Golden Era of Bollywood: Remembering MADHUBALA-The Venus of Indian Cinema on her 84th Birth Anniversary

Madhubala (February 14, 1933 - February 23, 1969) the woman who was born on Valentine's Day and became India's sweetheart struggled to find true love all through her life is one of the most gorgeous actresses to have graced the screens of Bollywood.Madhubala is an epitome of beauty, who had an unbeatable charm. She is admired for her looks and work even by the present day generations.
Born as Mumtaz, Madhubala joined the Bombay film industry when she was 9 as her father lost his job. She was one of five children in the family and her earnings helped the family to survive hard times. By the time she turned 14, Madhubala was playing the leading lady (in ‘Neel Kamal’) with Raj Kapoor in 1947.Her first film as child artist was Basant (1942), was a box-office success.As a child actress she went on to play in several movies. Actress Devika Rani was impressed by her performance and potential, and advised her to assume the screen name 'Madhubala'.

She acted in 70 films but most of her films were flops.Only 15 films were hit,still she was the most saught after heroine of her time.
It was the movie Mahal (1949) which made Madhubala a household name. The song Aayega Aanewala made both Madhubala and Lata Mangeshkar superstars.

Following the success of Mahal, Madhubala appeared in the box office
hits Dulari (1949), Beqasoor (1950), Tarana (1951) and Badal (1951).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.
In the mid-1950s, her films including the major ones like Mehboob Khan's Amar (1954) did not do well commercially. However, she bounced back between 1958 and 1960 when she starred in a series of hit films. These include Howrah Bridge, opposite Ashok Kumar where she played the role of an Anglo-Indian Cabaret singer involved in Calcutta's Chinatown underworld. In the song Aaiye Meherebaan from this film, she lip-synced a torch song dubbed by Asha Bhosle which has remained popular to this day. Among other successful films, she played opposite Bharat Bhushan in Phagun; Dev Anand in Kala Pani; Kishore Kumar in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi; and Bharat Bushan again in Barsaat Ki Raat (1960). Then in 1960, she appeared in the magnum opus Mughal-e-Azam.It was the film Mughal-e-Azam that marked what many consider to be Madhubala's greatest and definitive characterization, as the doomed courtesan, Anarkali.

She co-starred with all the popular heroes of that time including Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Rehman, Pradeep Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Dev Anand. She also worked with many top directors including Mehboob Khan (Amar), Guru Dutt (Mr & Mrs '55), Kamal Amrohi (Mahal) and K Asif (Mughal-e-Azam). She also ventured into production and made the film Naata (1955).
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, like Jhumroo (1961), Half Ticket (1962) and Sharabi (1964).Her last film released was Jwala in 1971.
Madhubala married Kishore Kumar in 1960 after Kishore Kumar converted to Islam and took up the name Karim Abdul, and according to Leena Chandavarkar (Kishore's fourth wife): "When she realized Dilip was not going to marry her, on the rebound and just to prove to him that she could get whomsoever she wanted, she went and married a man she did not even know properly.
Madhubala had ventricular septal defect (a hole in her heart) which was detected while she was shooting for Bahut Din Huwe in Madras in 1954.By 1960, her condition aggravated, and her sister explains that "due to her ailment, her body would produce extra blood. So it would spill out from the nose and mouth.
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 February 23, 1969, shortly after her 36th birthday.
My Tribute to her
Song from Neel Kamal the first film as a leading lady,Raj Kapoor also made his debute with this film