Madhubala, the enigmatic icon who shone as a rebel in her films

Tuesday is the 86th birth anniversary of yesteryear Bollywood star Madhubala. Here’s exploring how she was a rebel in her films.

Born as Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehelvi, Madhubala began working in films at the young age of 9 – she made her debut as a child artiste in 1942 with Basant and her first adult role was Ganga in Neel Kamal (1947). Known as the Indian Marilyn Monroe and tragedy queen of Bollywood, a look at her reel and real life confirm that she was a rebel, a star who commanded adoration of millions and is remembered to this day.

Madhubala would have turned 86 on Tuesday.

The mix of innocence and vulnerability that she brought to the screen was only heightened by the roles she picked – of strong women who may have accepted the role society imposed on them but lived it a way all their own.

Mr and Mrs 55: In Guru Dutt’s only light-hearted film, Madhubala played a young, open-minded woman who happily defied her aunt who wants her to conform to gender stereotypes. Her portrayal is so fresh that actor Janhvi Kapoor recently said that the film celebrated feminism like few others.

“Madhubala has done such a beautiful job in the film. The concept that the film raised, it dealt with feminism. Madhubala ji’s character was so forward thinking. Her aunt was also in the film, whose character was more (conservative about) how girls should behave in a society. They did not present it as an issue, they slipped it in beautifully in the story,” Janhvi Kapoor had said in an interview.

Mughal E Azam: Madhubala’s Anarkali is remembered as a weak character but if you watch K Asif’s classic closely, you realise that Anarkali overcomes the crimes committed against her and tells her story to the world. Apart from Akbar’s atrocities, she has to face humiliation at the hands of her lover Salim (Dilip Kumar). He slaps her and tells her that she is weak and her love isn’t genuine. The timid girl disappears,making way for a bold and confident woman who publically declares her love. The lyrics of the iconic song Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya are loaded with sarcasm for the emperor as well as the prince.

Mahal: Madhubala chose to be part of what can be arguably called Hindi cinema’s first film with a ghost in it. “The movie, “Mahal,” was a huge success, making the lead actress, Madhubala, who was barely 16, a superstar overnight. Nearly seven decades later, strains of the film’s signature song ‘Aayega aane wala’ are instantly recognizable to most Indians, evoking the suspenseful tale of lost love and reincarnation,” The New York Times wrote in its obituary for Madhubala.

Love on her own terms
She is known to be a hopeless romantic who had tragic relationships – the most famous ones were with Dilip Kumar and Kishore Kumar. In an interview to Filmfare, Madhur Bhushan shared about Madhubala’s breakup with Dilip and said, “Bhaijan (Dilip) called my father ‘a dictator’ in court and sided with the Chopras (late BR Chopra, the director). Bhaijan could’ve simply said let’s change the location. Or remained neutral. Apa used to cry a lot those days. They had conversations on the phone trying to patch up. He kept saying, ‘Leave your father and I’ll marry you.’ She’d say, ‘I’ll marry you but just come home, say sorry and hug him.’” The two never breached the divide between them.

Follow @htshowbiz for more