Charming Indian Actress Madhubala

Charming Indian Actress MadhubalaA story version by her younger Sister.

Last week, the gorgeous Madhubala was immortalised when the Indian government released a stamp in her name.

We spoke to her youngest sister, Madhur Bhushan, who gave us a closer insight into Madhubala's life, her romance with Dilip Kumar, her unhappy marriage to Kishore Kumar, and her illness.

Madhur, whose real name is Zahida, is nine years younger than Madhubala. Out of 10 children, she is one of the four still alive.

Over to Madhur:On Madhubala's entry into films:My father, Ataullah Khan, was working in the Imperial Tobacco Company in Peshawar, Pakistan, when he lost his job and decided to come to Mumbai. Madhubala was seven at that time. Her real name was Mumtaz Begum. We called her Mazliappa, as she was the fifth child.

My father started looking for a job. He also took Madhubala to film studios. She got work in Basant (1942) at the age of nine. The leading lady's name was Mumtaz Shanti, so Madhubala was called Baby Mumtaz, when she was a child actress.

She got her first break in Kirdar Sharma's Neel Kamal. Kirdar's wife was supposed to play the lead role but she passed away. As Madhubala knew the dialogues, she became a heroine at the age of 13. From this film onwards, she was credited as Madhubala. The film did not do well, but her work was appreciated.

Madhubala shot to fame in 1949 with Mahal. She was 16. At that time, no one realized that she was sick, not even my father. Madhubala was a healthy child, and very bubbly.

On Madhubala's illness

Madhubala first vomited blood when she was in Chennai shooting for S S Vassan's Bahut Din Huwe (1954). She was treated, and she resumed shooting. Nobody thought she was sick until she fainted on J K Nanda's sets while shooting with Raj Kapoor on Chalack (1957). The film never got completed. That's when the doctor said that she had a hole in her heart.

She was 24 then.She was advised bed rest for three months, but after a month of rest, Madhubala resumed work. Looking at her, one would not say that she was sick. She herself was not ready to believe that she was sick.

Her last film was Mughal-E-Azam, which released in 1960. People think that she worked after that too, but that's not true. She had completed all her films in the 10 years that it took for Mughal-E-Azam to be made.Some movies released after she was bedridden but she was in no condition to work after Mughal-E-Azam. In fact, in some of the scenes, you will notice that she looks pale and sick.

On her family:

People say that my family knew she was ill but we did not treat her; that we hid this fact from producers to get work. But there was no technology back then to check whether she had a hole in a heart, so how would any of us know? We came to know only in 1957. After three years, she went to London for treatment. But it was too late. Madhubala died after nine years.

Everybody blamed my father. But he was protective about his daughters since his sons had died at the ages of five and six. He was an uneducated man but he was like Madhubala's manager. He took care of her work but never interfered on what films she should take up.

He never allowed Madhubala to attend movie premieres because he felt overexposure would kill her career. He always wanted fans to crave for her.

On her romance with Dilip Kumar

The reason Madhubala broke up with Dilip Kumar was B R Chopra's film Naya Daur. not my father.Madhubala had shot a part of the film when the makers decided to go for an outdoor shoot to Gwalior. The place was known for dacoits, so my father asked them to change the location. They disagreed because they wanted a hilly terrain. So my father asked her to quit the film. He was ready to pay the deficit.Chopra asked Dilip Kumar for help.

Dilipsaab and Madhubala were engaged then. Dilipsaab tried to mediate but Madhubala refused to disobey her father.Chopra's production filed a case against her, which went on for a year. But this did not spoil their relationship.Dilipsaab told her to forget movies and get married to him. She said she would marry him, provided he apologised to her father. He refused, so Madhubala left him. That one 'sorry' could have changed her life. She loved Dilipsaab till the day she died.

On Madhubala's marriage to Kishore Kumar

When Madhubala fell sick and was planning to go to London for treatment, Kishore Kumar proposed marriage.My father wanted her to wait and get a clean chit from the London doctors first. But Madhubala married Kishore Kumar out of stubbornness, and anger towards Dilipsaab. They got married in 1960. She was 27 years old.

Once the doctor gave his verdict -- that she would not live for long -- Kishorebhai brought her a house in Mumbai's Carter Road and dumped her there alone, with a nurse and a driver. He would come once in about four months to see her. He did not take her phone calls. Kishorebhai was madly in love with Madhubala but once she returned from London, he dumped her.

He was not a good husband.Madhubala was very depressed because no one came to meet her. Once upon a time, she was hot property in the industry. But when she was bedridden and dying, not a single person met her. Also, she could no longer dress up. She was in night gowns most of the time. She died at the age of 36.- Madhur

i Am Sorry...

i Am Sorry... If I can say I'm sorry, why can't you say that it's Ok?
It was such a while ago, what I did that day.

I apologize one thousand times and still you didn't care
,I knew I knew you better then her

Every time I talk to you, you have to bring that up,
why can't you get over it, it's just a little bump.

Every time I think about it I just want to die,
you seem to get joy from these tears that I cry,

I apologized again last night and all you can say is no,
I try to say that I'm all right the truth is I'm gonna blow.

I can't seem to see why you're still mad,
I'm sorry can't you see,

I didn't see how what I did was bad.
But wait, it just hit me.

I Love You.

From the very beginning, girl's family objected strongly on her dating this guy, saying that it has got to do with family background, & that the girl will have to suffer for the rest of her life if she were to be with him.

Due to family's pressure, the couple quarrelled very often. Though the girl loved the guy deeply, she always asked him: "How deep isyour love for me?" As the guy is not good with his words, this often caused the girl to be very upset. With that & the family's pressure, the girl often vents her anger on him. As for him, he only endured it in silence.

After a couple of years, the guy finally graduated & decided to further his studies overseas. Before leaving, he proposed to the girl:

"I'm not very good with words. But all I know is that I love you. If you allow me, I will take care of you for the rest of my life. As for your family, I'll try my best to talk them round. Will you marry me?" The girl agreed, & with the guy's determination, the family finally gave in & agreed to let them get married. So before he left, they got engaged. The girl went out to the working society, whereas the guy was overseas, continuing his studies. They sent their love through emails & phone calls. Though it was hard, but both never thought of giving up.

One day, while the girl was on her way to work, she was knocked down by a car that lost control. when she woke up, she saw her parents beside her bed. She realized that she was badly injured. Seeing her mum crying, she wanted to comfort her. But she realized that all that could come out of her mouth was just a sigh. she had lost her voice....

The doctor says that the impact on her brain has caused her to lose her voice. Listening to her parents' comfort, but with nothing coming out from her, she broke down. During the stay in hospital, besides silence cry,..it's still just silence cry that accompanied her. Upon reaching home, everything seems to be the same. Except for the ringing tone of the phone. Which pierced into her heart everytime it rang. She does not wish to let the guy know & not wanting to be a burden to him, she wrote a letter to him saying that she does not wish to wait any longer.

With that, she sent the ring back to him. In return, the guy sent millions & millions of reply, countless of phonecalls,.. all the girl could do, besides crying, is still crying.... The parents decided to move away, hoping that she could eventually forget everything & be happy.

With a new environment, the girl learns sign language & started a new life. Telling herself everyday that she must forget the guy. One day, her friend came & told her that he's back. She asked her friend not to let him know what happened to her. Since then, there wasn't anymore news of him.

A year has passed & her friend came with an envelope, containing a invitation card for the guy's wedding. The girl was shattered. When she open the letter, she saw her name in it instead. When she was about to ask her friend what's going on, she saw the guy standing in front of her.

He used sign language to tell her "I've spent a year to learn sign language. Just to let you know that I've not forgotten our promise. Let me have the chance to be your voice. I Love You." With that, he slipped the ring back into her finger. The girl finally smiled.