And God created Madhubala
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It is fittingly appropriate that Valentines Day, the day dedicated to love, should also be the day on which Madhubala was born in 1933. She was the one who defiantly dared an Emperor singing “Pyaar Kiya to Darna Kya”, for whom a Prince dared to revolt. And yet she could be the sweet girl next door, pleading with her lover “Accha ji main haari chalo maan jaao na”. Bharat Bhushan lost his heart to her on a Barsaat ki Raat, and even a tough nut like Ashok Kumar, could not resist her charms when she sashayed down the ramp singing “Aayiye Meherbaan”. She was the Bheegi Bhaagi se Ladki for whom Kishore Kumar went all the way to get his Paanch Rupaiya Baarah Anna, and with whom she shared her life later. Her on screen Salim, Dilip Kumar, who was her real life lover too, declared in a court that he would love her forever, though they split years later.
Madhubala’s life itself reads like a movie story. Behind her dazzling smile, her bewitching beauty and her radiant charm, was a story of sorrow, pain and agony. Born as Mumtaz Begum Jehan Delvi, in a conservative Delhi Muslim family, her father Attaulah Khan, had lost his job, and her siblings died of hunger and poverty. Forced to make a living, the family relocated to Mumbai, and she made her debut as a child artist in 1942 when she was just 9 years old. She changed her name to Madhubala, on the suggestion of Devika Rani, and as she entered into her teen phase, her good looks were noticed. In 1947, she made her debut as a heroine opposite Raj Kapoor in Neel Kamal. The movie which was also Raj Kapoor’s debut as an actor, was a romantic melodrama with tragic overtones, and was a flop. She was just 14 and for the first time the credits listed her as Madhubala.
After a whole lot of pretty much forgettable flicks, she hit it big time in 1949 with Mahal. The movie that marked the debut of Kamal Amrohi as a director, was a Gothic tale set in an Indian setting. Ashok Kumar, plays Shankar, a lawyer, who goes to reclaim his ancestral haveli. Madhubala plays Kamini, a spirit, who was the mistress of the mansion owner, and she keeps haunting Shankar, forcing him to marry her look like Asha, a servant in the haveli. Mahal used the concept of a single song, setting the tone for the entire movie. Raj Khosla used it in Woh Kaun Thi, where you had the “Naina Barse RhimJhim” song used at key points throughout. Mahal of course would be famous for the song “Aayega Aanewala” by Lata, which was a chartbuster at that time. Madhubala’s understated performance set her on the road to stardom, and of course her drop dead gorgeous looks, were more than enough. Lata also shot into fame with Mahal, and the movie is credited with creating two superstars.
The 50’s decade was the one when Madhubala rapidly ascended the ladder of stardom. But she had to accept many movies, most of them real 3rd rate, just to support her family. Due to her poor choice of movies and roles, she was not accorded the same status as Meena Kumari. Many critics felt that her acting abilities were not as good as her looks, and she did not make things better by just accepting roles that did no good to her at all. After a series of not too great movies, she again proved herself with Mehboob Khan’s Amar in 1954 opposite Dilip Kumar and Nimmi. The movie was a complex emotional drama, which had Dilip in a greyish role. Madhubala plays a rich heiress engaged to Dilip, and everything seems fine. But things start to go awry, when Dilip begins to behave strangely, becomming withdrawn. It may be due to the fact that he had raped the village belle, played by Nimmi in a moment of weakness. As the educated, calm, gentle heiress, Madhubala provides an excellent counterpoint to Nimmi’s more free spirited character and Dilip’s guilt conscious character. Certainly not Mehboob’s best, but can be seen for the performances from Madhubala, Dilip and Nimmi.
Madhubala had also appeared opposite Dilip Kumar earlier in Sangdil, a desi version of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and an earlier movie Tarana, which had actually kick started their legendary romance. Madhubala being a reclusive private person, never gave much interviews to the media, but the gossip mills were active over the romance between the two lovers. Finally they made their public appearance in 1995, when she attended the premiere of S.S. Vasan’s Insaniyat, along with Dilip. Her father though was dead against the romance, and the breaking point came in 1957, when Madhubala was selected as the original heroine for B.R.Chopra’s Naya Daur. Her father refused to give permission, to take her to an outdoor shoot near Bhopal, and forced her to withdraw from the movie. B.R. Chopra sued her, asking her to pay back the expenses incurred and there was a court case, where Dilip Kumar testified against both Madhubala and her father. That effectively ended their love story, but it was not just a personal loss. Madhubala’s career too was affected as producers were now wary of signing her, due to her father’s interference in all matters.
After Amar’s success, she again hit big time with Guru Dutt’s rom com Mr & Mrs. ‘55. Madhubala plays Anita, a rich heiress, living with a stern dictatorial mother, who believes woman should stay single and not be dependent. However when her brother makes a condition, that his property would go to Anita, only if she was married, she gets a jobless artiste, Preetam( Guru Dutt) to pose as a temporary husband, and after Anita gets her fortune, she would divorce him. Compared to Guru Dutt’s more serious works like Pyaasa or Kaagaz Ke Phool, this was a more light hearted rom com. The movie had some great songs too from O.P.Nayyar like ”Thandi Hawa Khali Ghata”, “Jaane Kahan Mera Jigar Gaya Ji”, “Ae Ji Dil Par Hua Aisa Jaado”.
One thing i did notice about Mr & Mrs 55 was its pretty westernized and urban atmosphere. Like Dev Anand, most of Guru Dutt’s early movies had a strong urban flavor. Also Madhubala’s fashion was pretty much modern, and Western, for that period. One thing about her was that she could easily switch between the traditional and western, without much ado. She could be a traditional village girl in Sangdil, and yet she could be the mod, rich Anita in Mr & Mrs’ 55. I guess her beauty had that blend of the East and West, and that made Hollywood and the West notice her then itself. Way back in 1952 itself she featured on the cover of Theater Arts, with a headline, The Biggest Star in the World (And She’s Not in Beverly Hills). Madhubala had a similatr mystique to that of Marilyn Monroe, and sadly the same tragic personal life. Frank Capra even wanted to cast her in a Hollywood movie, however her father refused.
After appearing in a host of movies like Shirhin Farhad( Pradeep Kumar), Gateway of India( Pradeep Kumar, Bharat Bhushan), she had a succces in 1958’s Phagun opposite Bharat Bhushan, where she plays a gypsy girl, who falls in love with a rich landlord’s son. This movie had that super hit song “Ek Pardesi Mera Dil Le Gaya” and also another great song ” Piya Piya Piya Na Laage Mora Jiya” tuned by O.P.Nayyar.
1958 would however be one of her finest years. First she appeared opposite Dev Anand in Raj Khosla’s thriller Kaala Paani. Based on A.J.Cronin’s novel, “Beyond the Place”, Dev Anand, plays Karan Mehra, who needs to prove his father’s innocence, serving a life term in prison for a crime he had not committed. The only person who knows the truth that could save his father, is a courtesan, played by Nalini Jaywant. Madhubala plays Asha , a journalist who helps Dev in his quest, and falls in love. Though the story revolved primarily around Dev Anand and Nalini Jaywant, Madhubala still manages to make an impact as Asha. The movie was really well shot, and is one of the best thrillers made. It also had a wonderful soundtrack by Dada Burman with “Achaa Ji Main Haari Chal0″, “Hum Bekhudi Mein” being the standouts. Madhubala shared a wonderful chemistry with Dev Anand, as can be seen in the song here. Take a look at the song, and you honestly wish to have some one like her.
But if that was bewitching i bet any one to resist Madhubala in Howrah Bridge, released the same year. Playing a vampish, club dancer Edna, Madhubala is just brilliant. She is seductive, she is bewitching and no she is not just a prop. She is the one who assists Ashok Kumar in his quest to solve the mystery of his brother’s murder in Calcutta. A total time pass entertainer, the movie had Helen’s famous “Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo”. The movie also had a Chinese villian Chang played by Madan Puri. But the moment of the movie is the song “Aaiye Meherbaan”. Trust me this would be my all time favorite club song. Madhubala making her entrance, Asha Bhoshle’s seductive voice, and a flutter of the eyelashes, that killer smile, seduction at its best.
And then there was Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, one of the finest comedies ever made. This was the first time she appeared opposite Kishore Kumar, and she proved her worth as a comedienne. Madhubala again as seductive in that Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si song, dressed just in a wet sari. And of course the fantastic sound track by Dada Burman, “Haal Kaise Hai Jaanab Ka”, “Hum The Woh Thi”, “Paanch Rupaiya Baarah Anna” and the title song. This movie again kickstared the romance between Madhubala and Kishore, they together appeared in many movies like Jhumroo,. Half Ticket, Jaali Note most of them love stories or comedies. Kishore had divorced his first wife, Ruma, and the couple married in 1960. However due to the religious differences, neither family approved of the marriage. In fact Madhubala was never totally accepted by Kishore’s family, and though he loved her dearly, the marriage was always under strain due to the family pressures.
Madhubala touched her peak in 1960, with twin success of Barsaat ki Raat and Mughal E Azam. Barsaat ki Raat was a Muslim social cum romance where she co starred with Bharat Bhushan. It had a great soundtrack with songs like “Barsaat ki Raat” and the qawali “Yeh Ishq Ishq”. And then followed K. Asif’s Mughal E Azaam, the classic depiction of the legendary love story between Salim and Anarkali. Rated as one of the greatest Indian movies ever made, it is also one of the most enduring love stories filmed on screen. Reuniting with her former love, Dilip Kumar, who played Salim, Madhubala bought alive the character of Anarkali on screen. It seemed she was born to play the role of the beautiful yet defiant woman, as she shows in the song “Pyaar kiya to darna kya”. The movie had great performances from Dilip Kumar as Salim, and Prithviraj Kapoor as Emperor Akbar, but it was Madhubala all the way as Anarkali, who made the movie her own.
Sadly in a way Mughal E Azam would also prove to be her swansong. Technically not her last movie, that was Half Ticket in 1962 opposite Kishore Da. Madhubala suffered from a congenital cardiac problem most commonly called as “Hole in the Heart”. She however kept it a secret, but it came out for first time during 1954, when she was filming for S.S.Vasan’s movie Bahut Din Hue. She collapsed on the sets, and it was Vasan and his wife who took care of her and nursed her back. As a mark of gratitude she attended the premiere of Vasan’s Insaniyat, something she rarely did in her career. K.Asif was not aware of Madhubala’s health problem, and quite often the shooting of Mughal E Azam involved very long and gruelling schedules. In fact in that famous scene where Madhubala was shackled in chains, Asif had used real chains for the authentic look, which affected her already fragile health. Not just physically but emotionally too it was exhausting having to do intimate romantic scenes with her former love Dilip Kumar. In fact the tension between the two was visible on the sets. Ironically this remains the only movie for which she was nominated for Best Actress. She went to London for treatment, but doctors refused to operate, as they felt she could never survive the operation.
Post Mughal E Azam she appeared in a couple of movies, most notably Jhumroo and Half Ticket opposite Kishore Kumar, and Sharabi opposite Dev Anand. But her health deteriorated and finally in 1969, she passed away at the very young age of 36. As they said, those whom the Gods love they die young. Or maybe it was Destiny’s way of ensuring that her exceptional beauty would never be destroyed by age. Madhubala’s life has all the makings of an epic story, poverty, heart break, success, personal agony. If some one decides to translate her life onto celluloid it would be a wonderful tale to tell. Madhubala has passed away but she will forever remain in hearts of movie goers. Some tributes by her colleagues.
Dilip Kumar: “Had she lived, and had she selected her films with more care, she would have been far superior to her contemporaries. Apart from being very versatile and an excellent artiste, she had a warm and cheerful nature. God had gifted her with so many things”
Dev Anand: “She was so robust and full of life and energy. She was always laughing and enjoyed her work. One could never conceive she was seriously ill. Then one day out of the blue she just disappeared.”
Tags: 50's Movies, Chalti ka Naam Gaadi, Dilip Kumar, Hindi Actress, K.Asif, Kishore Kumar, Madhubala, Mehboob Khan, Mughal E Azam, Valentines Day
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Wow, what a post! I was just of school when I saw Madhubala in Mughl-e-azam for the first time ( it was on either on DD or video). It was love at first view!
They don’t make them like this anymore.
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Arun, yeah even for me MEA was Madhubala’s first movie, and as they say people like her, dont come quite often. I saw it on video.
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i couldn’t have thought of a better post on valentine’s day than this one…brought back memories from the days when i used to sit with my grandfather and watch the golden era of Indian cinema…
*Devika Rani also introduced Dilip Kumar and was his first muse,astonishingly intellectual woman…
*differences between Mehboob(a very arrogant filmmaker and one of India’s finest)and Madhubala led to the chopping of her role in Amar and increment in that of Nimmi’s…
*Dilip said “i have the Qazi ready at my home.One condition,you break all ties with your father”
*Jwala was her last and only color film…
i too agree with the reel as well real life parallels between her life and that of Merilyn’s…
Mughal-e-Azam will never be remembered for Madhubala(though she is terrific in it)…Prithviraj as Akbar is like Brando as Vito Corleone…and above all K.Asif(chappal tak bik gayi thi uski)…
one song in which she simply looked amazing was “zindagi bhar nahin bhoolegi wo barsat ki raat” …”aasmanon se utar aayi thi jo raat ki raat”…
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Ahmad, thanks for the wonderful tidbits given there. Devika Rani, indeed was a colossus. The Dilip Kumar-Madhubala story would make for an engrossing movie by itself. Well MEA was K.Asif’s, but Madhubala’s role as Anarkali was memorable. Not sure of comparison between Prithviraj Kapoor and Brando, for me Prithviraj Kapoor was more like Sir Laurence Olivier, both had a similiar style of acting.
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Madhubala was truly the most beautiful woman ever in India. Its a great post but there is too much of rephrasing from Wikipedia.
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To me Madhubala would always be India’s Marilyn Monroe, not only is the striking similarity in features the reason, but also because the personal life for them both ended in tragedy.Loved in so many movies- Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi,Mahal,Mughal-E-Azam,Howrah Bridge and so many more.Sudhir Mishra’s Khoya Khoya Chand was a decent tribute to her with Soha Ali Khan doing Madhubala’s role ( based on her).
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Sethu, somehow felt Sudhira Mishra’s KKC cud not capture the 50’s period as effectively as i expected. A truly great actress and a beauty. Would like to see a movie on her life, considering it has so many angles.
Yayaver, Rupesh, Kakori Kebabs, thanks for the comments.
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@Ratnakar,Really great tribute to beauty and ectasy to the readers on Valentine day.
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Wow, this was beautifully written and so informative. We really don’t have ladies like them anymore.
Thank-you.
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Ratnakar: Good timely tribute! Madhubala’s beauty often took away the discussion from her histrionic talents. She had a natural comic timing that was among the best in her generation.
Forgive me for a few minor corrections that I would like to point out: Lalita Pawar is her aunt in Mr and Mrs 55 whose dead brother had left a will about his daughter (Madhubala) inheriting wealth only if she gets married. The film, instead of being progressive, is a cop out and has some regressive moments at the end and with the Kumkum track. Sangdil didn’t have her playing a traditional village girl. She was a priestess conflicted by her worldly emotions towards Dilip Kumar. Lastly, Kalapani is loosely based on Cronin’s Beyond ‘This’ Place (not Beyond The Place). As thrillers, it is pretty lame and one of Raj Khosla’s less thrilling outputs in that genre.
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Subrat, thanks Guruji for your comments. Yeah ur right Lalita Pawar was her aunt in Mr & Mrs. 55, keep getting confused on that. Sangdil, i think was a loose inspiration of Jane Eyre. Well Kalapani was not as great as some of Raj Khosla’s thrillers, but still felt it was a pretty good movie.
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Great tribute Ratnakar ( as usual )
A few comments/trivias :
1) Contrary to all the records ever made in print/media before this post of mine, I am sure that she Debuted (as the leading lady ) in a film “Mere Bhagwan”. I had gone through all the magazines of those times and FilmIndia Dec 1946, had this info. Also a super duper photo of hers as 'ntroducing” was in that issue. What a beauty !
2) First movie with Kishore was Dhake Ki Malmal ( one of the best movies of Kishore, as an actor ). Jaali Note was not Kishore
3) She lived in great pain and pressures, as you said for the last few years. Kishore took great care of her, even though she lived in a separate house and visited her almost everyday.
4) Jwala shooting was going on in Dec 1957.
5) Madhubala was a very kind-hearted person. Once she donated Rs 50,000 in 1950 to Bengal Fund. The film industry, especially the muslims, were very angry at this gesture of hers
6) She learnt proper English from Baburao Patel’s wife, Sushila.
7) Her end was literally in Kishore’s arms. Kishore was to go to Kolkata for a show, but cancelled the same becasue of her health. Attaullah Khan told “Kishore, phone ke paas hi sona. Shayad bulaana pade” And the phone bell rang and Kishore rushed to her villa once again. She died in his arms.
so many anecdotes !!! Yes certainly a film can be made on her.
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KCP thanks for that treasure trove of information you gave. Sirjee, you really do your research deep. No idea of Dhake Ki Malmal either. She was suffering from the hole in the heart thing, and all that physical, mental strain, just worsened it. In fact when she went for a check up in 1960, the doctors gave her no chance to live, but she managed to live on for another 9 years. She was a lady with a heart of gold, it was not just her outer beauty.
Also after she learnt English, she became a big time fan of Hollywood flicks, and would watch them on her home projector daily.
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What I meant to say in Point No 4, above, was that “Jwala” had earlier Kishore as an actor with her.
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her role as a producer also needs to be discussed
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wow it’s a nice article to remember madhubala, it’s her 40th death anniversary in 4 days so i’m glad this article was published on her birthday.
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RS, You thanked me but did not respond to my other question. I find your writings too obsessed by the “fact” of the matter, i dont see your writings coming from the heart. There is so much detail that everything corroborates from wikipedia. I know you have a right to write, this is an open forum but would really love to see something heartfelt than straight from the encyclopedia. Hope you take my comment with the right intent.
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Well Rupesh, i am not sure how many posts of mine u have read. But i think i try to maintain a balance between being too fact based and too personal. I am more comfortable with that style of writing.
Also if u have read my post on movie Shiva, it was something more personal in nature, rather than being too fact based. Again most of my movie reviews have been emphasizing more on what i feel.
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@ Rupesh: if u write abt personalities as great as madhubala, u hv to include the facts virtually in every sentence. to write a ‘heart-felt’ post on madhubaladoesnt mean u dont talk abt the realities affecting life.
ratnakar’s posts hv been varied, informative and heart-felt. check out his personal blog site n u will see the ‘heart’, if u must….
@ Ratnakar: sorry for butting in like this. gr8 post. and as sethu says.. for me madhubala wud always b the mirror image of marlyn monroe. loved her ‘half ticket’, especially whn she takes care of ‘munna’ in her compartment in the train.
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Just love her.
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Thanks for the post! Enjoyed reading it. It’s thorough and well written!
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