Meena Kumari’s Birthday: The Legend Of The Tragedy Queen Lives On

New Delhi: Meena Kumari was as much an enigma as she is after her death. She would have been 91 today, August 1. Meena Kumari was also a poet who wrote under the pen name Naaz.

Kumari was born with the name Mahjabeen to Ali Bux and Iqbal Begum on August 1, 1933. This was a great disappointment to Ali Bux as he wanted a son. She was the second daughter and had two sisters.

Indian cinema has not known another tragedienne after Meena Kumari. Some people say it was her personal life, full of sadness that was reflected in her on-screen persona. From childhood struggles to fighting diseases and failed relationships, she truly became a tragedy queen. So much so, that she couldn’t even afford her hospital bills when she died.

Born in a Mumbai chawl to a family unable to pay the clinic’s fee, Meena was abandoned at birth. Her real name was Mahajabeen, and her maternal grandmother, who had left home after being widowed and remarried, was the daughter of Rabindranath Tagore’s brother.

In his biography of Meena, Vinod Mehta wrote that Kamla Amrohi, director and screenwriter who directed the movie Pakeezah first met the actor when she was six years old and he was looking for a child artiste. Fourteen years later, in 1952, he married her even though he was already a father of three children. It was an unhappy marriage and they were separated in 1964. Later, she had many failed relationships, and alcoholism took a toll on her health. In her last years, she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis which ultimately caused her untimely demise.

Notably, Meena Kumari was the first actress to win the Filmfare Best Actress Award in 1953. She was nominated for the esteemed award twelve times, out of which she won four filmfare awards.

Her most popular songs such as Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh, Chalte Chalte Yu Hi Koi, Kabhi To Milegi Kahin, Kitna Haseen Hai Mausam and many others, are remembered to this day.