It’s a common belief that the golden era of Indian cinema was undoubtedly the fifties. It was the age of Rajkapoor, Dilipkumar, Devanand, Gurudutt, Ashokkumar, Shammikapoor, Sunil Dutt, Raaj kumar, and many more. It was also the age of Nargis, Nimmi, Waheeda Rehman, Meena Kumari, Nutan, Vyjayntimala, and of course the Venus incarnate Madhubala.
Madhubala, loosely translated into English means ‘a young girl as sweet as honey.' Madhubala’s real name was Mumtaz Begum Jehan Dehlaviborn to one Ataullah Khan. She was the fifth child in a family of eleven children. Baby Mumtaz’s childhood was spent in abject poverty as her father being coachman in Delhi found it difficult to earn enough to feed his large family.
A chance meeting with a Muslim holy man turned out to be a source of devine revelation for Ataullah Khan. The holy man predicted that little Mumtaz was no average next door girl but one destined to attain fame and fortune. The holy man, however cautioned that this little bundle of vivaciousness would not be able to lead a happy life and would probably die at an young age.
As is natural with most human beings, the good news was lapped up eagerly and the bad news was tucked away in some remote recesses of Ataullah Khan’s now scheming mind. Armed with the holy man’s revelation that life will soon change for the better, Ataullah Khan decided to test his luck in the entertainment capital of India, Mumbai.
The seed of ambition was thus sown and Baby Mumtaz soon started dreaming of becoming a movie star. As luck would have it Baby Mumtaz immediately bagged a role as a child artiste at the age of 8 years in the Bombay Talkies film, Basant(1942).
Devika Rani who owned Bombay Talkies was so smitten by young Mumtaz’s beauty that she suggested a change of name for greater acceptablility among the masses. Devika Rani decided that the name Madhubala would do justice to her ethereal beauty and that’s how Mumtaz turned Madhubala in Devika's next home production Jwar Bhatta opposite another new comer Dilip Kumar. The film for some reason was shelved and young madhubala went back to acting in various other films as a child artiste. At the age of 14, her first film as a heroine to be actually released was Neel Kamal opposite Raj Kapoor.
Nature was kind to her, and young Madhubala began to look more and more beautiful as she grew up and at the age of 18 the transformation from a chubby young lovable girl to a strikingly beautiful young woman was complete. Where ever she went, it appeared as though the vicinity around her was charged with some kind of Venusian magnetism. People, busy discussing the plots for their next film would abruptly stop in their tracks to see who the Apsara was that just passed by. It was not beauty alone, it was the irreprisible magneticism she possessed that made heads both male and female turn, of course for different reasons. Suffice to say that wherever Madhubala went, admiration and envy were not far behind.
Ataullah Khan and his family were, now, well settled thanks to his fifth child Mumtaz. He also took upon himself the task of professionally managing her affairs as her secretary, manager, and father all rolled into one.
If Madhubala was unimaginably beautiful, she was also infinitely romantic. She had lost her heart and soul to the original Superstar Dilip Kumar. Coming from a poor family, and not receiving much in terms of formal education, Madhubala’s social status was in no way dissimilar to that of the suave and smooth talking Dilip Kumar who worked in a british army canteen and later set up a small fruit shop prior to his tryst with Bollywood, thanks once again to Devika Rani
Though Dilip Kumar was romantically linked with Kamini Kaushal, Vyjantimala, and a few others, it is said that he only had eyes for Madhubala. They became very intimate and their romance lingered for a good nine years. Madhubala doted on Dilip Kumar and every one presumed they would get married and settle down.
If the first half of the prediction had come true, then it was inevitable that the second half also would come true. “ Jab Qhuda deta hai toh chappad phaad ke deta hai, aur jab leta hai toh chappad phaadke…”
By now, Ataullah Khan had become increasingly manipulative. He also feared that his golden goose of a daughter would be leaving him soon to be in the arms of her lover, and future husband, if he didn’t do something about it… and true to his style of functioning, he did.
Madhubala and Dilip Kumar were scheduled to go for an outdoor shooting stint for BR Chopra’s new film Naya Daur. Having already signed for the movie, Ataullah Khan refused to send Madhubala for the outdoor shoot.on the pretext that he didn’t trust Dilip Kumar. What followed was an acrimonious lawsuit in which, for some reason still unclear, Dilip Kumar deposed against Madhubala. It was Vyjayntimala who ultimately bagged the role. That one act of Dilip Kumar broke the heart of Madhubala for ever. She couldn’t get over the fact that Dilip Kumar could do such a thing to her. She took this episode too seriously to heart and her health began to fail.
Then came the love epic Mughal-e-Azam(1960) and for much of its shooting, the lead pair were not on speaking terms and never lingered around for even a moment once the director called out ‘Cut.’ It was ironical that the greatest indian love story was picturised on a lead pair who had broken off and who never spoke a single word to each other on the sets. It’s a tribute to the acting skills of Madhubala and Dilip Kumar, and to their professionalism that no one without the inside information would have believed after watching Mughal-e-Azam that such a great film could ever have been made with an embattled lead pair who never saw eye to eye.
Madhubala’s health continued to deteriorate and she began coughing blood but her medical condition was kept a closely guarded secret. She continued to act in films, but she had lost her zest for life. She received many marriage proposals notably among them were Bharat Bhushan, Pradeep Kumar, and the much married Kishore Kumar. She chose Kishore Kumar(or rather Karim Abdul) because of his comic vein, but it soon turned out to be a loveless marriage as her in-laws did not accept her, and her own medical condition was becoming worse by the day.
She passed away at an young age of 36, disappointed, disillusioned, and unhappy, fulfilling the prophecy. In a way that has made her immortal, because our minds will always carry the image of an young and radiant Madhubala… It was probably predestined that such a divine beauty would never be allowed to grow old and haggard, and the only way that could happen was for her to die young.
mbfarookh
