Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969), was an Indian film actress who starred in classic films of Bollywood. Known for her beauty, personality and sensitive portrayals of women in films, she was popularly known as "The Beauty with Tragedy" and "The Venus of Indian Cinema", and was compared with the Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe and was known as the Marilyn Monroe of Bollywood. She was active between 1942 and 1964.Madhubala Bollywood Actor, Biography, Cinema, death, Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi, Lifestory

Google Doodle Madhubala: February 14: Today's 86th - Birthday

Madhubala: February 14: Today's Google Doodle is dedicated to Bollywood actress Madhubala, who was active in the Hindi film industry between 1942 and 1964, and was sometimes referred to as the 'Marilyn Monroe of Bollywood'.

Madhubala in the 1958 film Kala Pani

• Born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi 14 February 1933 Delhi, British India
• Died 23 February 1969 (aged 36) Bombay, Maharashtra, India
• Cause of death Ventricular septal defect
• Resting place Juhu Cemetery, Santacruz, Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Residence Carter's Road, Bandra, Mumbai
• Nationality Indian
• Other names Baby Mumtaz, Madhu, Marilyn Monroe of Bollywood, The Beauty with Tragedy, Anarkali of Hindi Cinema, The Venus Queen of Indian Cinema
• Citizenship Indian
• Occupation Actress producer singer (in some of her early films)
• Years active 1942–1964 
• Era Pre-Golden era and Golden era of Bollywood music and films
• Known for Bollywood music and films

Madhubala: Notable work

• Mahal (1949)
• Tarana (1951)
• Amar (1954)
• Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955)
• Raj Hath (1956)
• Howrah Bridge (1958)
• Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958)
• Kala Pani (1958)
• Barsaat Ki Raat (1960)
• Mughal-e-Azam (1960)
• Half Ticket (1962)
• Spouse(s) Kishore Kumar (m. 1960–1969)
• (her death)
• Relatives See Ganguly family

Madhubala: Life and Education

Madhubala was born on February 14, 1933 as Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi, the fifth of eleven children in Delhi, British Raj. Her parents were to Ataullah Khan and Aayesha Begum. She had ten siblings out of whom only four survived to adulthood. Her father, Attaullah Khan Pashtun from the old Peshawar valley, which includes the present-day regions of Mardan and Swabi which are now in Pakistan. Her father belonged to the Yusufzai tribe of the Pashtuns. He relocated the family to Delhi and then Bombay after he lost his job at the Imperial Tobacco Company in Peshawar. The family endured many hardships. Madhubala's three sisters and two brothers died at the ages of five and six. The dock explosion and fire of 14 April 1944 wiped out their small home. The family survived only because they had gone to see a film at a local theater.

With his six remaining daughters to provide for, Khan, and the young Madhubala began to pay frequent visits to Bombay film studios to look for work. At the age of 9, this was Madhubala's introduction to the movie industry, which would provide financial help to her family. At home, Madhubala was nicknamed Majhlee Appa as she was the fifth child of her parents. Madhubala spoke Urdu and Hindi at home but she couldn't speak a word of English but yearned to learn the language.

Madhubala: 1942–1949 Career

Madhubala's first movie Basant (1942), was a box office success. She acted as the daughter to the character played by actress Mumtaz Shanti and was credited as Baby Mumtaz in the film. Basant became the highest-grossing Indian film of that's year. A nine year old Madhubala, then a child artist often tottered around various studios of Bombay in search of work and made several friends there. Around the same time, another child artist Baby Mahjabeen also visited these studios and was known to Madhubala. This Baby Mahjabeen later on, became one of the most sought after stars and one of her contemporaries – Meena Kumari. Madhubala was a fan of Meena Kumari and said: "She has the most unique voice. No other heroine has it". After starring in the film Basant, Madhubala starred in director Kidar Sharma's 1945 film Dhanna Bhagat. More films of Baby Mumtaz followed in 1946 and they were Pujari (1946), Phoolwari (1946) and Rajputani (1946). Phoolwari was the third highest grossing film of that year and starred Motilal and Khursheed Bano in lead roles.

Actress Devika Rani was impressed by her performance and potential, and advised her to assume the screen name "Madhubala", literally meaning "honey belle". Her first lead role, at the age of 14, was with producer Kidar Sharma when he cast her opposite Raj Kapoor in Neel Kamal (1947). This was the last film in which she was credited as Mumtaz before assuming her screen name "Madhubala". She achieved stardom and popularity in 1949 when she was cast as the lead in Bombay Talkies's Mahal – a role intended for well-known star Suraiya. Madhubala, with established actresses, screen-tested for the role before she was selected by the film's director Kamal Amrohi. The film was the third largest hit at the 1949 Indian box office. Following the success of Mahal, Madhubala appeared in the box office hits Dulari (1949), Beqasoor (1950), Tarana (1951) and Badal (1951).

Madhubala: Hollywood interest

Madhubala is said to be the first Indian woman in Hollywood. In the early 1950s, as Madhubala became one of the most sought-after actresses in India, she attracted interest from Hollywood. In 1951, Madhubala caught the interest of Hollywood when ace photographer James Burke visited India and photographed her for the Life magazine. In their feature of her, Life called her "the biggest star" in the international industry. She was photographed extensively for this feature by photographer James Burke. She appeared in the American magazine Theatre Arts where, in its August 1952 issue, she was featured in an article with a full page photograph under the title: "The Biggest Star in the World – and she's not in Beverly Hills". The article described Madhubala's immense popularity in India, and explored her wide appeal and large fan base. It also speculated on her potential for international success. Academy Award winner American director Frank Capra, while visiting Bombay for International Film Festival of India, was keen to give her a break in Hollywood, but her father Ataullah Khan declined this offer.

Madhubala: 1949–1957: Career setbacks

Mahal was the film that made Madhubala famous as it was India's first reincarnation thriller film. Produced by Bombay Talkies studio, this Kamal Amrohi's direction debut launched both playback singer Lata Mangeshkar and the leading lady Madhubala into super stardom. Its songs, particularly "Aayega Aanewala", sung by Lata Mangeshkar, are perennial favourites. The film was one of the biggest box office hits of the year in India and paved way for Indian gothic fiction.

After Mahal, Madhubala's film Dulari was released the same year that stars Madhubala, Geeta Bali, Shyam, Jayant and Suresh. The song has the hit song "Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki" sung by Mohammed Rafi and featuring Suresh. Dulari was the year's eighth-highest-grossing and was remade in Telugu as Sobha (1958).

Madhubala's co-stars Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Rehman, Pradeep Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Dev Anand were the most popular actors of the period. She also appeared with notable ladies such as Kamini Kaushal, Suraiya, Geeta Bali, Nalini Jaywant, Shyama and Nimmi. The directors she worked with, Mehboob Khan (Amar), Guru Dutt (Mr. & Mrs. '55), Kamal Amrohi (Mahal) and K. Asif (Mughal-e-Azam), were amongst the most prolific and respected. Madhubala also became a producer and produced films like Naata (1955) and Mahlon Ke Khwab (1960) and acted in both the films.

During the 1950s, Madhubala took starring roles in almost every genre of film being made at the time. Her 1950 film Hanste Aansoo was the first ever Hindi film to get an "A" – adults only – rating from the Central Board of Film Certification.

• 1951: Badal starred Madhubala and Premnath in lead roles. The film has the hit song "Do Din Ke Liye" sung by Lata Mangeshkar. She was the archetypal fair lady in the swashbuckler Badal, and following this, an uninhibited village beauty in Tarana (1951). Tarana was the first film that started both Dilip Kumar and Madhubala together. The duet "Seene Mein Sulagte Hain Armaan" became popular and was sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Talat Mehmood for Dilip Kumar and Madhubala. 

• 1952: Madhubala played the traditional ideal of Indian womanhood in Sangdil (1952). The film stars Dilip Kumar and Madhubala in lead roles. Sangdil was the adaption of the classic novel of Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre. Sangdil was the seventh highest-grossing film of that year

• 1953: Rail Ka Dibba was starring Shammi Kapoor and Madhubala in lead roles. The film failed at the box office. Armaan was a Bollywood film starring Dev Anand and Madhubala in lead roles and also stars Shakila and K.N. Singh.

• 1954: Bahut Din Huwe was directed by S.S. Vasan and was produced by Gemini Studios. The film stars Madhubala, Savitri and Lalita Pawar. All the songs of the film were sung by Lata Mangeshkar. The shooting of the film took place in Madras. During the shooting of Bahut Din Huwe, it was discovered that Madhubala was suffering from a congenital heart defect. Amar was directed and produced by Mehboob Khan and starred Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Nimmi and Jayant. Amar was the ninth highest grossing film of that year but did not performed well at box office. Amar is a psychological drama, exploring a violent act between the main characters and the crisis of conscience that rocks them. It's the story of a prosperous lawyer Amar (Dilip Kumar), who is in love and engaged to a young woman Anju (Madhubala) but rapes a poor local village woman, Sonia (Nimmi). The rest of the story deals with the aftermath of this tragic event, will all the inevitable undercurrents of guilt, penitence and pervasive heart break that stem from it

 

• 1955: In 1955, she produced a comic performance as the spoilt heiress Anita, in Guru Dutt's satire Mr. & Mrs. '55. In this film, she played the role of a wealthy heiress, Anita, who met a struggling cartoonist, Preetam (Guru Dutt) at a tennis match. Mr. & Mrs. '55 has the hit songs "Jaane Kahan Mera Jigar Gaya Jee", a duet sung by Geeta Dutt and Mohammed Rafi and "Thandi Hawa Kali Ghata" sung by Geeta Dutt. Mr. & Mrs. 55 was the fifth highest-grossing film of that year.

• 1956: Madhubala also acted in costume dramas such as Shirin-Farhad (1956), Raj-Hath (1956) (with Pradeep Kumar in both the films.Dhake Ki Malmal was romantic musical comedy directed by J.K. Nanda and produced under the Nanda Film banners. The film starred Madhubala and Kishore Kumar in lead roles. This was the first film to feature them together. Together they acted in several popular "musical comedies" which included Dhake Ki Malmal, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Jhumroo (1961) and Half Ticket (1962).

Madhubala: Best Movie Mughal-e-Azam

Mughal-e-Azam that marked what many consider to be Madhubala's greatest and definitive characterization, as the doomed courtesan Anarkali. Although the film took nine years to complete, it was not until 1953 that Madhubala was finally chosen for the role. Bunny Reuben in his book Dilip Kumar: Star Legend of Indian Cinema claimed that Dilip Kumar's role was instrumental behind this selection. Mughal-e-Azam gave Madhubala the opportunity of fulfilling herself totally as an actress, for it was a role that all actresses dreamt of playing, as Nimmi acknowledges that "as an actress, one gets a lot of roles, there is no shortage of them, but there isn’t always good scope for acting. With Mughal-e-Azam, Madhubala showed the world just what she could do."

However, by the late 1950s, her health was deteriorating rapidly, and director K. Asif, probably unaware of the extent of Madhubala's illness, required long shooting schedules that made physical demands on her, whether it was posing as a veiled statue in suffocating make-up for hours under the studio lights or being shackled with heavy chains. It was also a time when Madhubala's relationship with Dilip Kumar was fading out, and the lives of Madhubala and her screen character were consistently seen as overlapping because of the overwhelming sense of loss and tragedy and the unrelenting diktat of destiny that clung to both and which neither could escape".

Mughal-e-Azam was released on 5 August 1960, and broke box office records in India and became the highest-grossing film at that time, a record that went unbroken for 15 years until the release of the Sholay in 1975. Madhubhala was nominated for a Filmfare Award for her performance in Mughal-e-Azam.

Madhubala: Marriage to Kishore Kumar

Madhubala met Kishore Kumar during the shooting of Dhake Ki Malmal (1956). In 1960, Madhubala married her Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi co-star Kishore Kumar when she was 27 years old. When Madhubala was ill in the late 1950s with the congenital heart disease, Kishore Kumar proposed to her and she decided to marry him after realizing that Dilip Kumar was not going to marry her. Kishore Kumar's family never accepted her in their family because Kishore Kumar married Madhubala as per his own wish. The couple had a Hindu ceremony to please Kumar's family but Madhubala was never truly accepted as his wife. Reportedly, Kishore Kumar converted himself into Islam and changed his legal name to "Karim Abdul" to marry her. However, in an interview given to Filmfare, he said that neither he nor Madhubala ever changed their religion to marry each other. They went to London soon after their marriage for their honeymoon where the doctor told her that she had only two years to live. According to Madhubala's sister, Madhur Bhushan, after returning India, Kishore Kumar bought a flat for Madhubala at Quarter Deck, Carter's Road, Bandra, where they stayed for a while and then, he left her there with a nurse and a driver. He would visit Madhubala once in two months and said he couldn't look after her. But he never abused her as was reported and bore her medical expenses. She added "Often Kishore bhaiya's phone was disconnected. He'd visit her once in two to three months.He'd say, 'If I come, you'll cry and it'll not be good for your heart. You'll go into depression. You should rest'. She was young and jealousy was natural. Perhaps, a feeling of being abandoned killed her". Their marriage lasted for nine years. After Madhubala died in 1969 at the age of 36, Kishore Kumar married actress Yogeeta Bali in 1975.

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