Madhubala

Madhubala

Original Name:
Mumtaz Jahan Begum Dehlavi


Height:  
5′ 4” (1.63 m)

Date of Birth:
14 February 1933

Date of Death:

 23 February 1969

Madhubala was born as Mumtaz Jahan Begum Dehlaviin New Delhi, India on 14 February 1933 in a Muslim family from Afghanistan, member of the Nawabi family of Kabul, branch of the royal dynasty of the Mohammadzai (called also Barakzay), her grandparents were exiled by Afghanistan's army to India. She was the fifth child among eleven children of a conservative Muslim couple.
After Madhubala's father Ataullah Khan lost his job at the Imperial Tobacco Company in Peshawar, the father relocated his family to Mumbai. Young Mumtaz entered the movie industry at the age of nine.



Early career:
Madhubala’s first movie Basant (1942) was a box-office success. She played in it as the daughter of the popular actress Mumtaz Shanti. She went on to act in several movies as a child artist. Actress Devika Rani was impressed by her performances and potential and advised her to assume the name Madhubala, meaning "a woman of honey". Madhubala soon garnered reputation as a reliable professional performer. By the time she entered adolescence, she was being groomed for lead roles.
Her first break came when producer Kidar Sharma cast her opposite Raj Kapoor in Neel Kamal (1947). She was fourteen when she was given a lead role. The film was not a commercial success, but her performance was received well.
During the next two years, she blossomed into a captivating beauty. After her lead role in Bombay Talkies production Mahal in 1949, Madhubala attained immense popularity. Though she was only 16 at the time, her subtle and skilful performance, upstaged her seasoned co-star Ashok Kumar. The movie and the song Aayega Aanewala in it heralded the arrival of two new superstars: Madhubala and playback singer Lata Mangeshkar.

Hollywood Interest:
In the early 1950s as Madhubala became one of the most sought-after actresses in India, she also attracted interest from Hollywood. She appeared in many American magazines such as Theatre Arts. In their August 1952 issue, Madhubala was featured in an extensive article with a full page photo. The piece was entitled: The Biggest Star in the World (And She's Not in Beverly Hills). It presented the actress as a mysterious and ethereal woman of mythical beauty with a legion of fans.
During this period, on a trip to Mumbai and its film studios, the American filmmaker Frank Capra was pampered and hosted by the elite of the Hindi movie industry. However the one star he really wanted to meet was conspicuous by her absence, Madhubala. A meeting to discuss an opening for Madhubala in Hollywood was proposed by Capra. Madhubala's father declined and put an emphatic end to her potential Hollywood film career.

Madhubala as a Star:
Madhubala had many successful films following Mahal. With pressure to secure herself and her family financially, she acted in as many as twenty-four films in the first four years of her adult career. Consequently, critics of the time commented that Madhubala's beauty was greater than her acting ability. This was in part due to careless choices in film roles. As sole support of her family, she accepted work in any film, causing her credibility as a dramatic actress to be seriously compromised. Something she later expressed regret over.
Madhubala as a Star


Madhubala had many successful films following Mahal. With pressure to secure herself and her family financially, she acted in as many as twenty-four films in the first four years of her adult career. Consequently, critics of the time commented that Madhubala's beauty was greater than her acting ability. This was in part due to careless choices in film roles. As sole support of her family, she accepted work in any film, causing her credibility as a dramatic actress to be seriously compromised. Something she later expressed regret over.

Final years and death:
In 1960, Madhubala sought treatment in London as her condition deteriorated. Complicated heart surgery was in its infancy and offered her some hope of a cure. After an examination the doctors there refused to operate, convinced her chances of surviving the procedure were minimal. Their advice was that she should rest and avoid overexertion, and predicted that she could live for another year. Knowing her death was imminent, Madhubala returned to India, but defied the predictions by living for another 9 years.
In 1966, with a slight improvement in her health, Madhubala tried working again opposite Raj Kapoor in the film Chalak. Film media heralded her "comeback" with much fanfare and publicity. Stills from this time showed a still beautiful but pale and wan-looking Madhubala. However, within a few days of filming, her frail health caused her to collapse and the film remained incomplete and unreleased.
When acting was clearly no longer an option, Madhubala turned her attention to film making. In 1969 she was set to make her directorial debut with a film named Farz aur Ishq. However the film was never made, as during the pre production stages, Madhubala finally succumbed to her illness and died on 23 February 1969, shortly after her 36th birthday. She was buried at Santa Cruz cemetery with her diary by her family and husband Kishore Kumar. Madhubala's tomb at the Juhu/Santa Cruz Muslim cemetery was carved in pure marble and aayats from the Quran as well as verses dedicated to her. Controversially, her tomb was demolished in 2010 to make space for new graves.


In her short life, Madhubala made over 70 films. In all three biographies and numerous articles published on her, she has been compared with Marilyn Monroe and has a similarly iconic position in Indian film history. Perhaps because she died before being relegated to supporting or character roles, to this day Madhubala remains one of the most enduring and celebrated legends of Indian cinema. Her continuing appeal to film fans was underlined in a 1990 poll conducted by Movie magazine. Madhubala was voted the most popular vintage Hindi actress of all time, garnering 58% of the votes, and out ranking contemporary legendary actresses Meena Kumari, Nargis, and Nutan.