam, Namkeen, Jewel Thief, Guide and many more successful films.

Controversy :- She is said to have befriended Guru Dutt, a friendship that was said to have caused him to drift from his family. He died very young after they parted.

Nutan :- She inherited her beauty and possibly her talent from mother Shobhna Samarth who was also an actress and a director too. Nutan started her career as actress as a fourteen-year-old in Hamari Beti. And her beauty was recognized when she won the Miss India contest in 1952.

Bollywood Impact: - Seema, Paying Guest, Anari, Sujata, Main Tulsi Tere Angan Ki and lots more. She has also given a great performance in Saudagar opposite Amitabh Bachchan.