MADHUBALA NOT ONLY TOOK BEAUTY TO MYTHICAL REALMS BUT WAS ALSO A VERSATILE ARTIST

By Harsh Thakor 

No Indian actress penetrated beauty in such mythical or divinic proportions as Madhubala. Her face was more captivating than the brightest of stars shining or moonlight glimmering, like a creature of a divine intervention. Unlike modern stars she needed no make up to project beauty, having looks as natural as blue sea water or a red rose. Rarely did any Hindi film actress possess the sheer bubliness or dynamic energy of Madhubala.

Late Raj Kapoor stated, "She looks as though God had sculpted her from marble with perfection." Her facial features had the perfection of work sculpted by Michelangelo, with the expression in her eyes mere poetry in motion. I have never seen an actress possess the sheer innocence or buoyancy of Madhubala. Sadly she left us too prematurely, on February 23^rd 1969.Till Bollywood exists her face will always rekindle like an inextinguishable flame.

 

Madhubala made her debut as a child artiste in 1942, in film Basant. Her father had lost his job in the Imperial Tobacco company and was heavily in debt. Madhubala's sheer looks convinced him she was a prospective candidate for Hindi films. After waging a sheer strugle, it was Devika Rani who broke Madhubala into the film screen. She enacted the role of Mumtaz Shanti, a very popular heroine of her time. To support her family's financial needs she acted in 24 films from 1947-1950. However most of these movies were hardly memorable.

It was in 'Mahal' that Madhubala first flashed her true prowess on the silver-screen or hit her first spark as a star. It hit the box office, with Madhubala replacing the reigning Box office queen Suraiya.

Producers now recognized the talent with which she was endorsed and cast her with the major stars of her time. Sadly from 1950-54, most of these movies failed in the box office, These even included a semi-classic like Amar by Mehboob Khan. Being labelled as a box office poison she vowed to be cast in good films, with better directors.

When her potential was given it's due respect Madhubala proved her mettle in movies like Badal, Tarana, Sandil, Mr and Mrs 55, Shirin Farhad and Rajhath. She even played a double role in Kal Hamar Hein. With great flair she portrayed a conventional lady in Badal, while in Tarana, in a most natural style she portrayed a village girl, entangled in a love affair. In Sangdil Madhubala most immaculately enacted a traditional Indian woman, which was an adaptation of Jane Eyre's Charlotte Bronte.

What was poignant was that Madhubala was not just a conventional goodie heroine, but gave streaks of diversity, with her childlike vulnerability. This quality came to the fore in Howrah Bridge where she played the role of club dancer, Edna. No Hindi actress still then projected the Westernized version of an Indian woman, wrapped in a variety of dresses, be it capri pants, Chinese-cut dresses or deep cut blouses. In Chalti Ka Namm Gaadi she drove a car into garage at midnight completely soaked, expressing no fears of her vulnerability. In Kala Pani she portrayed a dare-devil journalist, who assists her hero to save her father, who was framed with charges of murder.

Madhubala went on to enact hits like Insaan Jaag Usha with Sunil Dutt, Phagun with Bhrat Bhushan, Ek Saal with Ashok Kumar and Barsaat Ki Raaat with Bharat Bhushan. However she reached the pinnacle of her career in Mughal e-Azam.Till then and upto 1976 no film won the hearts or flashed the imagination of fans to a comparable degree. Rarely has an actor-actress chemistry, transcended such emotional or artistic realms. Her facial expressions gave vibrations of a Greek goddess.

Unlike the later eras or modern era Madhubala never made public appearances by her father, to the extent that she was not even allowed to attend the premieres of her films.

Arguably Madhubala was one of the most underrated and talented actresses ever seen on the Indian screen. Unfortunately often her sheer beauty overshadowed the talent she was endowed with or acting prowess. It is notable that she enacted a huge spectrum of roles in her career, ranging from comic roles to highly dramatic roles. Few artists could surpass Madhubala's versatility in playing a club dancer(Howrah Bridge) to a historical character(Rajnath), or from a village girl (Tarana) to a modern girl(Kala Pani). Most injudiciously Madhubala was not given the Best actress award by Film fare, for her startling performance. It is my strong conviction that Madhubala could well have portrayed the roles with almost as much artistic fervour as stars like Nargis,Nutan or Waheeda Rehman,had the film industry given her talent it's due respect. However still it is hard to envisage Madhubala replacing Nargis in 'Mother India', Waheeda Rehman in 'Guide.' or Nutan in 'Bandini.' Still I would have loved to see a Madhubala play lead role in movies like ‘Ganga Jumna', 'Naya Daur’ or 'Kaagaz ki Phool.' Perhaps we missed her being cast in major movies with Raj Kapoor or even Guru Dutt. In many ways she was an anti-thesis of tragedy Queen Meena Kumari,expressing great mastery in comedy roles. At her best Madhubala could express the intensity of a Tsunami and could also be as natural as the flow of stream water. In terms of pure talent Madhubala could well have been up there with the very best. I greatly regret that she was not casted in many progressive roles. I feel the film Industry over portrayed her image as a sex symbol, rather than do justice to her as a consummate actress.

Ironically she was entangled in a love affair with superstar Dilip Kumar, which was clearly visible on screen. Their body language told the virtual story. Sadly the romance was broken with the reluctance of her father's approval. Her ultimate marriage with Kishore Kumar was written by the forces of destiny. It proved to be the ultimate disaster.

Had Madhubala lived longer I would have backed her to be more selective, and overshadowed her contemporaries. I regret that her career was cut so short and that in her own lifetime she could hardly do true justice to her great artistic prowess. What is remarkable is that she received no formal education or any training in acting. She learnt to speak English from Hollywood films.

Even Hollywood praised Madhubala to the sky, projecting her as a mysterious and ethereal woman of mystical beauty, with legions of fans in 'Biggest Star in the World.’ Actor Manoj Kumar said "Madhubala” is the face of the country. There can only be only one Madhubala in one century. Every time I would see her, my heart would start singing Ghazals.

In my view in pure beauty Madhubala is  head and shoulders above any contemporary star in Bollywood, in an age when actresses are reduced to marketable commodities. Arguably Madhuri Dixit resembled Madhubala most, or Aishwarya Rai came within touching distance. However both did not acquire beauty naturally or conduct themselves in as dignified manner as Madhubala. The beauty of the modern age in Hindi films is superficial, and lacks the grace of yesteryears. In pure acting prowess I doubt most of the modern Hindi film actresses could surpass Madhubala. Overall she would win a place in my top 10 Hindi film actresses of all time.

 

Best Films of Madhubala

 

1. Mahal (1949)

Madhubala brilliantly holds her own in a suspense thriller, giving it’ s theme a cutting edge. Her acting skill welded this tragic psycho-drama. It was a haunting tale of a banker and his surreal encounter with a young lady’s spirit.

Mahal is a story of reincarnation and a ghost story. In Allahabad, there is a beautiful abandoned palace. When a new owner, Hari Shankar (Ashok Kumar), comes to live in this palace, the old gardener narrates the story of incomplete love.

20 years ago, a man built it and his lover, Kamini (Madhubala), began to live in it. She would wait all day long for the man to come to her at midnight, but he always left before it was morning. One stormy night, the man's ship sank and he drowned. Before leaving Kamini, he tells her that their love will never fail. A few days later, Kamini also died.

When Shankar goes to a bedroom, a photograph falls from the wall and Shankar is astonished to find the man in the photograph looks exactly like him. Then, a woman is heard singing and Shankar follows her voice. He finds her sitting in a room, but she flees when she sees him. Shankar's friend Shrinath (Kanu Roy) arrives and Shankar expresses suspicion on his being the man of the incomplete love story in a previous life. Shrinath tries to calm him, but then the woman reappears. They follow her to the terrace, where she jumps off into water and the two men find nothing when they look down. The next day, Shankar heads back to Kanpur. At Naini, he gets off from a train and goes to the palace. Kamini tells him that she is real, but Shrinath interferes and warns Shankar that she will draw him to death. The ghost appears again and tells Shrinath to stay away from them. Enraged, Shrinath tries to shoot her but fails. Kamini tells Shankar that if she could enter into a body of a woman whom Shankar likes, she could return to life. She tells Shankar to see the gardener's daughter's face to check if she's beautiful and he can accept Kamini in that face. Meanwhile, Shankar's father arrives after hearing everything from Shrinath and takes him home. Shankar marries Ranjana). He decides to move far away with his wife in order to forget Kamini. After two years, a disturbed Ranjana wanting to know where Shankar goes every night, follows him when he goes to meet Kamini. Kamini tells him to kill the gardener's daughter so that she can use her body. Knowing everything, Ranjana drinks poison and goes to police station to give a deathbed confess in against Shankar of betrayal and poisoning her. Shanker is submitted to the court and the daughter of the gardener, Asha, is also called upon there being accused of the cause of distance between Shankar and Ranjana. Later Asha is revealed to be Kamini. She then accepts that she has played Kamini because she had fallen in love with the man in the photograph, who looks like Shankar. But Shankar is sentenced to death. Later, the police come to know about Ranjana's letter and free Shankar. Shankar rushes to Shrinath's place but dies. The credits roll as a grieving Kamini and Shrinath walk away.

2. Tarana (1951)

A young doctor returning home from abroad is stranded in a village when his plane crashes. There he meets and falls in love with a beautiful local village girl, who happens to be the daughter of his blind host.

Madhubala takes romantic chemistry to magical realms with Dilip Kumar, enacting a village girl. She meets him after his plane crashes, which is the precursor of tale of romance. Truly poetic expressions in grief or despair or laughter and joy.

3. Sangdil (1952)

Madhubala displays romantic expression in classical degree of acting finesse. Most subtle and sensitive nuances.

Shankar (Dilip Kumar )and Kamla (Madhubala) are childhood sweethearts who are unfortunately separated at a young age. They meet years later and rekindle their romance, but Shankar has a lot of dark secrets. When they are about to be married, a man shows up and confronts Shankar about his "wife",  and asks him how he can marry again and cheat his first "wife".

It is then revealed that Shankar's mother, in a bout of greed, tricked him into "marrying" a mentally challenged rich woman. The insane woman is kept locked up in a dungeon. Kamla is hurt that Shankar hid all this from her and goes back to her village, despite Shankar's desperate pleas for her to stay with him. The lovers are heartbroken without each other.

Finally, when she returns to Shankar, Kamla finds out that his entire mansion was accidentally burned by the insane woman, who herself was a victim in the fire accident. She goes in search of Shankar, but realises that he was blinded in the fire. However, they declare their love for each other and are happily united.

4. Mr and Mrs 55 (1955)

Few actresses ever displayed such flair for comedy or tickled audiences in such depth. She still kept her traditional values intact. Madhubala gave this movie a subtle element of romance and comedy, which reflected the Western penetration into tradititional Indian values. Rarely has innocence been portrayed in such depth by an artist. Brilliant chemistry with Guru Dutt.

Preetam (Guru Dutt ), a struggling cartoonist, meets Anita (Madhubala) at a tennis match, where she is watching her favourite tennis star. Anita, a wealthy and westernised heiress, is controlled by her aunt, Seeta Devi (Lalita Pawar). Seeta is suspicious of men and cultivates her attitudes in Anita. However, to receive her fortune, her father's will decrees that Anita must marry within one month of turning 21. Seeta Devi doesn't agree with this and tries to set Anita up with a sham marriage which will soon lead to divorce, thereby giving her both freedom and a fortune. Seeta hires Preetam to marry Anita, but she doesn't know that the pair have already met. Preetam is kept from Anita after their marriage, but he kidnaps her and takes her to the traditional house of his brother.

While at the house, Anita befriends Preetam's sister-in-law, and she begins to see the merit in becoming a wife. Preetam is worried that he has lost Anita and expedites their divorce by providing false, incriminating evidence to the court. Preetam then leaves Mumbai, heartbroken. Anita now recognises her feelings for Preetam and rushes to meet him at the airport. In the end, the couple is reunited.

5. Kala Pani(1958)

A young man, on learning about his father's wrongful implication in a fifteen-year-old murder case, vows to bring the true criminals to justice and release his innocent father from jail.

Brilliantly Madhubala potrays a crusader for justice as a news reporter. Most natural acting, with great balance and composure.

6. Howrah Bridge (1958)

Madhubala with articulate skill portrays a westernised woman in a love chemistry with Ashok Kumar. She bestows courage of a soldier by exposing the culprits to lover Prem Kumar.

Prem Kumar (Asok Kumar and his elder brother Madan (Chaman Puri) are looking after a successful business of their father in Rangoon. But Madan suddenly disappears with the family heirloom, a dragon embedded with precious stones and reaches Calcutta to sell it off. He falls prey to the designs of a few smugglers and pays with his life. Prem's father urges him to get back the heirloom and Prem in disguise of Rakesh comes to Calcutta from Rangoon. There he meets his father's trusted tangewala Shyamu (Om Prakash) who takes him to a hotel run by John Chang (Madan Puribut) then he is swiftly taken over by the seductress Edna (Madhubala a) to her uncle Joe's ()hotel, where he is looked after by her. Edna falls for him and reveals that her uncle, John Chang and their friend Pyarelal (K.N.Singh) are into illegal business. Having got a clue from Edna, Prem chases the culprits until finally he is framed by Pyarelal in the murder of John Chang.

Ultimately Prem gets his heirloom and his love and now wife Edna.

7. Mughal-E-Azam(1960)

Madhubala shaped the most Historic Hindi classic ever with her mythical range of expressions as ‘Anarkali.’ No actress could have performed better in the love scenes. Her expressions scaled the intensity of a Tsunami, to the sweetness of a rose blooming in full.