MADHUBALA...BEAUTY BEYOND COMPARE!!!!

When Devika Rani christened Baby Mumtaz into MADHUBALA she was sure indeed as to what she was doing becoz this dew fresh gilr was nothing less than a sweet honeypot...As a matter of fact her very name 'MADHUBALA' actually means a girl who is as sweet as honey.

Even though she shocked one and all when she passed away when she was just 36 years old due to a complicated heart problem yet the legacy she left behind in the form of 70 classic evergreen films is fondly cherished even today exactly 40 years since she has passed away and you can be rest assured that her beauty and talent is going to be remembered over the ages evertime anyone sits down to watch her classic films that are as fresh as they were when they were released first time.

Not many of you would know that Mumtaz Jehan Begumi Dehlvi or MADHUBALA as she was better know in the film industry was actually born on Valentine Day. Yes indeed the Queen of Romance & The original Venus in India that's MADHUBALA for you was born on 14th Feb in 1933 into a poverty ridden family that lived well below the poverty line. As the 5th child in a family of 11 she was destined to change the fortunes of the family. Who could have imagined that her stay on planet eath would be soo short as she passed away on 23rd Feb barely 10 days after her 36th birthday.

Stepping into the film industry in 1942 as a child artiste in Basant she kept the name Baby Mumtaz. She was poised to play Dilip Kumar's heroine in Jwar Bhata in 1944 but that did not come about and eventually she had to wait till 1947 to get her break opposite Raj Kapoor in Neel Kamal. It was with this film that Baby Mumtaz was tucked away as MADHUBALA emerged on teh horizon as a heroine.Right since then there was absolutely no looking back for this ravishing beauty who was poised to conquer Indian cinema with both her talent and beauty.

Even though she was alive for barely 22 years since she made her debut in Neel Kamal it speaks volumes that she actually managed to have 70 released films to her credit even though she was suffering from a heart problem for a good part of her life making her fragile and prone to illness.What is more most of her films are cherished fondly even today be they Mughal-E-Azam, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Neel Kamal, Mahal, Howrah Bridge, Phagun, Kala Pani & Jhumroo to metion just a few gems. Call it sheer irony that her last film Jwala was actually released in 1971 over to years since her untimely demise.

Everyone knows only too well that while MADHUBALA and Dilip Kumar were madly in love and wanted to get married her father fearing the loss of his golden goose left no stone unturned  to sabotage the romance and finally put an end to it even if in the bargain her reputation was torn to shreds in an ugly court case filed by B.R.Chopra during Naya Daur where MADHUBALA was the original heroine opposite Dilip Kumar and Ajit the same pairing as Mughal -E-Azam. But her father forced her out of the project and B.R.Chopra sued her for damages where Dilip Kumar stood up for her and under oath pledged his love for her shocking one and all with his blunt admission.

On the other hand Bharat Bhushan was smitten by her and was keen to marry her but she settled for her Jhumru co-star Kishore Kumar and ended up wedding him in 1960 after he terminated his marriage to Ruma Devi to take her as his second wife.

Looking back there is absolutely no denying that indeed MADHUBALA was most certainly one of the most beautiful and graceful actresses that Indian Cinema has ever had...No wonder she is always referred to as the original 'VENUS IN INDIAN CINEMA while all subsequent beauties are compared by the MADHUBALA barometer to see how beautiful and stunning they actually are....God Bless her Soul!!!

BY: THE LIP

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