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Late Indian actress Meena Kumari is back in the headlines after 50 years of leaving for her heavenly abode. Movie lovers will now be able to relive and take a glance into the life of the late actress, popularly dubbed as ‘The Tragedy Queen’ of Hindi cinema.
The life of the late actress will be chronicled in a biopic soon which will be helmed by ace fashion designer Manish Malhotra. Reportedly, Kriti Sanon is finalised to play The Tragedy Queen on the big screen.
Meena Kumari, born as Mahjabeen Bano on August 1, 1933, to Ali Bux and Iqbal Begum, remained unmatched and incomparable in her career spanning 33 years. The late actress still is remembered for her beauty and superlative talent. With her acting prowess, she carved a niche for herself in the film industry.
As Indian cinema celebrates the 90th birth anniversary of the late actress, today, remembering ‘The Tragedy Queen,’ here we bring some of interesting and lesser known facts about her.
Early Life
Born to a poor family of theatre artists, her father couldn’t even afford the expenses of her delivery and left her at an orphanage. However, he later brought her back after a few hours after a change of heart.
Though she was least interested for working in movies, she made her debut as a child artist at the age of 4 in Leatherface. She was paid Rs 25 for working in the movie and got her screen name Baby Meena. She went on to become the breadwinner of her family.
Education
Though she was admitted to a regular school, the demands of work frequently interrupted her studies. Her education was the result of home tuition and self education. She never formally attended any school.
Meena Kumari related to Rabindranath Tagore
Meena’s father Ali Bux was a theatre veteran. He also wrote Urdu poetry and worked in films in small roles. Meanwhile, her mother Iqbal begum was a Bengali Christian converted to Islam. Before conversion she was Prabhawati Devi. Meena’s grandmother, Hem Sundari Tagore was the daughter of Rabindranath Tagore’s brother.
Baby Meena to Meena Kumari
As a child artist, Meena worked in several movies between 1939- 1944. At the age of 13 years, Baby Meena became Meena Kumari and started doing adult roles as lead actress.
Married life and family
Meena Kumari married secretly to Kamal Amrohi on February 14, 1952. Amrohi was 15 years older to Meena and it was his second marriage. The duo first met in 1938 when Amrohi was searching for a child artist. Years later, they got introduced through Ashok Kumar. Afterwards he offered her a lead role for a movie. In 1951, when Meena was returning to Mahabaleshwar, her car met with an accident. Following the major crash, she was admitted in a hospital for a long time. During that time, Amrohi visited her regularly. The love affair continued for 4 months and later they got married. However, they kept their marriage a secret as Amrohi was married and had three children from his first wife. However, the news was leaked and Meena’s father recommended a divorce, but she didn’t go with the recommendation.
Why Meena Kumari hide her left hand?
Cine lovers who have watched Meena Kumari’s movies in the later phase must have noticed that she hide her left hand. In the major crash in 1951, the little finger of her left hand was broken and it appeared crooked. Thus, she avoided showing her left hand from the camera and covered it with saree or dupatta.
Why The Tragedy Queen?
In her 20s and 30s, she played strong vulnerable character. The journey and tragedy of her real-life reflected in her onscreen characters. While performing her roles, she didn’t require glycerine to bring tears in her eyes.
Became addicted to drinking
After 11 years of troubled marriage, in 1964, she took divorce from Amrohi. By then she was already into depression and her doctor suggested her taking small peg of brandy once in a while to help her sleep better. However, it became an addiction and she started drinking heavily.
Not into worldly desires
Meena Kumari enjoyed stardom and was one of the most successful actresses of her time. However, even after achieving stardom, she was not into worldly desires. Born in a poor family, she used to eat stale rotis during her childhood. Even after becoming a big star, she didn’t find awkward in eating the same. Even she gave away all her possessions to her relatives and died in the servant’s quarter of a mansion she gifted to her sister.
End of journey
Excessive drinking took a toll on her health. By 1968, her health condition deteriorated terribly. She went to London and Switzerland for treatment. She was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis and she never recovered. In less than two months of release of her most loved film, Pakkezah, she passed away on March 31, 1972. She was only 38 years old.
