(Deepshikha Gautam, Intern Journalist) Today is the birthday of Hindi Cinema veteran Meena Kumari. Meena Kumari who has left the mark on the hearts of people with unmatched beauty and unmatched performance is known as Tragedy Queen. Before appearing in the films, Meena Kumari was named Mazhabi Bano. Meena Kumari wanted to go to school in childhood. But she ignored her wishes for the needs of the family. Meena Kumari started going to the studio at the age of 7.
After this, her childhood was captured between light, camera, action to run the livelihood of the family. Meena Kumari got a chance to work in Vijay Bhatt’s film ‘Leatherface’ as a child artist in the year 1939. She did not get any special recognition from this film. After that, Meena Kumari got real success with the film ‘Baiju Bhawara’ in 1952. In this film, the audience liked Meena Kumari’s pairing with Ashok Kumar.
Meena Kumari won Filmfare Best Actress Award four times for her strong performance. These include ‘Baiju Bawra’, ‘Parineeta’, ‘Sahib biwi aur Gulam’, and ‘Kajal’. Talking about personal life, at the age of 18, Meena Kumari fell in love with Kamaal Amrohi, 14 years older than herself. It is said that Meena Kumari was heartened after seeing the picture of Kamaal Amrohi printed in a magazine. After this, they met each other, Kamaal Amrohi also fell in love.
Already married Kamaal Amrohi fell in love with Meena Kumari. Both the families were against this marriage but the couple got married in 1952 with the help of their friends. After the marriage, there were misunderstandings between the two which led to quarrels. The two decided to separate. After this Meena Kumari’s name started to be associated with Dharmendra. It is said that Meena Kumari was in love with Dharmendra. But in return Dharmendra got infidelity. Meena Kumari could not cope with this shock and started drinking alcohol. Meena Kumari fell asleep in the arms of death on 31 March 1972.