A journey through some lesser known Meena Kumari facts in pictures...
Meena Kumari is a Bollywood legend. Period. No actress has acquired the kind of acclaim she did, whether it was at the peak of her career, post her death, or even at the very beginning with her first hit movie, Baiju Bawra. She has been called 'historically incomparable', 'an actress of the highest calibre', even 'poetry on celluloid', and she deserved every word of praise. She was an actress, a singer and even a poet. A certified icon, who led a life of quiet fame. On the occasion of her 85th birth anniversary, let's take a look at some lesser known facts about the superstar.
1. Her diaries went to Gulzar
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Meena Kumari shared a close relationship with Gulzar, who made his directorial debut with Mere Apne and cast Kumari in his debut film. The two were once speculated to be together by the media, despite them being nothing but close friends. As Kumari's love for Urdu grew, she grew closer to Gulzar. In fact, before she passed, she gifted her diaries with her poems written as 'Naaz' to him. Gulzar later on published a compilation of some of her poetry.
2. She empathised with Marilyn Monroe
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It's weird to think that Bollywood legend Meena Kumari and Hollywood sex symbol Marilyn Monroe could ever be similar. Yet, it's true. Kumari greatly empathised with Monroe, due to the fact that both were in a tough industry which constantly put them in the spotlight, both were battling addictions (Kumari was an alcoholic, Monroe was a drug addict) and both also had marriages that were perfect on paper but ended up as disasters (Kumari was married to Kamal Arohi for 12 years and then separated, Monroe and Arthur Miller were married for 5 years). Both were also contemporaries in their careers, and, sadly, both passed away in their 30s.
3. Her Filmfare domination
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Meena Kumari was an awards show darling, with her spectacular performances winning her frequent praise and accolades. Not only were many of her films sent as Official Entries to the Oscars, she dominated the Filmfare Awards, winning the Best Actress award at the very first ceremony in 1954 for Baiju Bawra. She won the award again the very next year for Parineeta. While she won her fourth and final Filmfare award for Kaajal in 1966, 1963 was her biggest year at the ceremony, where she was nominated for all three slots and won for Saheb Bibi Aur Ghulam.
4. Started her career as 'Baby Meena'
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Meena Kumari was born Mahjabeen Bano, and started her career as a four year-old child star. A large number of her early films were with Vijay Bhatt, both as a child and as an adult. In fact, when they were filming for Ek Hi Bhool in 1940, Bhatt renamed Kumari 'Baby Meena'. That was the tag she worked with as a child star, which eventually became Meena Kumari as an adult.
5. She was almost left at an orphanage
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Meena Kumari, as it is known, wasn't born into a luxurious family, as both her parents struggled to support the family. In fact, when she was born, her father did not have enough money to pay the doctor who delivered her, and left her at an orphanage. He did change his mind a few hours later, and good for that. If it wasn't for the theatrical influence that ran in her family, we might've never gotten to see Kumari become the revered actress she was.
6. She was nicknamed 'Reading Mahjabeen'
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Meena Kumari didn't have a conventional childhood, and wasn't able to go to school much as a child. Despite her admission into school several times, she would always have to leave due to her work commitments. She started acting at the age of four to support her family, but that didn't stop her from wanting to learn. She was inquisitive and had a great love for reading and learning, and often brought books to set. It was such a prominent habit of hers that she was nicknamed 'Reading Mahjabeen'.
7. She had a penchant for white
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Meena Kumari also had some lesser understood habits. For example, as Vinod Mehta writes in his biography of the actress, Meena Kumari - The Classic Biography, Kumari was very fond of the colour white. In fact, whenever she went to parties or events (which she wasn't particularly fond of attending), she would often show up in a white saree. Also, most of the objects in her house were also white.
8. She almost drowned during filming
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This is a more isolated incident. In the movie Baiju Bawra, the two lead characters, played by Kumari and Bharat Bhushan, were to drown at the end. While shooting the scene, Kumari almost drowned. Although she was ultimately rescued, shooting paused for a bit. We think that the near-death experience was probably worth it, because the movie catapulted the actress to stardom and won her the inaugural Best Actress Filmfare Award in 1954.
(All images courtesy YouTube screengrabs)
