Madhubala| Indian Marilyn Monroe| Google Doodle 2019| Her Life and Film Career| Best Performances

A Tribute to Madhubala- Indian Evergreen Sweet Actress on her 86th Birth day 2019.

       It is Madhubala's 86th Birth day on 14 February 2019. Madhubala was known for her beauty, classic performances onscreen, and much more. She was also known as the beauty with tragedy and the Venus of Indian Cinema. For her exceptional debut, Madhubala was also compared to Hollywood’s sensational star, Marilyn Monroe. At the age of 9 years Madhubala made her acting debut. She has acted in many classic Hindi films. Some of her songs will be cherished for generations.

Her life and Education:

Madhubala

           February 14 is known not just   for Valentine’s Day but this day is   also remembered for another   beautiful reason as well. Bollywood   and fans of Indian cinema   remembers the birthday of the   iconic star, Madhubala. She was   Born on February 14, 1933 as   Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi.   Today it is her 86th birth   anniversary. She was the fifth of   eleven children. Her parents were   Ataullah Khan and Aayesha Begum.   She had ten siblings out of whom   only four survived to adulthood. 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 theatre. 

              Ataullah 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 Aapa as she was the fifth child of her parents. Madhubala spoke Urdu and Hindi at home. She couldn't speak a word of English but yearned to learn the language. 

I am not a spendthrift for the simple reason that I do not know what to spend money on. I do not have a passion for jewellry and clothes. I do not travel. I do not go out much. By God's grace I have all necessities of life and I am happy-Madhubala.

Film Career:

                      Madhubala's first movie was Basant published in the year 1942. It was a box office success. She acted as the daughter to the character played by actress Mumtaz Shanti. She 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. Meanwhile she made several friends there. Around the same time, another child artist Baby Mahjabeen also visited these studios. She 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 . These were Pujari (1946), Phoolwari (1946) and Rajputani (1946). Phoolwari was the third highest grossing film of that year.

                  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. 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).

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. The 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. In August 1952 , 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. It 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. 

               In 1960, Madhubala was at the peak of her career and popularity with the release of Mughal-e-Azam and Barsaat Ki Raat. She did have intermittent releases in the early 1960s. Some of these, such as Jhumroo (1961), Half Ticket (1962) and Sharabi (1964), performed above average at the box office. Madhubala met Kishore Kumar during the shooting of Dhake Ki Malmal (1956). In 1960, Madhubala married him when she was 27 years old. When Madhubala was ill in the late 1950s with the congenital heart disease, Kishore Kumar proposed to her. 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. 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 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. 

Final years and Demise:

                 Madhubala had a ventricular septal defect (a hole in her heart). It was detected while she was shooting for Bahut Din Huwe in Madras in 1954. By 1960, her condition had aggravated. Her sister explained that "Due to her ailment, her body would produce extra blood, so it would spill out from the nose and mouth. The doctor would come home and extract bottles of blood. She also suffered from pulmonary pressure of the lungs. She coughed all the time. Every four to five hours she had to be given oxygen or else would get breathless. She was confined to bed for nine years and was reduced to just bones and skin". 

                    In 1966, with a slight improvement in her health, she made a valiant attempt to complete her work in Chalak opposite Raj Kapoor, which needed only a short spell of shooting, but she could not even survive that strain. When acting was no longer an option, Madhubala turned her attention to film direction. In 1969, she was set to make her directorial debut with the film Farz aur Ishq. However, the film was never made, as during pre-production, she died on 23 February 1969, shortly after her 36th birthday. The cause of death was determined to be the prolonged lung and heart illness. Madhubala's funeral was not attended by Dilip Kumar. It is not known if he was invited. Madhubala was buried at Juhu Muslim Cemetery in Santacruz, Mumbai.

AWARD & Film Debut:

Despite the fact that she was a very popular Actress, Madhubala never received any award. Madhubala will be immortal in the hearts of Film and Cinema lover.

          In a short span of time, the actress earned love and respect. Madhubala will always be remembered for her personality, simplicity, and modestly smiling face in Indian panorama.

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