Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, that coincided with the rise of

Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...

on global levels. In a career spanning more than 20 years, Madhubala was predominantly active for only a decade but had appeared in over 60 films by the time of her death in 1969. Born and raised in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, Madhubala relocated to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

with her family when she was 8 years old and shortly after appeared in minor roles in a number of films. She soon progressed to leading roles in the late 1940s, and earned success with the dramas '' Neel Kamal'' (1947) and ''

Amar Amar may refer to: People Given name * Amar (British singer) (born 1982), British Indian singer born Amar Dhanjal * Amar (Lebanese singer) (born 1986), born Amar Mahmoud Al Tahech * Amar Bose (1929–2013), Founder of Bose Corporation * Amar Gup ...

'' (1954), the horror film '' Mahal'' (1949), and the romantic films ''

Badal ''Badal'' () is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language action drama film directed by Raj Kanwar. The film stars Bobby Deol and Rani Mukerji in lead roles with Amrish Puri. The movie is inspired by ''The Devil's Own'' (1997), starring Harrison Ford and ...

'' (1951) and ''

Tarana ''Tarana'' is a type of composition in Hindustani classical vocal music in which certain words (e.g. "odani", "todani", "tadeem" and "yalali") based on Persian and Arabic phonemes are rendered at a medium (''madhya laya'') or fast (''drut laya'') ...

'' (1951). Following a brief setback, Madhubala rose to international prominence with her roles in the comedies '' Mr. & Mrs. '55'' (1955), ''

Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' () is a 1 January 1958 Indian musical comedy film directed by Satyen Bose. Starring Madhubala with the Ganguly brothers —Ashok Kumar, Anoop Kumar, and Kishore Kumar— the film revolves around a middle-aged man who ...

'' (1958) and '' Half Ticket'' (1962), the crime films ''

Howrah Bridge The Howrah Bridge is a balanced cantilever bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal. Commissioned in 1943, the bridge was originally named the New Howrah Bridge, because it replaced a pontoon bridge at the same location linking the cities ...

'' and '' Kala Pani'' (both 1958), and the musical ''

Barsaat Ki Raat ''Barsaat Ki Raat'' () is a 1960 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film directed by P. L. Santoshi and produced by R. Chandra. Starring Madhubala, Bharat Bhushan and Shyama, the film is considered a defining example of romantic musical fil ...

'' (1960). Madhubala's portrayal of

Anarkali Anarkali () was a legendary woman said to be loved by the 16th-century Mughal Prince Salim, who later became Emperor Jahangir. According to some accounts, Anarkali was the nickname of the courtesan Nadira Begum or Sharf-un-Nisa, though scho ...

in the historical epic drama ''

Mughal-e-Azam ''Mughal-e-Azam'' () is a 1960 Indian epic historical drama film produced and directed by K. Asif. Starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, and Durga Khote, it follows the love affair between Mughal Prince Salim (who went on ...

'' (1960)the highest-grossing film in India at that point of timeearned her widespread critical acclaim and her only nomination for the

Filmfare Award for Best Actress The Filmfare Award for Best Actress is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Bollywood, Hindi films, to recognise the female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role. The award was first gi ...

; her performance has since been described by critics as one of the finest in Indian cinematic history. She worked sporadically in film in the 1960s, making her final appearance in the drama ''

Sharabi ''Sharaabi'' ( en, Drunkard, italic=yes) is a 1984 Indian Hindi comedy drama film produced and directed by Prakash Mehra. This was Mehra's sixth film with Amitabh Bachchan. Sharaabi stars Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Prada in lead roles along wi ...

'' (1964). Additionally, she produced three films under her production house Madhubala Private Ltd., which was co-founded by her in 1953. Despite maintaining strong privacy, Madhubala earned significant media coverage for performing actively in charity, and for her relationships with actor

Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...

, which lasted seven years, and with actor-singer

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...

, whom she eventually married in 1960. From the beginning of her thirties, she suffered from recurring bouts of

breathlessness Shortness of breath (SOB), also medically known as dyspnea (in AmE) or dyspnoea (in BrE), is an uncomfortable feeling of not being able to breathe well enough. The American Thoracic Society defines it as "a subjective experience of breathing disc ...

and

hemoptysis Hemoptysis is the coughing up of blood or blood-stained mucus from the bronchi, larynx, trachea, or lungs. In other words, it is the airway bleeding. This can occur with lung cancer, infections such as tuberculosis, bronchitis, or pneumonia, and ...

caused by a

ventricular septal defect A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a defect in the ventricular septum, the wall dividing the left and right ventricles of the heart. The extent of the opening may vary from pin size to complete absence of the ventricular septum, creating one ...

, ultimately leading to her death in 1969.

Childhood and early career

Old Delhi city skyline from Jama Masjid, Delhi, India

Madhubala was born as Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, on 14 February 1933. She was the fifth of eleven children of Ataullah Khan and Aayesha Begum. At least four of Madhubala's siblings died as infants; her sisters who survived until adulthood were Kaneez Fatima (b. 1925), Altaf (b. 1930), Chanchal (b. 1934) and Zahida (b. 1949). Khan, who belonged to the Yusufzai tribe of

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

from

Peshawar valley The Valley of Peshawar ( ps, د لوی پېښور وادي; ur, وادئ پشاور), or Peshawar Basin, historically known as the Gandhara Valley, is a broad area situated in the central part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The va ...

, was an employee in

Imperial Tobacco Company Imperial Brands plc (formerly Imperial Tobacco Group plc), is a British multinational tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, England. It is the world's fourth-largest international cigarette company measured by market share after Philip Mor ...

. Unknown to her family members, Madhubala was born with a

, a congenital heart disorder which had no treatment at the time. Madhubala spent most of her childhood in Delhi and grew up without any kind of health issues. Owing to the orthodox ideas of their

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

father, neither Madhubala nor any of her sisters except Zahida attended school. Madhubala nevertheless learnt

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

as well as her native language,

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

, under her father's guidance. An avid movie viewer since the beginning, she used to perform her favourite scenes in front of her mother and spend her time dancing and imitating film characters to entertain herself. In spite of her conservative upbringing, she aimed to become a film actorwhich her father strictly disapproved of. Khan's decision changed in 1940 after he got fired from the employee company for misbehaving with a senior officer. Madhubala's mother feared

ostracism Ostracism ( el, ὀστρακισμός, ''ostrakismos'') was an Athenian democratic procedure in which any citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years. While some instances clearly expressed popular anger at the cit ...

if they allowed their young daughter to work in the entertainment industry, but Khan remained adamant. Soon Madhubala was employed at the

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

station to sing compositions of Khurshid Anwar. The seven-year-old continued working there for months, and became acquainted with Rai Bahadur Chunnilal, the general manager of the studio

Bombay Talkies Bombay Talkies was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation, Bombay Talkies produced 40 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay. The studio was established in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. After Ra ...

, situated in

. Chunnilal took an immediate liking towards Madhubala, eventually suggesting Khan to visit Bombay for better employment opportunities.

Acting career

Early work and switch to adult roles (1942–1947)

Mumtaz Shanti, Madhubala et Ullhas dans Basant (1942)

In the summer of 1941, Khan, Madhubala and other family members relocated to Bombay and settled down in a cowshed present in the

Malad Malad (Pronunciation: aːlaːɖ is a suburb located in North Mumbai. Malad has a railway station on the Western line (Mumbai Suburban Railway) of the Mumbai Suburban Railway, lying between Kandivali station to the north and Goregaon station t ...

suburbs of Bombay. Following an approval from the studio executives, Chunnilal signed Madhubala to a juvenile role in Bombay Talkies' production, '' Basant'' (1942), at a salary of 150. Released in July 1942, ''Basant'' became a major success commercially, but although Madhubala's work garnered appreciation, the studio dropped her contract as it did not require a child actor at that time. Disappointed, Khan had to once again return his family to Delhi. He subsequently found low-paid temporary jobs in the city, but continued to struggle financially. In 1944, Bombay Talkies' head and former actress

Devika Rani Devika Rani Choudhuri (30 March 1908 – 9 March 1994), usually known as Devika Rani, was an Indian actress who was active in Hindi films during the 1930s and 1940s. Widely acknowledged as the first lady of Indian cinema, Devika Rani ha ...

sent for Khan to summon Madhubala for role in '' Jwar Bhata'' (1944). Madhubala did not get the film but Khan now decided to settle permanently in Bombay seeing a prospect in films. The family again returned to their temporary residence in Malad and Khan and Madhubala began paying frequent visits to film studios throughout the city in search of work. Madhubala was soon signed to a three-year contract with

Chandulal Shah Chandulal Jesangbhai Shah (13 April 1898 – 25 November 1975) was a famous director, producer and screenwriter of Indian films, who founded Ranjit Studios in 1929. Early life Shah was born in 1898 in Jamnagar, Gujarat, British India. He stud ...

's studio

Ranjit Movietone Ranjit Studios, also known as Ranjit Movietone, was an Indian film production company with studio facilities located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It produced films between 1929 and mid-1970s. The studio was founded by Chandulal Shah along wit ...

, on a monthly payment of 300. Her income led to Khan shifting the family to a neighbouring rented house in Malad. In April 1944, the rented house was destroyed in a dock explosion; Madhubala and her family survived only because they had gone to a local theatre. After shifting into her friend's house, Madhubala continued her film career, playing minor roles in five of Ranjit's films: ''

Mumtaz Mahal Mumtaz Mahal (/'/; ), born Arjumand Banu Begum (27 April 1593 – 17 June 1631) was the empress consort of the Mughal Empire from 19 January 1628 to 17 June 1631 as the chief consort of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra, oft ...

'' (1944), ''Dhanna Bhagat'' (1945), ''Rajputani'' (1946), ''

Phoolwari ''Phoolwari ''() is a 1946 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Chaturbhuj Doshi for Ranjit Studios. The film starred Motilal and Khursheed in lead roles, with Madhubala and Dixit appearing in supporting roles. Its music was c ...

'' (1946) and ''Pujari'' (1946); she was credited as "Baby Mumtaz" in all of them. She faced numerous problems in these years; during the shoot of ''Phoolwari'' in 1945, Madhubala vomited blood, which forewarned her illness that was slowly taking root. In 1946, she had to borrow money from a film producer for the treatment of her pregnant mother. Eager to establish a foothold in the industry, in November 1946, Madhubala began shooting for two of Mohan Sinha's directorial ventures, ''

Chittor Vijay Chittor Vijay is a Bollywood films of 1947, 1947 Hindi language film directed by Mohan Sinha, featuring Raj Kapoor and Madhubala in the lead roles. Cast * Raj Kapoor * Madhubala as Sobhagya Devi * Monica Desai * Madan Puri Music #"Aaye Re A ...

'' and ''Mere Bhagwaan'', which were supposed to be her introduction to the silver-screen in adult roles. Madhubala's first project in a lead role was

Sohrab Modi Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi Va ...

's ''

Daulat Daulat may refer to: *Daulat (painter), Mughal painter * ''Daulat'' (1949 film) * ''Daulat'' (1982 film) * ''Daulat'' (2020 film) *Daulat Beg Oldi, Indian military base in Ladakh People with the given name *Daulat Khan Lodi, 16th-century governor ...

'', but it was shelved indefinitely (and would not be revived until the next year). Her debut as a leading lady came in

Kidar Sharma Kidar Nath Sharma, also Kedar Sharma (12 April 1910 – 29 April 1999), was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, and Lyricist of Hindi films. While he had great success as a director of such movies as '' Neel Kamal'' (1947), ''Bawre ...

's drama '' Neel Kamal'', in which she starred opposite debutante

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (pronunciation: �aːd͡ʒ kəpuːɾ born Shrishti Nath Kapoor; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered one of th ...

and

Begum Para Begum Para (née Zubeda Ul Haq; 25 December 1926 – 9 December 2008) was an Indian Hindi film actress who was active mostly in the 1940s and 1950s. After almost 50 years of absence in the industry, she returned to films with her last role in ...

. She was offered the film after Sharma's first choice, actress Kamla Chatterjee, died. Released in March 1947, ''Neel Kamal'' was popular with audience and garnered wide public recognition for Madhubala. She then reteamed with Kapoor in ''Chittor Vijay'' and '' Dil Ki Rani'', both of which were released in 1947, and in ''Amar Prem'', which came out the following year. These films were unsuccessful ventures that failed to propel her career ahead. During this period, she had to charge a relatively lesser amount than her usual fee to attract more offers. To secure her family financially, Madhubala quickly signed 24 films. Impressed by her work in ''Neel Kamal'', in which Madhubala was credited as "Mumtaz", Devika Rani suggested her to take "Madhubala" as her professional name.

Rise to prominence and fluctuations (1948–1957)

Madhubala found her first critical and commercial success in the drama ''

Lal Dupatta ''Lal Dupatta'' () is a 1948 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by K. B. Lall and produced by Akash Chitra. Starring Madhubala, Rajan Haskar and D. K. Sapru, the film tells the story of Shobha, a headstrong village girl whose romance with ...

'', which ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

'' mentioned as a breakthrough for her.

Baburao Patel Baburao Patel (1904–1982) was an Indian publisher and writer, associated with films and politics. Career He was the editor and publisher of India's first film trade magazine, ''Filmindia'', the first edition of which was published in 1935. B ...

described the film as "the first milestone of her maturity in screen acting." She received further positive reviews for her supporting parts in ''Parai Aag'' (1948), '' Paras'' and ''

Singaar ''Singaar'' () is a 1949 Indian Hindi-language romantic film directed by J. K. Nanda. Produced by R. B. Haldia under his production company, the film stars Suraiya, Madhubala and Jairaj, with Durga Khote and K. N. Singh appearing in support ...

'' (both 1949). In 1949, Madhubala played a ''

femme fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...

'' in

Kamal Amrohi Syed Amir Haider Kamal Naqvi (17 January 1918 – 11 February 1993), popularly known as Kamal Amrohi, was an Indian film director and screenwriter. He was also an Urdu and Hindi poet. His Hindi films include '' Mahal'' (1949), ''Pakeezah'' (19 ...

's '' Mahal''the first horror film of Indian cinema. Several actresses including

Suraiya Suraiya Jamal Sheikh (15 June 1929 – 31 January 2004), popularly known by the mononym Suraiya, was a popular actress and playback singer in India's Hindi-language films. She was active from 1936 to 1963, and was the most celebrated actress ...

were considered for the role but Amrohi insisted on casting Madhubala. Her character was that of Kamini, a servant girl in an ancient mansion, whose pretensions of an apparition lead to disastrous consequences. The film was produced on a modest budget due to financial constraints, with trade analysts predicting it to be a failure owing to its unconventional subject. ''Mahal'' was released in October 1949 and proved to be an immensely popular film among audience. In ''Beyond the Boundaries of Bollywood'',

Rachel Dwyer Rachel Dwyer is a professor of Indian Cultures and Cinema at SOAS, University of London. Life Dwyer took her BA in Sanskrit at SOAS, followed by an MPhil in General Linguistics and Comparative Philology at the University of Oxford. Her PhD resear ...

noted that Madhubala's ignorance among audience added to the mysterious nature of her character. The film, which would be Madhubala's first of many collaborations with actor and brother-in-law

Ashok Kumar Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He ...

, emerged as the third biggest box-office success of the year, resulting in her signing a string of starring roles opposite the leading actors of the time.
Following another box office hit in '' Dulari'' (1949), Madhubala played Ajit's love interest in

K. Amarnath K. Amarnath (1 Dec 1914 – 14 May 1983) was one of the earliest film makers of Indian Cinema. His career as a movie producer and director spanned over four decades in the film industry. Early life Amarnath Gelaram Khetarpal was born in Mianw ...

's social drama ''

Beqasoor ''Beqasoor'' () is a 1950 social drama film, directed by K. Amarnath, produced by M. R. Navalkar and starring Madhubala, Ajit and Durga Khote in lead roles. The film is a family drama and revolves around an inspector who is framed for doing bl ...

'' (1950). The feature received positive reviews and ranked among the year's top-grossing Bollywood productions. Also in 1950, she appeared in the comedy-drama ''

Hanste Aansoo ''Hanste Aansoo'' () is a 1950 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by K. B. Lall and starring Madhubala and Motilal (actor), Motilal, with Gope (actor), Gope and Manorama (Hindi actress), Manorama appearing in supporting roles. ...

'', which became the first Indian film to be awarded an adult's certification. The following year, Madhubala starred in the

Amiya Chakravarty Amiya Chandra Chakravarty (1901–1986) was an Indian literary critic, academic, and Bengali poet. He was a close associate of Rabindranath Tagore, and edited several books of his poetry. He was also an associate of Gandhi, and an expert on the ...

-directed action film ''

'' (1951), a remake of ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de H ...

''. Her portrayal of a princess who ignorantly falls in love with

Prem Nath Prem Nath Malhotra, better known as Prem Nath, was an Indian actor and director, who was best known for his works in Hindi films. Nath made his debut with the film ''Ajit'' (1948), and went on to appear in over 100 films throughout his career. ...

's character received mixed reviews; a critic praised her looks but advised her to "learn to speak her dialogue slowly, distinctly and effectively instead of rattling through her lines in a monotone." She subsequently played the titular part in M. Sadiq's romance '' Saiyan'', which Roger Yue of ''

The Singapore Free Press ''The Singapore Free Press'' was an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore. History The paper was founded as Singapore's second English-language newspaper by William Napier, Edward Boustead, Walter Scott Lorrain and Geo ...

'' commented was played "to perfection". Both ''Badal'' and ''Saiyan'' proved to be major box-office successes. Madhubala then collaborated with actor

twice in a row, on the 1951 comedy ''

'' and the 1952 drama ''

Sangdil ''Sangdil'' () is a 1952 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by R. C. Talwar. The film is an adaptation of the 1847 Charlotte Brontë classic novel ''Jane Eyre'' and it stars Dilip Kumar, Madhubala in lead roles. The film's musi ...

''. These films also performed well financially, popularizing the on and offscreen couple among wide audience. Baburao Patel's ''

filmindia ''filmindia'' is an Indian monthly magazine covering Indian cinema and published in English language. Started by Baburao Patel in 1935, ''filmindia'' was the first English film periodical to be published from Bombay. The magazine was reportedl ...

'' review of ''Tarana'' read, "Incidentally, Madhubala gives the best performance of her screen career in this picture. She seems to have discovered her soul at last in Dilip Kumar's company." The period during the mid-1950s saw a drop in Madhubala's success, as most of her releases failed commercially, leading her to be labelled "box office poison". Madhubala was cast in the costume drama '' Shahehshah'' (1953) before

Kamini Kaushal Kamini Kaushal (born as Uma Kashyap, 24 February 1927) is an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films and television. She is noted for her roles in films such as ''Neecha Nagar'' (1946), which won the 1946 Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at Cannes Fil ...

replaced her. In April 1953, Madhubala founded a production company called Madhubala Private Ltd. The following year, while shooting in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

for

S. S. Vasan Subramaniam Srinivasan (4 January 1904 – 26 August 1969), popularly known by his screen name S. S. Vasan, was an Indian journalist, writer, advertiser, film producer, director and business tycoon. He is the founder of the Tamil-language maga ...

's ''

Bahut Din Huwe ''Bahut Din Huwe'' () is a 1954 Indian Hindi-language film directed by S. S. Vasan, produced by Gemini Studios and starring Madhubala. It is a remake of the Telugu film '' Bala Nagamma'' (1942). ''Bahut Din Huwe'' received lukewarm reviews from ...

'' (1954), she suffered a major health setback due to her heart disease. She returned to Bombay after completing the film and took a short-term medical leave from work, which led to her replacement (by

Nimmi Nawab Bano (18 February 1933 – 25 March 2020), better known by her stage name Nimmi, was an Indian screen actress who achieved stardom in the 1950s and early 1960s in Hindi films. She was one of the leading actresses of the "golden era" of Hin ...

) in ''

Uran Khatola An uran khatola ( Hindustani: उड़न खटोला, اُڑن کهٹولا) is a flying vehicle in the traditional folktales of North India and Pakistan.

'' (1955). Madhubala later starred in another film of 1954

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 ...

's ''

'', portraying a social worker involved in a love triangle along with Dilip Kumar and Nimmi. Madhubala improvised a scene from the film; it was unsuccessful at the box-office. Nevertheless, Rachit Gupta of ''

Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English language, English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, r ...

'' stated that Madhubala overshadowed her co-stars and "floored her role with a nuanced performance." Writing for

Rediff.com Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...

in 2002,

Dinesh Raheja Dinesh Raheja (born 31 March 1957) is an Indian author, columnist, TV scriptwriter, film historian. Raheja has been writing on cinema for over 40 years. In his long and prolific career as a writer, he has worked as the Editor of ''Movie magazine' ...

described ''Amar'' as "arguably Madhubala's first truly mature performance" and particularly noted a dramatic scene featuring her with Dilip. Madhubala's next release was her own production venture, '' Naata'' (1955), in which she co-starred with her real-life sister Chanchal. The film met with a tepid response and lost a lot of money, leading Madhubala to sell her bungalow ''Kismet'' to compensate. Undeterred by recent failures, Madhubala made a comeback in 1955 with

Guru Dutt Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone (9 July 1925 – 10 October 1964), better known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, choreographer, and writer.Rajadhyaksha, Ashish, and Paul Willemen. 9941998''Encyclopedia of Indian ...

's comedy '' Mr. & Mrs. '55'', which emerged as one of the year's highest-grossing films in India and her biggest success at that point of time. The film saw Madhubala playing Anita Verma, a naive heiress who is forced into a sham marriage with Dutt's character by her spinster aunt (

Lalita Pawar Lalita Pawar (18 April 1916 – 24 February 1998) was a prolific Indian actress, who later became famous as a character actress, appearing in over 700 films in Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati cinema. She holds a Guinness world record of longest ac ...

). Harneet Singh of ''

'' called ''Mr. & Mrs. '55'' "a great ride" and acknowledged Madhubala's "impish charm and breezy comic timing" as one of its prime assests. A conflict broke out between Madhubala–Khan and director

B. R. Chopra Baldev Raj Chopra (22 April 1914 – 5 November 2008) was a famous Indian director and producer of Bollywood industry and television series . Best known for directing Hindi films like ''Naya Daur'' (1957), '' Sadhna'' (1958), ''Kanoon'' (1961) ...

in mid-1956 over the location shoot of ''

Naya Daur ''Naya Daur'' may refer to: * ''Naya Daur'' (1957 film) * ''Naya Daur'' (1978 film) * ''Naya Daur'' (magazine), a literary magazine published by Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Prade ...

'', in which Madhubala was cast to play the female protagonist. Citing her as uncooperative and unprofessional, Chopra replaced Madhubala with

Vyjayanthimala Vyjayanthimala (born 13 August 1936) is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen with ...

and further sued the former for 30 thousand in damages. The lawsuit continued for about eight months admist public scrutiny before Chopra withdrew it after ''Naya Daur'' got released. During the years 1956–57, Madhubala slightly reduced her workload due to the lawsuit and health issues. She and

Nargis Nargis Dutt (born Fatima Rashid; 1 June 1929 – 3 May 1981) was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, she made her screen debut in a minor role ...

were approached by Guru Dutt to play either of the two female leads (an unfaithful girlfriend or a hooker with a heart of gold) in his production, ''

Pyaasa ''Pyaasa'' (; ) is a 1957 Indian Hindi drama film directed and produced by Guru Dutt, who stars alongside Mala Sinha, Waheeda Rehman, Rehman, and Johnny Walker. Set in Calcutta, it focuses on the disillusioned Urdu poet Vijay (Dutt), whose ...

'' (1957). However, unable to choose between the two leading roles, the actresses passed over the film to the newcomers

Mala Sinha Alda Sinha (born 11 November 1936), better known by her stage name Mala Sinha is a former Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and Nepali films. Initially starting her career with regional cinema, she went on to become a top leading ...

and

Waheeda Rehman Waheeda Rehman (born 3 February 1938) is an Indian actress and dancer. Regarded as one of Hindi cinema's finest actresses, Rehman's accolades include a National Film Awards, National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards. Rehman was honoured wi ...

. Madhubala appeared in two period films in 1956, ''

Raj Hath ''Raj Hath,'' also called ''Rajhath'' (Devanagari:राजहठ; meaning "''Royal obstinacy or stubbornness''"), is a List of Bollywood films of 1956, 1956 Indian (Hindi) romance film, romantic fantasy drama film directed and produced by Sohrab ...

'' and ''

Shirin Farhad Shirin Farhad or Shirin Farhaad may refer to: * A version of the classic Persian story of Khosrow and Shirin * ''Shirin Farhad'' (1931 film), an Indian musical film directed by J.J. Madan, the second Indian film with sound * ''Shirin Farhad'' (19 ...

'', both critical and commercial successes. The following year, she portrayed a runaway heiress in

Om Prakash Om Prakash (born Om Prakash Chibber 19 December 1919 – 21 February 1998) was an Indian film actor. He was born in Jammu as Om Prakash Chibber and went on to become a well-known character actor of Bollywood. His most well-known movies are Nam ...

's ''

Gateway of India The Gateway of India is an arch-monument built in the early 20th century in the city of Mumbai (Bombay), India. It was erected to commemorate the landing of King-Emperor George V, the first British monarch to visit India, in December 1911 at ...

'' (1957), which critic

Deepa Gahlot Deepa Gahlot is a theater and film critic, book author, and scriptwriter. She has written several books on cinema, translated several plays (by Manav Kaul and Paresh Mokashi) into English and adapted Paulo Coelho's novel ''The Alchemist'' for the st ...

believed to be one of the finest performances of her career. Madhubala then starred in the drama ''

Ek Saal ''Ek Saal'' () is a 1957 Indian romantic drama film directed by Devendra Goel and starring Ashok Kumar and Madhubala in lead roles. The film is about a father of a dying girl who hires a conman to make his dying daughter's last year a happier o ...

'' (1957), which followed a terminally-ill ingenue (Madhubala) who falls in love with Ashok Kumar's character. The film proved popular with audience and became as a box office hit, thereby re-establishing Madhubala's stardom.

Resurgence, acclaim and final works (1958–1964)

Madhubala began the year 1958 with

Raj Khosla Raj Khosla (31 May 1925 – 9 June 1991) was one of the top director, producer and screenwriter in Hindi film industry from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was known for bringing in "neo-noir" and style in Indian cinema, and also as a "women's direc ...

's '' Kala Pani'', in which she co-starred with

Dev Anand Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He was ...

and

Nalini Jaywant Nalini Jaywant (18 February 1926 – 22 December 2010) was an Indian actress who appeared in Hindi films in the 1940s and 1950s. Background and personal life Jaywant was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1926. She was first cousin of actre ...

, playing an intrepid journalist investigating a 15-year-old murder. She was then cast as Edna opposite Ashok Kumar in ''

'' (1958), her first collaboration with director

Shakti Samanta Shakti Samanta (13 January 1926 – 9 April 2009) was an Indian film director and producer, who founded Shakti Films in 1957, which is most known for films such as ''Anand Ashram'' (1977), Anusandhan /'' Barsaat Ki Ek Raat'' (1981), ''anay abhi ...

. Madhubala waived her fees to play the role of an

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The ''Oxford English ...

cabaret dancer ''Cabaret Dancer'' is a 1986 Cinema of India, Indian Malayalam language, Malayalam film, directed by N. Sankaran Nair and produced by S. Kumar. The film stars Anuradha (actress), Anuradha, M. G. Soman, Santhosh (actor), Santhosh and Sathaar in ...

, which marked a departure from her previous portrayals of sophisticated characters. Both ''Howrah Bridge'' and ''Kala Pani'' begot positive reviews for her and became two of the year's top-grossing films. She followed this success with the box office hit ''

Phagun Phaggaṇ ( pa, ਫੱਗਣ, ) is the twelfth and last month of the Nanakshahi calendar, which governs activities within Sikhism. This month coincides with Phalguna in the Hindu calendar and the Indian National calendar, and February and March of ...

'' (1958). In her final release of 1958, Madhubala portrayed a wealthy city woman involved in a love affair with

Satyen Bose Satyen Bose (22 January 1916 – 9 June 1993) was a film director from India. He has directed both Bengali language, Bengali and Hindi language films. Among his most notable films are ''Raat Aur Din, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Dosti'', and ''Jagriti ...

's comedy ''

''one of the biggest money-making pictures of the 1950s.

referred to the film as the "fifties jest-setter", adding that Madhubala "exudes oodles of charisma and her giggles are infectious." Writing for the same portral in 2012, columnist Rinki Roy mentioned Madhubala's character in ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' as "a top favourite": "Her breezy performance stands out as that rare example of an independent, urban woman. ..For me, Madhubala is the face of the original celluloid diva." Her second collaboration with Samanta, ''

Insan Jaag Utha ''Insan Jaag Utha'' () is a 1959 Hindi-language social drama film, produced and directed by Shakti Samanta, and written by Nabendu Ghosh and Vrajendra Gaur, based on a story by Saroj Mitra. The film stars Madhubala, Sunil Dutt, Nasir Hussain, ...

'' (1959), was a social drama film in which the protagonists work on the construction of a dam. A modest success, its critical reception has improved over years. Rachit Gupta of ''Filmfare'' and Roktim Rajpal of ''

Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printe ...

'' have cited Madhubala's performance as Gauri, a village belle, as one of her finest works. Further in 1959, she received praise for playing dual roles in '' Kal Hamara Hai'', also starring

Bharat Bhushan ''Bharatbhushan Bhalla'' better known as ''Bharat Bhushan'' (14 June 1920 – 27 January 1992) was an Indian actor in Hindi language films, scriptwriter and producer, who is best remembered for playing Baiju Bawra in the 1952 film of the sam ...

. Khatija Akbar, the author of '' Madhubala: Her Life, Her Films'' (1997), called her turn as "a polished performance, particularly in the role of the misguided 'other' sister." The commercial success of '' Do Ustad'' (1959), which saw her reuniting with Raj Kapoor, was followed by the second film of Madhubala Private Ltd.—the comedy ''

Mehlon Ke Khwab ''Mehlon Ke Khwab'' () is a 1960 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Muhafiz Haider and starring Madhubala, Kishore Kumar and Pradeep Kumar''.'' One of the three films produced by Madhubala under the banner of Madhubala Private Ltd., ...

'' (1960). It fared poorly at the box office. Madhubala in Mughal E Azam

Journalist

described

K. Asif K. Asif (born Asif Karim; 14 June 1922 – 9 March 1971) was an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who is known for his epic film, ''Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960). Early life Asif was born in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, India to paren ...

's ''

'' (1960) as the "crowning glory" of Madhubala's career. Co-starring Dilip Kumar and

Prithviraj Kapoor Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and establish ...

, the film revolves on a 16th-century court dancer,

(Madhubala), and her affair with the Mughal prince

Salim Salim, Saleem or Selim may refer to: People *Salim (name), or Saleem or Salem or Selim, a name of Arabic origin * Salim (poet) (1800–1866) * Saleem (playwright) (fl. 1996) *Selim I, Selim II and Selim III, Ottoman Sultans * Selim people, an e ...

(Kumar). Since the mid-1940s, Asif had rejected numerous actresses for the part of Anarkali. Madhubala joined the cast in 1952 and received an advance payment of Rs. 1 lakhthe highest for any actor or actress until then. The filming period proved to be taxing. Her relationship with Kumar ended amidst shooting and there were reports of animosity between the actors. Madhubala was also troubled by the night schedules and complicated dance sequences, which she had been medically asked to avoid. She fell under the weight of iron chains, extinguished candles with her palm, starved herself for days to depict anguishness in particular scenes and had continuous water flung at her face and whole body painted. The principal photography for ''Mughal-e-Azam'' was finished in May 1959 and left her exhausted, both physically and mentally, to a point that she began considering a retirement. ''Mughal-e-Azam'' was first of Madhubala's two films in colour; it had four reels shot in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

. The film had the widest release of any Indian film up to that time, and patrons often queued all day for tickets. Released on 5 August 1960, it broke box office records in India and became the highest-grossing Indian film of all time, a distinction it would hold for 15 years. At the 1961 National Film Awards, ''Mughal-e-Azam'' won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several a ...

and led the

8th Filmfare Awards The 8th Filmfare Awards were held in Bombay to honor the best films in Hindi cinema in 1961. K. Asif's magnum opus ''Mughal-e-Azam'' led the ceremony with 11 nominations, followed by ''Chaudhvin Ka Chand ''with 6 nominations and ''Parakh'' w ...

ceremony with 11 nominations, including

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...

for Madhubala. A reviewer for ''

'' commented, "Scene after scene bears testimony to the outstanding gifts of Madhubala as a natural actress ..The way she presents Anarkali's changing moods as she passes through the lightning vicissitudes in her life is superb." The success of ''Mughal-e-Azam'' resulted in a string of offers in major roles, but Madhubala had to refuse them owing to her heart condition. She further withdrew from some productions that were already underway, including ''

Bombai Ka Babu ''Bombai Ka Babu'' (English: ''Gentleman from Bombay'') is a 1960 Hindi film directed by Raj Khosla and written by Rajinder Singh Bedi. The film stars Dev Anand and Suchitra Sen in a rare appearance in Hindi cinema. Though the film was a thr ...

'', ''

Naughty Boy Shahid Khan ( ur, شاهد خان; born 1 January 1981), better known by his stage name Naughty Boy, is a British DJ, record producer, songwriter and musician. In 2012, Khan signed a three–year publishing deal with Sony ATV, as well as a rec ...

'', '' Jahan Ara'', ''Yeh Basti Ye Log'', ''Suhana Geet'' and an untitled film with

Kishore Sahu Kishore Sahu (22 November 1915 – 22 August 1980) was an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer. He appeared in 22 films between 1937 and 1980, and he directed 20 films between 1942 and 1974. His directorial venture Kuwara ...

. She did, however, had few more releases, which were completed either by body doubles or by Madhubala herself. In late 1960, Madhubala was seen in Shakti Samanta's crime film ''

Jaali Note ''Jaali Note'' () is a 1960 Hindi-language crime film directed by Shakti Samanta, based on the theme of counterfeit money. It stars Dev Anand and Madhubala, along with Helen, Madan Puri, Om Prakash. The film was unsuccessful with critics but ...

'', based on the theme of counterfeit money; it was successful financially. However, Karan Bali of Upperstall.com mentioned her role as "sketchy" and found the romance between her and Dev Anand's characters unconvincing. Madhubala's starring role in the musical ''

'' (1960) was better received. The feature was the year's second-highest-grossing film, trailing only ''Mughal-e-Azam''. A critic for ''The Indian Express'' found her "enchanting", while Venkat Parsa of ''

The Siasat Daily ''The Siasat Daily'' is an Indian newspaper published by the Siasat Press based in the city of Hyderabad, Telangana. It operates the Hindi-Urdu and English language digital news website ''Siasat'' and is the publisher of the ''Siasat English We ...

'' noted the rebellious nature of her character, Shabnam, who elopes with her lover (played by Bharat Bhushan) after her parents object to the relationship. The back-to-back blockbuster successes of ''Mughal-e-Azam'' and ''Barsaat Ki Raat'' established Madhubala as the most successful leading lady of 1960. She subsequently discontinued her career and only preferred starring as love interests in a few films, including the comedies ''

Jhumroo ''Jhumroo'' is a 1961 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Shankar Mukherjee. It stars Madhubala and Kishore Kumar in lead roles, with Chanchal, Anoop Kumar, Lalita Pawar and Jayant appearing in supporting roles. The screenplay ...

'' (1961), '' Boy Friend'' (1961) and '' Half Ticket'' (1962), and the dramas ''

Passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

'' (1961) and ''

'' (1964). Her all three 1961 releases were among the top-grossing productions of the year. ''Half Ticket'', her last collaboration with husband Kishore Kumar was a critical and commercial success as well. Sukanya Verma called the film one of her most favourite comedies of all time, praising the "palpably fond chemistry" between Madhubala and Kishore. Also released in 1962 was Madhubala Private Ltd.'s third and last presentation, ''Pathan'', which turned out to be a box office flop. Following a sabbatical of two years, she completed ''Sharabi'' in 1964; the film became her final release in her lifetime. Baburao Patel, writing for ''

Mother India ''Mother India'' is a 1957 Indian epic drama film, directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar. A remake of Khan's earlier film '' Aurat'' (1940), it is the story of a poverty-stricken village woma ...

'', praised Madhubala's performance for "reviv ngthe old heartache". An editor for Rediff.com called ''Sharabi'' a "fitting finale to a luminous career, showing the actress at her most beautiful and her most effective, a heroine destined not to age in any of our eyes." In 1971, one of Madhubala's incomplete works, '' Jwala'', was released. Co-starring

Sunil Dutt Sunil Dutt (born Balraj Dutt; 6 June 1929 — 25 May 2005) was an Indian actor, film producer, director and politician. Dutt was one of the major stars of Hindi cinema in the late 1950s and 1960s and continued to star in many successful film ...

and

, the film was mainly completed with the help of body doubles. It marked Madhubala's final screen role.

Personal life

Born in an orthodox family, Madhubala was deeply religious and practiced

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

since her childhood. After securing her family financially in the late 1940s, she rented a bungalow on

Peddar Road Gopalrao Deshmukh Marg is an arterial road in the city of Mumbai, India, passing through the affluent Cumballa Hill neighbourhood. The road is named after a social activist and first Mayor of Bombay (present-day Mumbai) after India's Independe ...

in Bombay and named it "Arabian Villa". It became her permanent residence until death. She learnt driving at the age of 12 and by adulthood was an owner of five cars:

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

Station wagon A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...

Hillman Hillman was a British automobile marque created by the Hillman-Coatalen Company, founded in 1907, renamed the Hillman Motor Car Company in 1910. The company was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry, England. Before 1907 the company had b ...

, and Town & Country (which was owned by only two people in India at that time,

Maharaja of Gwalior Gwalior state was a semi-autonomous Maratha state. It was centred in modern-day Madhya Pradesh, arising due to the rise of the Maratha Empire and fragmentation of the Mughal Empire. It was ruled by the House of Scindia (anglicized from Shinde ...

and Madhubala). As a native speaker of three

Hindustani language Hindustani (; Devanagari: , * * * * ; Perso-Arabic: , , ) is the '' lingua franca'' of Northern and Central India and Pakistan. Hindustani is a pluricentric language with two standard registers, known as Hindi and Urdu. Thus, the lan ...

s, she began learning English in 1950 from former actress

Sushila Rani Patel Sushila Rani Patel (1918–2014) was an Indian classical singer, actress, vocalist, doctor, and journalist. She established Shiv Sangeetanjali, a school for classical music. Career Sushila Rani Patel began her singing career in 1942 when she s ...

and grew fluent in the language in three months. She also kept eighteen Alsatian dogs as pets in Arabian Villa. In mid-1950, Madhubala was diagnosed with an incurable

in her heart during a medical checkup; the diagnosis was not made a public information as it could jeopardize her career.

Philanthropy

She performed actively in charity, which led editor Baburao Patel to call her the "queen of charity". In 1950, she donated 5,000 each to children suffering from polio myelitis and to the

Jammu And Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

relief fund, and 50,000 for the refugees from

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

. Madhubala's donation sparked off a major controversy due to her religious beliefs and received wide coverage in the media at that time. Subsequently, she kept her charity work guarded and donated anonymously. In 1954, it was revealed that Madhubala had been regularly giving monthly bonuses to the lower staff of her studios. She also gifted a camera crane to the

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. It is situated on the premises of the erstwhile ...

in 1962, which is operational even today.

Friendships

When she was a minor and in Delhi, Madhubala had a close friend named Latif, to whom she left a rose before her family relocated to Bombay. While working as a child artist in the mid-1940s, Madhubala befriended Baby Mahjabeen, another child actor of that time, who later grew up as actress

Meena Kumari Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...

. Despite their professional rivalry, Madhubala shared a cordial relationship with Kumari as well as other female stars, such as

Geeta Bali Geeta Bali (born Harkirtan Kaur; 1930 ‒ 21 January 1965) was an Indian actress who appeared in Hindi language films. She was the wife of noted film actor Shammi Kapoor. Early life Geeta Bali was born as Harikirtan Kaur in Amritsar in the Pu ...

Nirupa Roy Nirupa Roy (born Kokila Kishorechandra Bulsara; 4 January 1931 – 13 October 2004) was an Indian actress who had appeared in Hindi films. Noted for her portrayals of tragedy and sorrow, Roy was known for her acting ability, and was uncharitab ...

and

Nadira Nadira is a given name common in Asian countries. It may refer to Given name * Nadira (actress), an Indian actress of the 1950s and 1960s, best known for her roles as a temptress * Nadira (Pakistani actress), Pakistani actress in Punjabi and Urdu f ...

. In 1951, following a major conflict with the press, Madhubala established a friendship with journalist

B. K. Karanjia Burjor Khurshedji Karanjia (21 December 1919 – 25 June 2012) was an Indian film journalist and editor. He was the editor of ''Filmfare'' for 18 years, followed by ''Screen'' which he edited for 10 years. He also remained the chairman of the Nat ...

, who became one of the few people of his profession to be allowed inside Arabian Villa. Sarla Bhushan, the wife of Bharat Bhushan, with whom Madhubala had a special bond, died of labour complications in 1957, much to her distress. Madhubala was also close to three of her earliest directorsKidar Sharma, Mohan Sinha, and Kamal Amrohiand while there have been rumours regarding her being emotionally involved with them, her younger sister Madhur Bhushan has refuted such claims. On the sets of ''Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960), Madhubala often ate lunch with

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and Politician, statesman who served as ...

, a Pakistani barrister who later served as the country's

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. He used to visit the sets especially for Madhubala, and according to Sushila Kumari was Madhubala's one-sided lover.

Relationships and marriage

Madhubala's first relationship was with her ''Badal'' co-star

, in early 1951. They broke-up under six months due to religious differences. Nath nevertheless remained close to Madhubala and her father Ataullah Khan for the rest of their lives. Also in 1951, Madhubala began a romance with actor

, whom she had earlier met working on ''Jwar Bhata'' (1944). Their affair went on to receive wide media attention throughout the decade. It had a positive impact on Madhubala and her friends have recalled the following few years as the happiest of her life. As their relationship progressed, Madhubala and Dilip got engaged but could not marry as Khan had some objections. Khan wanted Dilip to act in his production house's films, which the actor refused. Also, Dilip specified to Madhubala that if they were to marry, she will have to sever all ties with her family. She parted ways with him in 1957 amidst the court case over the production of ''Naya Daur'' (1957). Dilip testified against her and Khan in court, which left Madhubala devastated. In the meantime, Madhubala was proposed marriage by three of her co-stars:

, a widower,

Pradeep Kumar Pradeep Kumar (born Sital Batabyal; 4 January 1925 – 3 November 2001) was an Indian actor who is recognized for his work in Hindi, Bengali and English-language films. Career When Kumar was 17 years old, he decided to take up acting. He sta ...

and

, both of whom were already married. On the sets of ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' (1958), Madhubala rekindled a friendship with Kishore Kumar, her childhood playmate and her friend

Ruma Guha Thakurta Ruma Guha Thakurta (21 November 1934 – 3 June 2019) was an Indian actress and singer primarily associated with Bengali language films. She founded Calcutta Youth Choir in 1958. Early life Ruma Guha Thakurta was born on 3 November 1934 to S ...

's ex-husband. Following a two-year-long courtship, Madhubala married Kishore in court on 16 October 1960. The union was kept from the industry and was not announced until the newlyweds held a reception some days later. Moreover, the couple were considered mismatch due to their contrasting personalities.

Health deterioration and final years

Soon after their marriage in 1960, Madhubala and Kishore Kumar traveled to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

along with her doctor

Rustom Jal Vakil Rustom Jal Vakil (17 July 1911 – 20 November 1974) was a cardiologist from India who was awarded a Padma Bhushan for his contributions to medicine. He was the first Indian to win a Lasker Award. Born in Bombay in 1911, Vakil completed his medic ...

, combining their honeymoon with the specialised treatment of Madhubala's heart disease, which was aggravating rapidly. In London, doctors refused to operate on her, fearing complications, and instead advised Madhubala to avoid any kind of stress and anxiety. She was dissuaded from having any children and given a life expectancy of two years. Madhubala Kishore Kumar

Madhubala and Kishore subsequently returned to Bombay and she shifted to Kishore's home in

Bandra Bandra (Indian English, æːɳɖɾa also known as Vandre (Help:IPA/Marathi, �aːn̪d̪ɾe is an upscale coastal suburb located in Mumbai (Bombay) area of the Konkan division, Maharashtra, India. The suburb is located to the immediate nor ...

. Her health conditions continued declining and she now frequently quarrelled with her husband. Ashok Kumar (Kishore's elder brother) recalled that her sickness turned her into a "bad-tempered" person and she spent most of her time in her father's house. To escape the bitterness of her in-laws due to religious differences, Madhubala later moved into Kishore's newly bought flat at Quarter Deck in Bandra. However, Kishore stayed in the flat only for a short period and then left her alone with a nurse and a driver. Although he was bearing all her medical expenses, Madhubala felt abandoned and returned to her own house in less than two months of her marriage. For the rest of her life, he visited her occasionally, which Madhubala's sister Madhur Bhushan thought was possibly to "detach himself from her so that the final separation wouldn't hurt." In late June 1966, Madhubala seemed to have partly recovered and decided to return to film again with J. K. Nanda's ''Chalaak'', opposite Raj Kapoor, which was unfinished since she left the industry. Her comeback was welcomed by the media, but Madhubala immediately fainted as the shoot began; the film was thus never completed. She was subsequently hospitalized in the

Breach Candy Hospital Breach Candy Hospital is a private hospital located in Mumbai, India. It is located in the Breach Candy area of South Mumbai. It is well known for the rich and famous patients that have been in the hospital. History It was established in ...

, where she met her former boyfriend Dilip Kumar and returned home after being discharged. To alleviate her

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

, Madhubala used

hypnotic Hypnotic (from Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), or soporific drugs, commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of (and umbrella term for) psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep (or surgical anesthesiaWhen used in anesthesia ...

on Ashok's suggestion, but it further exacerbated her problems. Madhubala spent her final years bedridden and lost a lot of weight. Her particular fascination was Urdu poetry and she regularly watched her films (particularly ''Mughal-e-Azam'') on a home projector. She grew very reclusive, meeting only

Geeta Dutt Geeta Dutt (born Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri; 23 November 1930 – 20 July 1972) was an Indian playback singer and a famous Hindi and Bengali classical artist, born in Faridpur before the Partition of India. She found particular prominence as a ...

and Waheeda Rehman from the film industry in those days. She had to undergo

exchange transfusion An exchange transfusion is a blood transfusion in which the patient's blood or components of it are exchanged with (replaced by) other blood or blood products. The patient's blood is removed and replaced by donated blood or blood components. This ...

almost every week. Her body began producing excess blood that would spill out of her nose and mouth; Vakil had to thus extract the blood to prevent complications, and an oxygen cylinder had to kept by her side as she often suffered from

hypoxia Hypoxia means a lower than normal level of oxygen, and may refer to: Reduced or insufficient oxygen * Hypoxia (environmental), abnormally low oxygen content of the specific environment * Hypoxia (medical), abnormally low level of oxygen in the tis ...

. After the ''Chalaak'' incident, Madhubala turned her attention to film direction and began preparing for her directorial debut, titled ''Farz aur Ishq'', in February 1969.

Death

By early 1969, Madhubala's health was in serious and major decline: she had just contracted

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving abnormal heme meta ...

and on

urinalysis Urinalysis, a portmanteau of the words ''urine'' and ''analysis'', is a panel of medical tests that includes physical (macroscopic) examination of the urine, chemical evaluation using urine test strips, and microscopic examination. Macroscopic e ...

was diagnosed as having

hematuria Hematuria or haematuria is defined as the presence of blood or red blood cells in the urine. “Gross hematuria” occurs when urine appears red, brown, or tea-colored due to the presence of blood. Hematuria may also be subtle and only detectable w ...

. Madhubala suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in the midnight of 22 February. After struggling for few hours amongst her family members and Kishore, she died at 9:30 a.m. of 23 February, only nine days after turning 36. Madhubala was buried at

Juhu Juhu (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ͡ʒuɦuː is a posh and upmarket neighbourhood of Mumbai. It is known for the sprawling Juhu Beach. It is surrounded by the Arabian Sea to the west, Versova (Mumbai), Versova to the north, Vile Parle to ...

Muslim Cemetery in Santacruz, Bombay along with her personal diary. Her tomb was built with marbles and inscriptions include aayats from

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

and verse dedications. Due to Madhubala's absence from the social scene for almost a decade, her death was perceived as unexpected and found wide coverage in the Indian press. ''The Indian Express'' recalled her as "the most sought-after Hindi film actress" of her times, while ''Filmfare'' characterized her as "a

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

whose clock had struck twelve too soon". A number of her co-workers including Premnath (who wrote a poem dedicated to her), B. K. Karanjia and Shakti Samanta expressed their grief over her premature death. Gossip columnist

Gulshan Ewing Gulshan Ewing (née Mehta) (1928 – 18 April 2020) was an Indian people, Indian journalist and socialite. She edited two of India's most popular magazines – women's journal ''Eve's Weekly'' and film magazine ''Star & Style'' – between 1966 an ...

commented in a personal farewell titled "The Passing of Anarkali", writing, "She loved life, she loved the world and she was often shocked to find that the world did not always love her back. ..To her, all life was love, all love was life. That was Madhubalaloveliest of the shining stars." In 2010, Madhubala's tomb along with those of other industry stalwarts was demolished to make way for newer graves. Her remains were placed at an unknown location.

Public image

Madhubala was one of the most celebrated film stars in India from the late 1940s to early 1960s. In 1951, James Burke photographed her for a feature in the American magazine ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'', which described her as the biggest star in the Indian film industry at that time. Her fame reached beyond India as well: director

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...

offered her a break in Hollywood (which her father declined) and in August 1952, David Cort of ''

Theatre Arts Magazine ''Theatre Arts Magazine'', sometimes titled ''Theatre Arts'' or ''Theatre Arts Monthly'', was a magazine published from November 1916 to January 1964. It was established by author and critic Sheldon Warren Cheney. History Cheney established the ...

'' wrote of her as "the biggest star in the worldand she's not in the

Beverley Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

." Cort estimated Madhubala's Indian and Pakistani fan base equal to the combined population of the contemporary United States and western Europe, and also reported her popularity in countries such as Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia and East Africa. Along with

, she also had large fan following in Greece. Dilip Kumar described Madhubala as "the only star for whom people thronged outside the gates." Her fame was acknowledged by ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine also, which went on to call her a "cash and curry star" in its January 1959 issue. In films, she was often billed before the leading man, and web portal

mentioned her as a more powerful celebrity than her male contemporaries. For ''Mahal'' (1949), her first film under a major production company, Madhubala was paid a sum of 7 thousands. The film's success established her career as a leading lady, and she subsequently became one of the highest-paid Indian stars of the upcoming decade. In 1951, filmmaker and editor Aurbindo Mukhopadhyay reported that Madhubala charges 1.5 lakh per film. She received an unprecedented amount of 3 lakh for her decade-long work in ''Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960). Madhubala was placed seven times on

Box Office India Box Office India is an Indian film website. Its traffic ranking in India is 83,665 . A new Box Office India website went live on 20 January 2014. About Box Office India was launched on 10 June 2003. Its uses Whois privacy to anonymize its owne ...

's list of top actresses from 1949 to 1951, and from 1958 to 1961. Madhubala1951

Madhubala's beauty and physical attractiveness were widely acknowledged, and led the media to refer to her as "The

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

" and "The Beauty with Tragedy". In 1951, Clare Mendonca of ''

The Illustrated Weekly of India ''The Illustrated Weekly of India'' was an English-language weekly newsmagazine publication in India. It started publication in 1880 (as ''Times of India'' Weekly Edition; later renamed as ''The Illustrated Weekly of India'' in 1923) and ceasin ...

'' called her "the number one beauty of the Indian screen". Several of her co-workers cited her as the most beautiful woman they ever saw.

said that "there never was and never will be anyone with her looks" while

(co-star in the 1954 film ''Amar'') admitted passing a sleepless night after her first meeting with Madhubala. In 2011,

Shammi Kapoor Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced �ʌmːi kʌpuːɾ 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards, winning in the categories of Best Actor f ...

confessed to falling in love with her during the shoot of the 1953 film ''Rail Ka Dibba'': "Even today ... I can swear that I have never seen a more beautiful woman. Add to that her sharp intellect, maturity, poise and sensitivity ... When I think of her even now, after six decades, my heart misses a beat. My God, what beauty, what presence." Due to her perceived appeal, Madhubala became one of the brand ambassadors of beauty products by

Lux The lux (symbol: lx) is the unit of illuminance, or luminous flux per unit area, in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to one lumen per square metre. In photometry, this is used as a measure of the intensity, as perceived by the ...

and

Godrej Godrej may refer to: * Godrej family, a wealthy business family in India **Ardeshir Godrej (1868–1936) ** Pirojsha Burjorji Godrej (1882–1972) **Adi Godrej (born 1942) **Nadir Godrej ** Jamshyd Godrej **Pirojsha Adi Godrej * Godrej Group, a grou ...

. However, she stated that happiness matters more to her than physical beauty. From the beginning of her career, Madhubala gained a reputation for avoiding parties and refusing interviews, leading her to be labeled recluse and arrogant. On an unusual instance in 1958, her father even wrote an apology letter to then-Prime Minister of India,

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

, for disallowing Madhubala to attend Nehru's private function where she was invited. Having been a part of the film industry since childhood, Madhubala saw the social scene as superficial and expressed her despise of "the kind of functions where only the current favourites are invited and where a decade or two hence I would not be invited." In a two decade-long career, Madhubala was seen at the premieres of only two films''Bahut Din Huwe'' (1954) and '' Insaniyat'' (1955)both for personal reasons. Her regular photographer, Ram Aurangbadakar complained that she "lacked warmth" and "was very detached", which is also reflected in Ashokamitran's statement describing her as an inarticulate and pitiful person. Gulshan Ewing, one of Madhubala's closest associates, however, differed and stated that her friend "was none of these."

added that Madhubala "had not a strain of pettiness, of anything small. That girl did not know anything about hate," and Dev Anand recalled her as a "self-assured ndcultured erson very independent in her thinking and particular about her way of life and her position in the film industry." Madhubala's refusal to grant interviews or to interact with the press drew in extreme reactions from its members. By early 1950, Khan had begun asserting in her film contracts that no journalists would be allowed to meet her without his permission. When shortly after Madhubala declined to entertain a set of visiting journalists on set, they started vilifying her and her family and further placed a bounty to behead and kill her. For self-protection, Madhubala was given the permission to carry a revolver and move around under armed protection by the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

, until Khan and other journalists ultimately made a settlement. Her relationship with the press remained bitter, nevertheless, and she was regularly pointed out by it for her religious beliefs and perceived arrogance. Another major controversy she faced during her career was the ''Naya Daur'' civil war fought against B. R. Chopra, which Bunny Reuben mentions in his memoir as "the most sensational court case ever to be fought in the annals of Indian cinema." Regardless of all these dissensions, Madhubala was known in the media as a disciplined and professional performer, with Kidar Sharma (director of the 1947 film ''Neel Kamal'') recalling her early days in the industry, "She worked like a machine, missed a meal, travelled daily in the over-crowded third-class compartments from Malad to

Dadar Dadar ( ̪aːd̪əɾ is a densely populated residential and shopping neighbourhood in Mumbai. It is also a prominent railway and bus service hub with local and national connectivity. Dadar holds the distinction of being Mumbai’s first planne ...

and was never late or absent from work." Anand said in a 1958 interview, "When Madhubala is on the set, one often goes much ahead in the schedule." Except for the filming of ''Gateway of India'' (1957) and ''Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960), Khan never allowed Madhubala to work in nights. Despite medical precautions, she performed even exhausting scenes by herself, such as doing complicated dances, wearing iron chains twice of her body weight and getting wet in water.

Artistry and legacy

Acting style and reception

In a 22-year-long career, Madhubala acted in almost every film genre, ranging from romantic musicals to slapstick comedies, and crime thrillers to historical dramas. The author of ''Celebrities: A Comprehensive Biographical Thesaurus of Important Men and Women in India'' (1952), Jagdish Bhatia noted that Madhubala turned her disadvantages into advantage and despite her non-filmy background "rose to be one of the most talented female stars of the industry." Baburao Patel, writing for ''

Filmindia ''filmindia'' is an Indian monthly magazine covering Indian cinema and published in English language. Started by Baburao Patel in 1935, ''filmindia'' was the first English film periodical to be published from Bombay. The magazine was reportedl ...

'', called her "easily our most talented, most versatile and best-looking artiste." A number of her directors including Sharma, Shakti Samanta and

spoke highly of her acting talents on different occasions. Ashok Kumar described her as the finest actress he ever worked with, while Dilip Kumar wrote in his autobiography that she was "a vivacious artiste ... so instantaneous in her responses that the scenes became riveting even when they were being filmed ... she was an artiste who could keep pace and meet the level of involvement demanded by the script." Writing retrospectively for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Aisha Khan characterised Madhubala's acting style as "natural" and "understated", noting that she often portrayed roles of "modern young women testing the limits of traditions". Film critic

Sukanya Verma Sukanya Verma is an Indian journalist and film critic. She has been the principal movie reviewer with web portal ''Rediff.com''. She has written a number of columns as a freelance writer for ''The Hindu''. She is a member of the Film Critics Gui ...

felt that actresses like Madhubala "should be applauded for doing more than just looking good and crying buckets." Madhubala was acknowledged in the media for her unconventional roles, such as a flirtatious cabaret dancer in ''Howrah Bridge'' (1958)which led ''Filmfare'' to compare her with

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...

and

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...

a rebellious and independent woman in ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' (1958), and a fearless court dancer in ''Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960). Her roles in ''Amar'' (1954), ''Gateway of India'' (1957), and ''Barsaat Ki Raat'' (1960) have also been noted by modern-day critics for being offbeat and significantly different from the usual portrayals of female characters in Indian cinema. Madhubala has also been credited for introducing several modern styles, such as trousers (for females) and strapless dresses in

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

. Her distinctive wavy hairstyle was referred to as "the out-of-the-bed look" and further established her screen persona as a liberated and independent woman. David Cort summarized her as "the ideal of the free Indian woman or what India hopes the free Indian woman will be." Madhubala had the shortest career among her contemporaries, but by the time she quit acting, she had already successfully featured in over 70 films. Her screen time in leading roles was always equal to her male co-starswhich has otherwise been a rarityand she has also been credited for being one of the earliest personalities who, in the era of

mass communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

, took the position of Indian cinema to global standards. Moreover, with ''Bahut Din Huwe'' (1954), Madhubala became the first Hindi actress to have a career in

south Indian cinema The Cinema of South India refers collectively to the six distinct film industries based in Southern region of India namely Tamil, Telugu, Tulu, Kannada, Konkani, and Malayalam. Although these industries developed independently for a long ...

Jerry Pinto Jerry Pinto (born 1966) is a Mumbai-based Indian English poet, novelist, short story writer, translator, as well as journalist. Pinto's works include '' Helen: The Life and Times of an H-Bomb'' (2006), which won the Best Book on Cinema Award at ...

has cited Madhubala as one of the earliest Bollywood actresses who created a distinct sex symbol by "merg ng "the vamp and the virgin", and publications including Rediff.com and ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...

'' mentioned her among the topmost sex symbols of Bollywood. A 2011 poll conducted by Rediff.com saw Madhubala receiving the third highest number of votes among "the hottest women who've ever scorched our screens"; the portal's writer commented, "In the end, I guess, it's about beauty. And there weren't many who could match up to the ethereal Madhubala." Although Madhubala appeared in almost all

film genre A film genre is a stylistic or thematic category for motion pictures based on similarities either in the narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film. Drawing heavily from the theories of literary-genre cri ...

s during her career, her most notable films included comedies. She gained recognition for her

comic timing Comic timing emerges from a performer's joke delivery: they interact with an audience— intonation, rhythm, cadence, tempo, and pausing—to guide the audience's laughter, which then guides the comedic narrative. The pacing of the delivery of ...

after her performance in ''Mr. & Mrs. '55'' (1955), which Iqbal Masud of ''

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new onl ...

'' call "a marvellous piece of sexy-comic acting." However, despite her success and fame, she neither received any acting award nor critical acclaim. Several critics have stated that her perceived beauty was an impediment to her craft to be taken seriously. Madhubala wished to play more dramatic and author-backed roles, but was often discouraged. According to Dilip Kumar, audience "missed out on a lot of her other attributes." Biographer Sushila Kumari said that "people were so mesmerised by her beauty that they never cared for the actress", and Shammi Kapoor thought of her as "a highly underrated actress in spite of performing consistently well in her films." Madhubala's talents were first acknowledged after the release of ''Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960), but it turned out to be one of her final films. Her dramatic portrayal of Anarkaliranked amongst Bollywood's finest female performances by ''Upperstall.com'' and by ''Filmfare'' in generalestablished her as an enduring figure in Indian cinema. One of the romantic scenes from the film, in which Dilip Kumar brushes Madhubala's face with a plume, was declared the most erotic scene in Bollywood's history by ''

Outlook Outlook or The Outlook may refer to: Computing * Microsoft Outlook, an e-mail and personal information management software product from Microsoft * Outlook.com, a web mail service from Microsoft * Outlook on the web, a suite of web applications ...

'' in 2008, and by ''

'' in 2011. Her critical reception improved in the 21st century, with Khatija Akbar noting that Madhubala's "brand of acting had an underplayed and spontaneous quality. Anyone looking for heavy histrionics and laboured 'acting' missed the point". In 1999, M. L. Dhawan of ''

The Tribune ''The Tribune'' or ''Tribune'' is the name of various newspapers: United States Daily California *''Oakland Tribune'' * ''The Tribune'' (San Luis Obispo) *'' San Gabriel Valley Tribune'' Indiana *''Kokomo Tribune'' *'' Peru Tribune'' * ''The Trib ...

'' stated that Madhubala "could communicate more with her delicately raised eyebrows than most performers could with a raised voice" and "knew the knack of conveying her character's inner-most feelings."

Priya Ramani Priya Ramani is an Indian journalist, writer, and editor. In October 2018, during the Me Too movement in India, Ramani alleged sexual harassment against now-former Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar, and in February 2021, Ramani ...

of ''

Mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAES g ...

'' added: "You only had to slip her into a wet sari, ask her to lean invitingly into the camera or hand her co-star a feather, and you could comfortably forecast that the cinematic sigh would resonate for at least a hundred years." In recent years, Madhubala's legacy has maintained fans of all different ages, both younger and older. She is recognized even by those who are unfamiliar with vintage cinema and has dozens of

fan sites A fansite, fan site, fan blog or fan page is a website created and maintained by a fan or devotee about a celebrity, thing, or particular cultural phenomenon. Fansites may offer specialized information on the subject (e.g., episode listings, bi ...

dedicated to her on the

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

. Modern magazines continue to publish stories on her personal life and career, often promoting her name heavily on the covers to attract sales. Her legacy has extended to fashion also: she has been acknowledged as the creator of many iconic fashion styles, such as wavy hairstyle and

strapless dress A strapless dress or top is a garment that stays put around the upper body without shoulder straps or other visible means of support. It is usually supported by an internal corset and/or brassiere, with the tightness of the bodice preventing the d ...

es, which are widely followed by many celebrities. In accordance with her enduring popularity,

News 18 Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (formerly SGA Finance and Management Service and Network18 Fincap Limited) commonly referred to as the Network18 Group and sometimes as the Network18–Eenadu Group, is an Indian media conglomerate owned b ...

wrote, "the cult of Madhubala is a difficult thing to match up to." Several modern-day celebrities, including

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...

Hrithik Roshan Hrithik Roshan (; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including six ...

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...

Madhuri Dixit Madhuri Dixit Nene (née Dixit; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. A leading actress of Indian cinema, she has appeared in over 70 films. Noted by critics for her beauty, dancing skills, and characters, ...

Rishi Kapoor Rishi Raj Kapoor (4 September 1952 — 30 April 2020) was an Indian actor, film director and producer who worked in Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry base ...

and

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...

rank Madhubala among their favorite artistes of Indian cinema. Research analyst Rohit Sharma has studied narratives about Madhubala and surmised the reason behind her continued relevancy among new generation: On the occasion of her eighty-fifth birthday, Nivedita Mishra of ''Hindustan Times'' described Madhubala as "by far, the most iconic silver screen goddess India has produced." In the decades following her death, she has emerged as one of the most celebrated personalities in the Indian cinematic field, and her reputation has endured. Also in polls and surveys, she is described as one of India's finest and most beautiful actresses of all-time. Khatija Akbar,

Mohan Deep Mohan Deep (born Mohan Kishinchand Chandirramani in 1948), is an Indian writer. He has written multiple books on Bollywood film personalities, including the books: ''The Mystery and Mystique of Madhubala'', ''Simply Scandalous: Meena Kumari'', ...

and Sushila Kumari have also written books about her.

Tributes and honours

* ''Mandoubala'', a Greek song dedicated to legendary Indian actress Madhubala, was performed at the closing ceremonies of the 2004 Athens Olympics * Digitally-colorized versions of two of Madhubala's films''Mughal-e-Azam'' (in 2004) and ''Half Ticket'' (in 2012)have been released theatrically. Madhubala 2008 stamp of India

* In March 2008,

Indian Post India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ha ...

issued a commemorative postage stamp featuring Madhubala, that was launched by her surviving family members and co-stars; the only other Indian actress that was honoured in this manner was Nargis, at that point of time. * In 2010, ''Filmfare'' included Madhubala's performance as Anarkali in ''Mughal-e-Azam'' in its list of Bollywood's "80 Iconic Performances". * Her introduction scene in ''Mughal-e-Azam'' was included by Sukanya Verma in Rediff.com's list of "20 scenes that took our breath away". The film itself has been considered one of the greatest films ever made in polls by

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

and

News18 Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (formerly SGA Finance and Management Service and Network18 Fincap Limited) commonly referred to as the Network18 Group and sometimes as the Network18–Eenadu Group, is an Indian media conglomerate owned b ...

. * In August 2017, the New Delhi center of Madame Tussauds unveiled a statue of Madhubala inspired by her look in the film as a tribute to her. * In 2018, ''

'' published a belated obituary for Madhubala, comparing her life to that of

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

. * On 14 February 2019, her 86th birth anniversary, search engine

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

commemorated her with a

doodle A doodle is a drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be composed of random and abstract lines or shapes, generally without ever lift ...

; Google commented: "While her breathtaking appearance earned comparisons to Venus, Madhubala was a gifted actor with an understated style well suited for comedies, dramas, and romantic roles alike. ..Appearing in over 70 films over the course of a tragically brief career, Madhubalawho would have turned 86 todaywas called "The Biggest Star in the World" in 1952 by ''Theatre Arts Magazine''."

In film

Madhubala has served as the inspiration behind the characters of actresses

Soha Ali Khan Soha Ali Khan Pataudi Khemu (born 4 October 1978) is an Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and English films. She is the daughter of veteran actress Sharmila Tagore and former Indian cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and th ...

Kangana Ranaut Kangna Amardeep Ranaut (; born 23 March 1987) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works in Hindi films. Known for her work in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards and five Filmfar ...

and

Deepika Padukone Deepika Padukone ( or ; born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in India, and her accolades include three Filmfare Awards. She features in listings of the nation's most pop ...

in ''

Khoya Khoya Chand ''Khoya Khoya Chand'', (translation: Lost Moon) is an Indian Hindi film directed by Sudhir Mishra which released on 7 December 2007. The film stars Shiney Ahuja and Soha Ali Khan in the lead roles with Rajat Kapoor, Sushmita Mukherjee, Sonya Je ...

'' (2007), ''

Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai ''Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai'' is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language gangster film written by Rajat Arora and directed by Milan Luthria. It stars Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut, Prachi Desai and Randeep Hooda. Produced by Ekta Kapoor unde ...

'' (2010), and ''

Bajirao Mastani ''Bajirao Mastani'' is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language epic historical romance film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who co-produced it with Eros International and composed its soundtrack. The film stars Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priy ...

'' (2015), respectively. In July 2018, Madhubala's sister Madhur Bhushan, announced that she was planning to make a biopic on her sister. Bhushan wants

Kareena Kapoor Kareena Kapoor Khan (; ''née'' Kapoor; born 21 September 1980) is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood, Hindi films. She is the daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and the younger sister of actress Karisma Kapoor. Noted for pl ...

to play Madhubala, but as of 2018, the project remains in its initial stages. In November 2019, filmmaker Imtiaz Ali was considering a biopic of Madhubala, but later dropped the idea after her family denied permission. Actresses including

Kriti Sanon Kriti Sanon (born 27 July 1990) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi and Telugu-language films. After pursuing a degree in engineering from the Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, she briefly worked as a fashion model. Sanon began h ...

Kiara Advani Alia Advani (born 31 July 1991), known professionally as Kiara Advani (), is an Indian actress who works in Hindi and Telugu language films. After making her acting debut in the comedy film '' Fugly'' (2014), she played MS Dhoni's wife in th ...

, and

Janhvi Kapoor Janhvi Kapoor (born 6 March 1997) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Born to Sridevi and Boney Kapoor, she made her acting debut in 2018 with the romantic drama ''Dhadak'', which was a commercial success. Kapoor went on to receive a ...

have expressed their wish to play Madhubala in a biopic.

Popular culture references

*The 1950 film ''

Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...

'' was named after the actress as a tribute to her stardom. *In the 1958 film ''

'', Manmohan (Kishore Kumar), on seeing Renu (Madhubala) in his garage, excitedly says, "Hum samjha koi bhoot-woot hoga" ("Oh I thought it was a ghost"). The dialogue was a reference to Madhubala's portrayal of a ghostly woman in ''Mahal'' (1949). *Actress Nishi parodied Madhubala in the 1960 film '' Parakh''. *In the 1970s, Greek singer

Stelios Kazantzidis Stelios Kazantzidis (Greek: Στέλιος Καζαντζίδης; 29 August 1931 – 14 September 2001) was one of the most prominent Greek singers. A leading singer of Greek popular music, or Laïkó, he collaborated with many of Greece's fore ...

produced the song "Mandoubala" as a tribute to Madhubala. *In the 1990 film ''

Jeevan Ek Sanghursh ''Jeevan Ek Sanghursh'' () is a 1990 Bollywood film directed by Rahul Rawail, produced by D. Rama Naidu. It stars Raakhee, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit in the leading roles. The film was successful and was the tenth highest grossing Bollywood ...

'', the characters of

and

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...

imitated a dance sequence featuring Madhubala and Kishore Kumar from ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' (1958). *Madhuri Dixit parodied Madhubala in the 1990 film ''

Kishen Kanhaiya ''Kishen Kanhaiya'' is a 1990 Indian Hindi action comedy film directed by Rakesh Roshan, released in 1990. The film stars Anil Kapoor(in double role), Shilpa Shirodkar, Madhuri Dixit in lead roles. In this movie, Shilpa Shirodkar had a controv ...

''. *In the opening credits of the 1995 film '' Rangeela'', a tribute to the

Hindi film industry Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

, each name is accompanied with an image of a vintage film star, including Madhubala, Dev Anand and

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...

. *Madhubala's Anarkali look has inspired Madhuri Dixit in ''

Lajja Lajja may refer to: * ''Lajja'' (novel), a 1993 novel by Taslima Nasrin * ''Lajja'' (2001 film), an Indian Hindi-language social drama film * ''Lajja'' (TV series), an Indian television series * Lajja Shankar Pandey, a fictional villain played ...

'' (2001) and

Mallika Sherawat Reema Lamba (born 24 October 1976), better known as Mallika Sherawat, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Hindi language films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude in films like ''Khwahish'' (2003) and ''Murder'' (2004), Sherawat ...

in ''

Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam '' Maan Gaye Mughal-E-Azam'', is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy film about a group of actors who attempt to prevent an underworld conspiracy from destabilizing the Indian government. The film is set in 1993 after the communal riots tha ...

'' (2008). *

Priyanka Chopra Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; ; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awar ...

parodied Madhubala, Meena Kumari and Nargis in the 2007 film '' Salaam-e-Ishq''. *In 2017, actress

Mouni Roy Mouni Roy (born 28 September 1985) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films and Hindi television. She made her acting debut with '' Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'' (2006). Roy became one of the highest-paid Hindi television ac ...

dressed herself as Madhubala's Anarkali for a dance performance.

Works and accolades

Madhubala appeared in 72 films between 1942 and 1964, including '' Basant'' (1942), '' Neel Kamal'' (1947), '' Mahal'' (1949), ''

'' (1951), ''

'' (1954), '' Mr. & Mrs. '55'' (1955), '' Kala Pani'' (1958), ''

'' (1958), ''

'' (1960), ''

'' (1960), '' Half Ticket'' (1962) and ''

'' (1964). Her seventy-third and last film was the posthumously released '' Jwala'' (1971). She was credited as a producer in '' Naata'' (1955), ''

'' (1960) and ''Pathan'' (1962). For her work in ''Mughal-e-Azam'', Madhubala was nominated for

; it was the only nomination she ever received.

Footnotes

Bibliography

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References

External links

* {{Authority control 1933 births 1969 deaths Indian film actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses from Delhi Pashtun women Indian people of Pashtun descent 20th-century Indian actresses People with congenital heart defects

Childhood and early career

Acting career

Early work and switch to adult roles (1942–1947)

Rise to prominence and fluctuations (1948–1957)

Resurgence, acclaim and final works (1958–1964)

Personal life

Philanthropy

Friendships

Relationships and marriage

Health deterioration and final years

Death

Public image

Artistry and legacy

Acting style and reception

Tributes and honours

In film

Popular culture references

Works and accolades

Footnotes

Bibliography

References

Further reading

External links