Meena Kumari (Mahajabeen Bano)(Hindi)

 Meena Kumari 

(Mahajabeen Bano)(Hindi)

Born:

Mahjabeen Bano

August 1, 1932(1932-08-01)

Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India

Died:

March 31, 1972 (aged 39)

Bombay, Maharashtra, India

Childhood

Mahjabeen Bano was the third daughter of Ali Baksh and Iqbal Begum; Khursheed and Madhu were her two elder sisters. At the time of her birth, her parents were unable to pay the fees of Dr. Gadre, who had delivered her, so her father left her at a Muslim orphanage, however, he picked her up after a few hours.

Her father, a Sunni Muslim, was a veteran of Parsi theater, played harmonium, taught music, and wrote Urdu poetry. He played small roles in films like Id Ka Chand and composed music for films like Shahi Lutere.

Her mother, Prabhwati Devi, was the second wife of Ali Baksh. Before meeting and then marrying Ali Baksh, she was a stage actress and dancer, under the stage name, Kamini. After marriage, she converted from Hinduism to Islam, and changed her name to Iqbal Begum.

(It is said that Prabhwati Devi's mother, Hem Sundari, had been married into the Tagore family, but she was disowned by that family after being widowed.)

Career

Early work

When Mahjabeen was born, Ali Bakhsh aspired to get roles as an actor in Rooptara Studios. At the urging of his wife, he got Mahjabeen too into movies despite her protestations of wanting to go to school. Young Mahjabeen is said to have said, "I do not want to work in movies; I want to go to school, and learn like other children."

As Mahjabeen embarked on her acting career at the age of 7, she was renamed Baby Meena. Farzand-e-Watan or Leatherface (1939) was her first movie, which was directed for Prakash Studios by Vijay Bhatt. She became practically the sole breadwinner of her family during the 1940s. Her early adult acting, under the name Meena Kumari, was mainly in mythological movies like Veer Ghatotkach (1949), Shri Ganesh Mahima (1950), and fantasy movies like Alladin and The Wonderful Lamp (1952).

Breakthrough

Meena Kumari, (here with Rehman), performed a landmark role, as Choti Bahu, in Abrar Alvi's, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, 1962

Meena Kumari gained fame with her role as a heroine in Vijay Bhatt's Baiju Bawra (1952). This heroine always negated herself for the material and spiritual advancement of the man she loved and was even willing to annihilate herself to provide him the experience of pain so that his music would be enriched. She became the first actress to win the Filmfare Best Actress Award in 1953 for this performance.

Meena Kumari highly successfully played the roles of a suffering woman in Parineeta (1953), Daera (1953), Ek Hi Raasta (1956), Sharda (1957), and Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi (1960). Though she cultivated the image of a tragedienne, she also performed commendably in a few light-hearted movies like Azaad (1955), Miss Mary (1957), Shararat (1959), and Kohinoor (1960).

One of her best known performance was of an alcoholic wife in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), which was produced by Guru Dutt. In one memorable scene, the heroine, Choti Bahu, dresses for her husband, providing a poignant presentation of a woman's expectations and sexual desire.

At that time, Meena Kumari herself was on a road to gradual ruin in her own personal life. Like her character, Choti Bahu, she began to drink heavily, though she carried on. In fact, in 1962, she made history by being nominated for three Filmfare Best Actress Awards for her roles in Aarti, Main Chup Rahungi, and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. She won the award for her role in Aarti.

There are some eerie commonalities between the lives of Choti Bahu and Meena Kumari: The estranged marital relationship, the taking to drinking, the seeking of younger male company, and the craving to be understood and loved by all.

Later work

For four more years, Meena Kumari performed admirably in Dil Ek Mandir (1963), Kaajal (1965), and Phool Aur Patthar (1966). However, she relied more and more on intimate relationships with younger men like Dharmendra, and often dulled her senses with liquor. She spent the last years of her life playing the doomed woman. Because of heavy drinking, she increasingly lost her good looks, and began playing character roles in B grade movies like Jawab (1970) and Dushmun (1972).

She developed an attachment to writer-lyricist Gulzar and acted in his directorial debut, Mere Apne (1971), Meena Kumari presented a strong portrayal of an elderly woman who got caught between two street gangs of frustrated, unemployed youth and got killed, her death making the youth realize the futility of violence. In 1972, she recognized that she had a limited time left on this earth, and so she went out of her way to complete at the earliest the cult classic, Pakeezah (1972). Initially, after its release in February 1972, Pakeezah opened to a lukewarm response from the public; however, after Meena Kumari's death less than two months later, people flocked to see it.

Throughout her life, Meena Kumari had a love-hate relationship with movies.

Besides being a top-notch actress, she was a talented poetess, and recorded a disc of her Urdu poems, I write, I recite with music by Khayyam.

Death

Three weeks after the release of Pakeezah, Meena Kumari became seriously ill, and passed away on March 31, 1972 of cirrhosis of the liver. At her death, she was in more or less the same financial circumstance as her parents at the time of her birth: It is said that when she died in a nursing home, there was no money to pay her hospital bills.

Relationship with Kamal Amrohi

In 1952, on the sets of one of her films, Meena Kumari fell in love with and married film director, Kamal Amrohi, who was fifteen years elder than her and was already married. She wrote about Amrohi:

Dil saa jab saathi paya

Bechaini bhi woh saath le aaya When I found someone like my heart

He also brought sorrow with him

Soon after marriage, Kamal Amrohi and Meena Kumari produced a film called Daera (1953), which was based on their love story. They also planned another film, Pakeezah. However, it took sixteen years (1956 to 1972) before Pakeezah reached the silver screen. (The scenes in Pakeezah's popular song, Inhi logon ne, were originally filmed in black and white, and were later reshot in color.)

It is said that Amrohi did not want children with Meena Kumari because she was not a Syed. They raised Kamal Amrohi's son, Tajdaar, who was greatly attached to his chhoti ammi (younger mother).

Due to their strong personalities, however, Meena Kumari and Kamal Amrohi started to develop conflicts, both professionally and in their married life. Their conflicts, separation in 1960, and ultimate divorce in 1964 highly impacted Meena Kumari, who, once a happy woman, became depressed and found solace in heavy drinking.They remarried, but Meena Kumari had become an alcoholic by then.

She expressed her sorrows prominently in her poetry. About Kamal Amrohi she wrote:

Tum kya karoge sunkar mujhse meri kahani

Belutf zindagi ke kisse hain pheeke pheeke Why do you want to listen to my story: Colourless tales of a joyless life

At the time of the divorce, she wrote:

Talaak to de rahe ho Nazare kahar ke saath

Jawani bhi mere lauta do Mehar ke saath You are divorcing me with rage in your eyes/ Return to me, also, my youth along with the bridal-price!

She was inclined towards Dharmendra and had a close intimate relationship with him.

Partial filmography

• Ardhangini
• Baharon Ki Manzil (1968 film) (1968)
• Baiju Bawra (1952 film) (1952)
• Footpath (1953)
• Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962)
• Pyar Ka Sagar (1961 film) (1961)
• Phool Aur Patthar
• Mere Apne(1971)
• Pakeezah (1972)
• Dushman (1972)
• Parineeta
• Kaajal
• Dayra
• Jawaab (1970)
• Kohinoor
• Dil Ek Mandir
• Chitralekha (1964 film)
• Bahu Begum
• Dil apna aur preet paraayi
• Bandish
• Satta Bazaar
• Bhabhi ki choodiyan
• Main Chup Rahoongi
• Yahudi (1958)

1. Gomti Ke Kinare (1972) .... Ganga
2. Pakeezah (1972) .... Nargis/Sahibjaan

... aka Pure Heart ... aka Pure One (India: English title) ... aka The Pure

1. Dushmun (1971) .... Malti R. Din
2. Mere Apne (1971) .... Anandi Devi/Auaji (Aunt)
3. Jawab (1970) .... Vidya
4. Saat Phere (1970)

1. Abhilasha (1968) .... Mrs. Meena Singh

... aka Desire (International: English title: informal literal title)

1. Baharon Ki Manzil (1968) .... Nanda S. Roy/Radha Shukla
2. Bahu Begum (1967) .... Zeenat Jahan Begum
3. Chandan Ka Palna (1967) .... Shobha Rai
4. Majhli Didi (1967) .... Hemangini Devi (Youngest Daughter-In-Law)
5. Noorjehan (1967)
6. Phool Aur Patthar (1966) .... Shanti Devi
7. Pinjre Ke Panchhi (1966) .... Heena Sharma
8. Bheegi Raat (1965)
9. Jadui Angoothi (1965)

... aka Magic Ring (India: English title)

1. Kaajal (1965) .... Madhavi
2. Purnima (1965) .... Purnima V. Lal
3. Maain Bhi Ladki Hun (1964) .... Rajni
4. Benazir (1964) .... Benazir
5. Chitralekha (1964) .... Chitralekha
6. Gazal (1964) .... Naaz Ara Begum
7. Sanjh Aur Savera (1964) .... Gauri
8. Akeli Mat Jaiyo (1963) (as Meenakumari) .... Seema
9. Dil Ek Mandir (1963) .... Sita
10. Kinare Kinare (1963)

... aka On the Shore

1. Aarti (1962) .... Aarti Gupta
2. Main Chup Rahungi (1962) .... Gayetri

... aka I Shall Remain Silent

1. Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) .... Chhoti Bahu

... aka King, Queen and Slave ... aka Master, Mistress and Servant (India: English title: informal literal title)

1. Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan (1961) .... Geeta, Shyam's wife
2. Pyaar Ka Saagar (1961) .... Radha/Rani B. Gupta

... aka Pyar Ka Sagar (India: Hindi title: alternative transliteration)

1. Zindagi Aur Khwab (1961) .... Shanti
2. Bahaana (1960)

... aka Bahaana (India: Hindi title: alternative transliteration)

1. Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai (1960) .... Karuna
2. Kohinoor (1960)

1. Ardhangini (1959) .... Chhaya
2. Chand (1959)
3. Char Dil Char Raahein (1959) .... Chavli

... aka Four Faces of India (UK) ... aka Four Hearts, Four Roads

1. Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan (1959) .... Ratna
2. Jagir (1959)
3. Madhu (1959)
4. Satta Bazaar (1959) .... Jamuna

... aka Satta Bazar (India: Hindi title: alternative transliteration)

1. Shararat (1959)
2. Farishta (1958)
3. Sahara (1958) .... Leela
4. Savera (1958)

... aka Dawn

1. Yahudi (1958) .... Hannah
2. Miss Mary (1957) .... Miss Mary/Laxmi
3. Sharada (1957) .... Sharada Ram Sharan
4. Bandhan (1956)
5. Ek-Hi-Rasta (1956) .... Malti

... aka The Only Way

1. Halaku (1956) .... Niloufer Nadir
2. Mem Sahib (1956) .... Meena
3. Naya Andaz (1956)

... aka The New Style

1. Shatranj (1956)
2. Adil-E-Jahangir (1955)

... aka Adil-E-Jehangir (India: Hindi title: alternative transliteration)

1. Azaad (1955) .... Shobha

... aka Free (International: English title)

1. Bandish (1955) .... Usha Sen

... aka Musical Score

1. Rukhsana (1955)
2. Baadbaan (1954)
3. Chandni Chowk (1954) .... Zarina
4. Ilzam (1954)
5. Daera (1953) .... Sheetal

... aka The Division

1. Dana Paani (1953)
2. Do Bigha Zamin (1953) .... Thakurain

... aka Do Bigha Zameen (India: Bengali title) ... aka Two Acres of Land (UK: subtitle)

1. Foot Path (1953) .... Mala
2. Naulakha Haar (1953) .... Bijma

... aka A Necklace Worth Nine Lakhs

1. Parineeta (1953) .... Lalita

... aka The Fiancee (International: English title)

1. Aladdin Aur Jadui Chirag (1952)

... aka Aladdin & the Wonderful Lamp (India: English title)

1. Baiju Bawra (1952) .... Gauri

... aka Baiju the Poet

1. Tamasha (1952) .... Kiran
2. Hanumaan Pataal Vijay (1951)
3. Lakshmi Narayan (1951)

... aka Laxmi Narayan (India: Hindi title: alternative transliteration)

1. Madhosh (1951) .... Soni
2. Sanam (1951)
3. Anmol Ratan (1950)
4. Hamara Ghar (1950)

... aka Our House

1. Magroor (1950)

... aka Proud (International: English title)

1. Shri Ganesh Mahima (1950)

1. Veer Ghatotkach (1949) .... Surekha

... aka Brave Ghatotkach ... aka Veer Ghatotkach yane surekha haran (India: Hindi title: long title)

1. Bichchade Balam (1948)
2. Piya Ghar Aaja (1947)
3. Bachchon Ka Khel (1946)
4. Duniya Ek Sarai (1946)
5. Lal Haveli (1944)
6. Pratiggya (1943)
7. Garib (1942)
8. Bahen (1941) (as Baby Meena) .... Bina, as a child

... aka My Sister (India: English title)

1. Kasauti (1941)
2. Nai Roshni (1941)
3. Ek Hi Bhool (1940)

... aka The Only Mistake

1. Pooja (1940)

1. Leatherface (1939)

... aka Farzande Watan (India: Hindi title)

• Meena Kumari'Italic text

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Awards

• 1953 Filmfare Best Actress Award - Baiju Bawra

• 1954 Filmfare Best Actress Award - Parineeta

• 1962 Filmfare Best Actress Award - Aarti (1962 film)

• 1965 Filmfare Best Actress Award - Kaajal

Nominations

• 1955 Filmfare Nomination as Best Actress - Azaad

• 1958 Filmfare Nomination as Best Actress - Sahara (1958 film)

• 1959 Filmfare Nomination as Best Actress - Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan

• 1962 Filmfare Nomination as Best Actress - Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam

• 1962 Filmfare Nomination as Best Actress - Main Chup Rahungi

• 1963 Filmfare Nomination as Best Actress - Dil Ek Mandir

• 1966 Filmfare Nomination as Best Actress - Phool Aur Patthar

• 1972 Filmfare Nomination as Best Actress - Pakeezah^[1]

Biography

One of the first biography of Meena Kumari was written just after her death by Vinod Mehta in the year 1972. It was simply titled Meena Kumari.