“Tragedy Queen” Meena Kumari: The Cinderella of Indian Cinema

‘The Chinese Doll’, Meena Kumari, was one of the most enigmatic stars to grace the silver screen. She was known for her strikingly good looks and is often remembered as Cinderella of Indian Cinema. Mahajabeen (the moon faced), a shining orb of excellence lighted many onscreen persona without an inkling of the blisters and scars of sorrow hidden within her golden heart. She captivated audiences with her beautiful, expressive eyes and portrayed strong yet vulnerable women often devastated by romance. She could evoke the complex emotions without uttering a single word. She earned the reputation of being the ‘Tragedy Queen’ for her frequent portrayal of sorrowful and tragic roles. Her medieval beauty, heart-warming smile, droop of her kiss-curl, anguish-laden seductive voice and charismatic screen presence captured millions of hearts. Tragedienne on screen, mimic in real life, poetess in pursuit of love or Mahjabeen to family, Manju to husband and Meena Kumari to millions, the actress continues to be a riddle. 

She was born as Mahjabeen Bano on 1 August 1932 in Meetawala Chawl, Dadar(East), Mumbai. Her parents Ali Bux and Iqbal Begum were struggling artistes. Immediate after birth, she was abandoned at a Muslim orphanage by her father, before a twinge of conscience made him return. To his shock, he found ants crawling creepily all over her body. This haunting childhood incident remained itched in Meena’s subconscious mind. Despite her protestations of wanting to go to school, her parents started peddling her to film studios. She debuted as child artist in Vijay Bhatt’s film ‘Leather Face’ (Farzand-E-Watan-1939) and on her first day she was paid Rupees twenty-five. Bhatt rechristened Mahjabeen as Baby Meena on the sets of ‘Ek Hi Bhool’.

In 1946, Meena Kumari started her adolescent career with ‘Bachchon Ka Khel’. Thereafter, she appeared in several social, mythological and fantasy films like Duniya Ek Sarai, Bichhade Balam, Magroor, Madhosh, Tamasha, Veer Ghatotkach, Shri Ganesh Mahima and Lakshmi Narayan etc. with modest success at the box-office. However, her mentor Vijay Bhatt’s ‘Baiju Bawra’ (1952) catapulted her to the top of Bollywood. A stunning portrayal of a coy girl Gauri, who falls in love with Baiju and his music, gave bashful Meena Kumari the tragic-diva tag. After the mega success of this movie, she became brand ambassador for many prestigious Corporate like Hindustan Lever, Dunlopillo UK etc. The film and trade magazines vied to carry her photogenic face and sylphlike figure on their covers.

Kamal Amrohi was introduced to Meena Kumari on the sets of Tamasha. He offered her a lead role in his shelved movie Anarkali. Meanwhile, she met with a car accident, which left her with a banded left pinky. During her convalescent in a Pune Hospital, love blossomed between Kamal and Meena. They got secretly married on 14 February, 1952, although Kamal was already a married man and had three children. They produced Daaera (1953), an ode to immortalise their own love-story. Kamal was a very possessive and oppressive husband. He tried to set rules for her film career and even allegedly maltreated her. A fairytale romance soon turned sour and she was starved of genuine love and respect.

Starting her crusade as Gauri of ‘Baiju Bawra’, she went on to be the Lalita of ‘Parineeta’ whose emotional attachments are caught in the crossfire of familial acrimony. On betrothal to an old man, young Sheetal of ‘Daaera’ felt suffocated, while Malti of ‘Ek Hi Raasta’ suffered the social brutality and the stigmatized life of a young widow. She was ‘Sharda’, the epitome of the powerless woman in a patriarchal society. Hannah of ‘Yahudi’ was caught in the love tangle built on the lies of a royal prince. A low-cast Chawali in ‘Chaar Dil Chaar Raahen’ banished for her emotional couplings with a higher caste. As Geeta of ‘Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan’, she was an ostracized childless woman pining for motherhood. She looked ethereal in her role as a sensitive and caring nurse Karuna in ‘Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai’.

The 1960s were the most prolific years for Meena Kumari. Her dramatic successes in almost every genre of acting made her the undisputed queen of that era. She would wear her roles like a dress and her ability to emote the spontaneity and fragility that her characters required was unmatched. She proved lucky for most of her first-timer producers, may it be O.P. Ralhan, Panna Lal Maheshwary, Devendra Goyal, Homi Wadia, Talwar, Gurudutt and Prasad Productions as their joint ventures were extremely successful at the box office. At the peak of her career, producers used to wait outside her house. She was the highest-paid actress and the first to buy an Impala car. However, she loathed ostentation and sheeny geniality of the film world.

She was too young and vivacious to be baptized as the ‘Tragedy Queen’. Her cup of life proved to be diminutive, unable to hold all the sorrows that the world put in it. The injuries inflicted upon her by the family, who only saw Meena, a wonderful prodigal performer and the man she loved only saw the beauty to cherish and never realized there was a woman desperately seeking completion of her identity. Her personal life lay in ruins, shattered and smothered by the same machinations that were the fodder of her onscreen story-lines.

Meena was so professionally dexterous that tears came to her naturally in front of the camera and she never used glycerin to shed tears. The neglected and lonely Chhoti Bahu of ‘Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam’ clamouring for her philandering husband’s love, torn apart the fabric of social norms. She used concentrated Eau de Cologne under her nose to support a drooping heavy look. In Chitralekha, Meena was a courtesan with bewitching beauty, of whom the stately prince is smitten. Ashok Kumar, a Yogi oscillating between lust and spirituality, falls for her physical charms. Her exploration of the suffering and scorned women, continued with Aarti, Main Chup Rahungi, Dil Ek Mandir, Benazir, Purnima, Kaajal, Bheegi Raat, Baharon Ki Manzil and Phool Aur Pathar etc.

Apart from serious roles, she could do comic roles with aplomb too. It is difficult to believe that this very devastated woman was once the vivacious Soni of Madhosh and bubbly young Kiran of Tamasha. She got a tremendous sense of humour and her comic timing was impeccable. Kohinoor, a typical fairy tale, had ample comical and funny scenes by Meena Kumari. In Azaad, she looked swashbuckling and pranced gaily with Robinhood Dilip Kumar. She made expressive eyes in the light-hearted Miss Mary, an out-and-out comedy and Akeli Mat Jaiyo, a romantic comedy. She did six films including Shararat and Ilzam, with the boisterous Kishore Kumar.

She was also a poetess of great flair. Poetry was the crutch that Meena Kumari held on to as she hobbled between her career and her tumultuous private life. She wrote in simple language instead of ornate Urdu embellishments and her poetry thrived on strong and vivid imagery. A quintessential actress, with unique metallic tinge voice, perfectly suited for reciting ghazals and nazms. In her own rapturous voice, she rendered eight ghazals in “I write, I recite” album under the baton of Khayyam. She also gave playback in films like Bahen, Duniya Ek Sarai, Piya Ghar Aaja, Bichhade Balam, Pinjre Ke Panchhi and Pakeezah.

Meena Kumari was the recipient of the inaugural Filmfare Best Actress Award for Baiju Bawra(1954). Subsequently, she won the ‘Black Lady’ for Parineeta (1955), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1963) and Kaajal(1966). Nargis, established the ‘Meena Kumari Memorial for the Blind’ in her memory.

Beyond her immense talent and superstardom, she had a tragic love story, which defined ‘Meena Kumari: A Complex or A Paradox. Even today, the name Meena Kumari evokes so many things melodrama, tragedy, pain and loneliness. A beautiful face with tears rolling down the cheeks, she had mastered the tricks of polished & mature histrionics. A cruel destiny put her lily-white soul on the cross of human emotions. Her childhood was lost somewhere; her own people exploited her physically and emotionally, leaving indelible wounds on her tender heart. In fact Dharmendra used her as a ladder, Kamal Amrohi for name and fame and her relatives to mint money. Most of Kamal’s lavish productions like Daeera and Pakeezah as also Kamalistan Studios were financed by Meena.

Reportedly, Amrohi did not want children with Meena because she was not a Syed. The rub became an abrasion, when she was forced to terminate her pregnancy. Her dreams of seeking fulfillment as a woman were inhumanly crushed by the ‘principled’ whims of the man. They were separated in 1964 and the much-publicised split added to Meena's tear-soaked image. She turned insomniac and was put on sleeping pills. Her physician recommended a shot of brandy but within months she was hooked. She used to hide her drink in Dettol bottles. In search of her lost-love, she wandered around Dharmendra, Gulzar and Sawan Kumar Tak. However, the roses and handsome men could not take away her tragedies.

In 1968, she was diagnosed with cirrhosis of liver. She was taken to London/ Switzerland for treatment and on return, contrary to doctors' advice, she resumed work. She found herself caught in a morass of character roles in films namely Jawab, Saat Phere, Mere Apne, Dushman and Gomti Ke Kinare.

Pakeezah, the poetry on celluloid, was her life dream. Kamal had her face smeared with concealers for the close-up shots while Padma Khanna enacted the role physically. After its premier, Meena told him “Chandan, you have made me so beautiful. I can’t believe it”. Kamal Amrohi did not pay her even the token remuneration of one Ashrafi (Guinea), perhaps he wanted to be buried under her debt. When she became comatose, Amorhi sat at her bedside, sobbing, he gently touched her forehead, ran his fingers through her hair. The next moment her heart stopped beating, all he uttered “Manju, Khuda hafiz!!!” Meena's troubled life was abbreviated on the Good Friday i.e. 31 March, 1972. Meena Kumari wished the following prose for her tombstone:

"She ended life with a broken fiddle, with a broken song,

with a broken heart, but not a single regret."