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Meena Kumari Age, Death Cause, Husband, Affairs, Children, Family, Biography & More

Meena Kumari

Bio/Wiki
Real NameMahjabeen Bano
Nickname(s)Meena Kumari, Tragedy Queen
Profession(s) Actress, Singer, Poetess, Costume Designer
Personal Life
Date of Birth1 August 1932
BirthplaceDadar East, Bombay, British India (present-day Mumbai, India)
Date of Death31 March 1972
Place of DeathMumbai, Maharashtra, India
Age (at the time of death) 39 Years
Death CauseLiver Cirrhosis
Zodiac sign/Sun signLeo
SignatureMeena Kumari Signature
Nationality Indian
HometownDadar East, Bombay, British India (present-day Mumbai, India)
DebutFilm (actress): Leather Face, also called Farzand-e-Watan (1939)
Farzand-e-Watan (1939)
Film (Playback Singer): Bahen
Film Sister (1945)
ReligionIslam
HobbiesSinging and Dancing
Awards, Honours, Achievements • Best Actress Filmfare Award for the movie Kaajal (1966)
Meena Kumari With The Filmfare Award
• Meena Kumari has won several awards at the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards (BFJA)
• Meena Kumari's record for the highest number of Filmfare Award for Best Actress remained unbroken for 13 years (1966–1979) until it was finally broken by Nutan at the 26th Filmfare Awards in 1979.
ControversyMeena Kumari's husband Kamal Amrohi is said to have uttered the three dreaded words, "Talaq, Talaq, Talaq," in a fit of anger. Later Amrohi is said to have regretted his decision of giving Meena Kumari the triple talaq. He wanted to remarry Meena but Religious Leaders forbid them to do so before Nikaah Halala was performed. Meena is said to have performed the Nikaah Halala with Amanullah Khan (Zeenat Aman's father), and then returned to Kamal Amrohi.
Boys, Affairs and More
Marital StatusMarried
Affairs/BoyfriendsGulzar (lyricist)
Meena Kumari With Gulzar
Dharmendra (actor)
Meena Kumari With Dharmendra
Marriage Date14 Feburary 1952
Family
Husband/SpouseKamal Amrohi
Meena Kumari With Her Husband Kamal Amrohi
ChildrenNone
ParentsFather- Master Ali Bux (a veteran of Parsi theater, musician, poet)
Meena Kumari With Her Father
Mother- Prabhawati Devi; also known as Iqbal Begum (dancer)
Meena Kumari's Mother
SiblingsBrother- None
Sister- Khursheed Bano
Meena Kumari With Her Sister
Favourite Things
Favourite ActorDharmendra
Favourite WriterGulzar

Meena Kumari

Some Lesser Known Facts About Meena Kumari

  • Did Meena Kumari smoke?: Not Known
  • Did Meena Kumari drink alcohol?: Yes
  • Meena Kumari’s father was a Muslim, and her mother was a Christian.
  • Meena Kumari’s grandmother was Rabindranath Tagore’s younger brother’s daughter.
  • Meena started working as a child actor with Director Vijay Bhatt at the young age of 4 years because of the poor financial state of her family.
  • Meena Kumari’s real name was Mahjabeen Bano, and people lovingly called her Baby Mahjabeen.
  • Mahjabeen Bano came to be known as Meena Kumari through the 1946 film Bachhon Ka Khel when she was 14 years old.
  • Her mother died in March 1947 due to a prolonged illness.
  • Meena Kumari’s first few movies were based on mythological stories like Hanuman Pataal Vijay, Veer Ghatotkach, and Shree Ganesh Mahima. Meena Kumari In The Film Hanuman Pataal Vijay
  • She was praised for her role as Gauri in the 1952 film Baiju Bawra. Film Baiju Bawra (1952)
  • Meena Kumari was paired opposite Pradeep Kumar in the 1960s, and they were said to be the best onscreen pair of that time. They gave eight back to back superhits. All 8 Films Starring Meena Kumari And Pradeep Kumar
  • Meena Kumari worked with various Bollywood actors such as Dilip Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Raj Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Dev Anand, Dharmendra, etc. Meena Kumari With Various Bollywood Actors
  • On the sets of Tamasha, Meena Kumari met filmmaker Kamal Amrohi and soon they were romantically involved.
  • On 14 February 1952, they tied the knot. This was Kamal’s third marriage.
  • She came to be known as The Tragedy Queen due to the turbulent life she had.
  • Her younger sister was married to the legendary comedian Mehmood.
  • Meena and Kamal started having problems in their marriage. Due to these differences, Meena got into an affair with Dharmendra, who, at that time was a struggler in the industry. Meena helped him in his days of struggle. It is said that once Dharmendra slapped her due to which they grew apart and Meena indulged in alcohol out of depression.
  • In the year 1972, Kamal Amrohi directed the film Pakeezah with Meena Kumari in the lead. The film took 17 years to complete.

  • Three weeks after the release of Pakeezah, Meena got diagnosed with Liver Cirrhosis and on 31 March 1972, she died at the young age of 39 years.