Mahjabeen Bano

Yet, there are so many other ways to introduce Mahjabeen Bano. She was a breadwinner at 4. Also an actor, a singer, a poet, and a woman unlucky in love.      

Today Meena Kumari is known for her ‘reel-life-meets-real-life’ story of tragic turns. In her time she was also famous for keenly studying Urdu. Self-taught and quite the bookworm, her moniker was not just Indian cinema’s ‘Tragedy Queen’ but also ‘Reading Mahjabeen’. 

Aged 6, Mahjabeen began her career with filmmaker Vijay Bhatt’s Leatherface (1939). Born in colonized India, like many female actors then, she belonged to a Muslim family. She was however cast in several mythological hits like Shri Ganesh Mahima (1950), Lakshmi Narayan (1951) and Veer Ghatotkach (1952). 

It was Vijay Bhatt’s Baiju Bawra (1952) that ushered ‘Baby Meena’ into leading roles. The film ends with her drowning alongside her lover and the scene nearly caused her death. Nonetheless, she was catapulted to stardom and bagged the inaugural Filmfare trophy.

She never used glycerin and shed actual tears on screen. Her tumultuous personal life enhanced Meena Kumari’s sobriquet as a tragedienne. A nikaah with the older, married director Kamal Amrohi at age 19 led to parental rejection. Sadly, as she gained stardom, Amrohi grew controlling and abusive.

Like Meena Kumari, her co-star Dilip Kumar aka ‘Tragedy King’, was also struggling with depression. A renowned psychologist suggested lighthearted roles to him as a cure. In Kohinoor (1960) both typecast actors regaled with excellent comic timing and fight sequences.

In films like Sharda (1957) and Kajal, she performed roles of sincere women faced with uncertain love and tall sacrifices with elan. Off-screen, the actor was socially reticent and her enigma grew. Meena Kumari’s fans eagerly followed stories about her life and emulated her style.

Her big bindi with a bun became all the rage along with her cotton sarees. Many copied her winged-eyeliner. With the actor Madhubala she also contributed to the craze for an Anarkali suit. Off-screen Meena Kumari dressed only in all-white after her marriage fell apart in 1964.

Meena Kumari was once the highest paid female actor in Bombay. Her ability to steer films to success allowed her influence over the casting and outcome of films. At the peak of her career, she worked with actors Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Dharmendra to help their careers along.

Also nominated for Main Chup Rahungi (1962) and Aarti (1962), Meena Kumari won Best Actor for Abrar Alvi’s Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam (1963). Yet, in her personal diary she wrote, “All day long...it is nothing else but Chhoti Bahu’s smiles, hopes, and tribulations…Oh! I am sick of it!” 

In Sahib Biwi...Meena Kumari plays Choti Begum who turns to alcohol after her husband’s repeated rejections. Dabbing eau-de-cologne on her nostrils helped her achieve the inebriated look! The role proved ominous though. Soon, the 32-year-old grew addicted to brandy that was prescribed to cure her insomnia. 

Film historians hint at a romance between Meena Kumari and Dharmendra. He was cast in the biggest hit of 1966, Phool Aur Pathar, at her behest. However, like Shanti in the film, Meena Kumari was exploited in real life. She died lonely and in penury.

She was effortless as Nargis the tawaif/courtesan with-a-heart-of-gold in Pakeezah (1972). Though the film took 14 years to make because of her bitter split with director Kamal Amrohi. A dying Meena Kumari, however, completed the film when actors Nargis and Sunil Dutt mediated.

An ailing Meena Kumari’s footwork in Pakeezah was filmed with actor Padma Khanna. Yet, her feet were immortalized with the lines, “Aapke paon dekhe, bahut haseen hain, inhein zameen par mat utaariega, maile ho jaayenge”. Incidentally, this was her sixteenth and last film with Ashok Kumar.

Aged 38, Meena Kumari succumbed to liver cirrhosis. 
Yet, her ethereal beauty and the unflinchingly clarity 
with which she saw the world live on.

“…Tu ne bhi hum ko dekha humne bhi tujhko dekhaa, 
tu dil hi haar guzra, hum jaan haar guzre.”
                                                     - Naaz | Meena Kumari | Mahjabeen Bano