Madhubala (February 14, 1933 - February 23, 1969) is considered one of most beautiful actresses to have graced the screens of Bollywood. Her major motion pictures include Mahal and Mughal-e-Azam. She was married to the famous playback singer and actor Kishore Kumar.

Madhubala was born in Delhi as the 5th child into a poor Muslim family of 11 children. Her birth name was Begum Mumtaz Jahan Dehlavi. She entered Bollywood as a child-artist under the name Baby Mumtaz. Her first film was Basant (1942). Her big break came when Kidar Sharma gave her a change to act opposite Raj Kapoor in Neel Kamal (1947).

In 1949, Madhubala starred in Bombay Talkies production Mahal. The film became a super hit. The song Aayega Aanewaala made the careers of Madhubala as well as the playback singer Lata Mangeshkar. Many other hits followed Mahal.

Madhubala's off-screen life was a tragedy. Her romance with Dilip Kumar didn't blossom due to opposition by her conservative family. This also led to a lean phase in her career. But she silenced her critics in 1958, when four of her films turned out to be superhits - Phagun, Howrah Bridge opposite Ashok Kumar, Kala Pani opposite Dev Anand and Chalti ka Naam Gaadi opposite her future husband Kishore Kumar.

External link

• IMDb entry of Madhubala