Madhubala

Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. She is regarded to have been one of the greatest and finest actresses in the history of Indian cinema. One of the country's highest-paid stars in the 1950s, Madhubala appeared in over 70 films—ranging from slapstick comedies to historical dramas—in a two decade-long career. Long after her death, she remains a Bollywood icon, particularly noted for her beauty and unconventional screen persona. Media outlets often refer to her as "The Venus of Indian cinema".

Born and raised in Delhi, Madhubala relocated to Bombay (now Mumbai) with her family when she was 8 years old and shortly after began playing minor roles, starting with Basant (1942). She progressed to leading roles in the late 1940s, and earned success with the dramas Neel Kamal (1947) and the horror film Mahal (1949), the romantic films Badal (1951), Tarana (1951), and Amar (1954). Following a brief setback, Madhubala found continued success with her roles in the comedies Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958) and Half Ticket (1962), the crime films Howrah Bridge and Kala Pani (both 1958), and the musical Barsaat Ki Raat (1960).

Madhubala's portrayal of Anarkali in the historical epic drama Mughal-e-Azam (1960)—the highest-grossing film in India at the time—earned her widespread critical acclaim and her only nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress; 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 (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 her charity work and personal life. In the early 1950s, she had a highly-publicised relationship with actor Dilip Kumar that ended amidst the Naya Daur court case (1956–57). She married actor-singer Kishore Kumar in 1960. Throughout her adult life, Madhubala suffered from recurring bouts of breathlessness and hemoptysis caused by a ventricular septal defect, ultimately leading to her death at the age of 36, in 1969.

Early life

Madhubala was born as Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi in Delhi, British India, 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 as Zeb Ataullah) and Zahida (b. 1949). Khan, who belonged to the Yusufzai tribe of Pashtuns from Peshawar valley, originating from Swabi District, North-West Frontier Province was an employee at the Imperial Tobacco Company. Unknown to her family members, Madhubala was born with a ventricular septal defect, 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 father, neither Madhubala nor any of her sisters except Zahida attended school. Madhubala nevertheless learnt Urdu, Hindi, as well as her native language, Pashto, 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 actor—which her father strictly disapproved of. In April 1944, Madhubala's family's rented home in Malad was completely destroyed during the Bombay Dock explosion. The family survived the disaster only because they had all left the house to visit a local cinema shortly before the blast occurred.

Khan's decision changed in 1940 after he got fired from his job for misbehaving with a senior officer. Madhubala's mother feared ostracism 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 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, situated in Bombay. Chunnilal took an immediate liking towards Madhubala and suggested Khan to visit Bombay for better employment opportunities.

Acting career

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

In the summer of 1941, Khan along with Madhubala and other family members relocated to Bombay and settled down in a cowshed present in the Malad 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 Devika Rani sent for Khan to summon Madhubala for role in Jwar Bhata (1944). Madhubala did not get the role 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 Madhubala along with her father began paying frequent visits to film studios throughout the city in search of work. She was soon signed to a three-year contract with Chandulal Shah's studio Ranjit Movietone, on a monthly payment of ₹300. After shifting into father's friend's house with her family, Madhubala continued her film career, playing minor roles in five of Ranjit's films: Mumtaz Mahal (1944), Dhanna Bhagat (1945), Rajputani (1946), Phoolwari (1946) and Pujari (1946); she was credited as "Baby Mumtaz" in all of them. Eager to establish a foothold in the industry, in November 1946, Madhubala began shooting for two of Mohan Sinha's directorial ventures, Chittor Vijay 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's Daulat, but it was shelved indefinitely (and would not be revived until the next year). Her debut as a leading lady came in Kidar Sharma's drama Neel Kamal, in which she starred opposite debutante Raj Kapoor and Begum Para. 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 up "Madhubala" as her professional name.

Rise to prominence and superstardom (1948–1957)

Madhubala found her first critical and commercial success in the drama Lal Dupatta, which The Indian Express mentioned as a breakthrough for her. Baburao Patel 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 (both 1949). In 1949, Madhubala played a femme fatale in Kamal Amrohi's Mahal—the first horror film of Indian cinema. Several actresses including Suraiya 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 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, 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.