The immortal magic of Madhubala
By M. L. Dhawan

BORN in abject poverty, the fifth of her Pathan father’s brood of eleven children, little Mumtaz started her film career in 1941 playing the ‘baby’ in a number of films. In 1949, fate presented her with the super-hit Mahal. With aayega aanewala Mumtaz Attaullah Khan became famous as the celebrated Madhubala. People fell in love with her with the release of this film. Madhubala was the embodiment of the classic Muslim beauty. Her face, and those unforgettable features - were chiselled to perfection. And then there was that million dollar smile which she loved to flash. Her beauty had an angelic quality. She had one of those rare faces that can look gorgeous with little or no make-up. She did not need any accessories or adornments. She was all smouldering sensuality. She was every man’s dream. Forget the public, even her heroes were enamoured with her.

Madhubala was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful stars to have dazzled in the Hindi film industry. She was brilliant in films such as Madhubala, Nirala, Aaram, Nadaan, Arman, Howrah Bridge, Shreen Farhad, Gateway of India, Boy Friend, Chalti Ka Naam Gadi, Phagun, Badal, Saqi, Tarana, Amar etc. In her films, she earned rave reviews for her assured performances and a permanent place in the movie history. Stalwarts like Dilip Kumar and Ashok Kumar felt uncomfortable in her presence.

In a scene of a one-minute speech in Sangdil, Dilip Kumar, acting opposite Madubala, had to give 16 retakes. Wearing a beard and a turban and dressed as an astrologer, Dilip Kumar faltered in a tender romantic scene in which he sought the love of the beautiful Madhubala.

In a sequence shot from Amar, Madhubala had a difference of opinion with Dalip Kumar, who disregarding her entreaties to remain in the house, left it in anger. Following Dilip down the steps of her home Madhubala sang Jaaney wale se mulaqaat na honey payee. Madhuwala surprised everyone by crying throughout the picturisation of the song. Even the director Mehboob Khan first frowned at her as she was not supposed to weep in the scene but later on he smiled when he found that it had improved the picturisation of the shot. No other heroine ever looked so heart-breakingly beautiful with tears in her eyes as did Madhubala.

Few films make history and Madhubala’s one such film was Mughal-e-Azam. Madhubala not only made a mesmerising Anarkali but what gave her an edge over Bina Rai who also played the title role in S. Mukerji’s Anarkali was the fact that Madhubala actually began to empathise with the courtesan. Torn between her love for prince Saleem (Dalip Kumar) and her duty as a subject of king Akbar (Prithvi Raj Kapoor), she capitalised on every chance to display her prowess. In a scene in Mughal-e-Azam where Akbar walks in on Saleem and Anarkali, the expression of fear on Madhubala’s face has to be seen to be believed. Her drooping eyelids convey the dying of all her ambitions to become the Malika-e-Hindustan. Madhubala could communicate more with her delicately raised eyebrows than most performers could with a raised voice. She knew the knack of conveying her character’s inner-most feelings. Her eyes were always so eloquent. In almost every frame of Mughal-e-Azam, she seemed to speak through those lovely, limpid eyes of hers.

She was brilliant at expressing emotional anguish with a voice that could be as tender as rose petals and as wounding as a whiplash. In another scene of Mughal-e-Azam, Madhubala reached the apogee of her career when with a voice seeped in sorrow and redolent with repressed fears she said, "Anarkali ne shehanshah ko apna khoon maaf kiya", when Akbar pronounced death sentence for her. Never has the human incapability for communication been so effectively communicated.

In the long period of ten years that K. Asif took to complete Mughal-e-Azam, Madhubala’s own love story had run a tragic course. She and Dilip Kumar were all set to tie the knot when Dalip Kumar was forced by circumstances to give evidence against Madhubala in the court where B. R. Chopra sued her for a breach of contract. This destroyed her retalionship with Dilip Kumar as her stand was legally untenable.

After this betrayal, Madhubala was bitterly disappointed. About that time doctors detected a hole in her heart which, they feared, would restrict her movements and could cut short her life. She was cautioned against any over-exertion. However, she was determined to excel in Mughal-e-Azam and ever insisted on doing a shot which required her to run quite a distance. As the camera followed her, she made the hundred- metre dash knowing it could cost her life. Ajit, her co-star in the film, recalled that "when she collapsed on the floor at the end of the shot there were tears in every eye". With Mughal-e-Azam, Madhubala scaled the summit of success but her pain-wrecked body cut short her career. For nine long years she lingered on, inspite of her illness. But nobody could stop the inevitable death. Though Madhubala died long ago in 1969, even today her breath-taking beauty is remembered with fondness and admiration. She was one of those sparkling stars from the past who came, saw and conquered the hearts of millions of cinegoers. How else does one explain her black and white photographs selling the most these days? Why does one see her photographs vying for attention with those of Madhuri Dixit, Karishma Kapoor, Tabu, Kajol and Rani Mukherjee. Her beauty has become a legend.