Meena Kumari Age, Death Cause, Husband, Affairs, Children, Family, Biography & More
Bio/Wiki | |
---|---|
Real Name | Mahjabeen Bano |
Nickname(s) | Meena Kumari, Tragedy Queen |
Profession(s) | Actress, Singer, Poetess, Costume Designer |
Personal Life | |
Date of Birth | 1 August 1932 |
Birthplace | Dadar East, Bombay, British India (present-day Mumbai, India) |
Date of Death | 31 March 1972 |
Place of Death | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
Age (at the time of death) | 39 Years |
Death Cause | Liver Cirrhosis |
Zodiac sign/Sun sign | Leo |
Signature | ![]() |
Nationality | Indian |
Hometown | Dadar East, Bombay, British India (present-day Mumbai, India) |
Debut | Film (actress): Leather Face, also called Farzand-e-Watan (1939)![]() Film (Playback Singer): Bahen ![]() |
Religion | Islam |
Hobbies | Singing and Dancing |
Awards, Honours, Achievements | • Best Actress Filmfare Award for the movie Kaajal (1966)![]() • 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. |
Controversy | Meena 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 Status | Married |
Affairs/Boyfriends | Gulzar (lyricist)![]() Dharmendra (actor) ![]() |
Marriage Date | 14 Feburary 1952 |
Family | |
Husband/Spouse | Kamal Amrohi![]() |
Children | None |
Parents | Father- Master Ali Bux (a veteran of Parsi theater, musician, poet)![]() Mother- Prabhawati Devi; also known as Iqbal Begum (dancer) ![]() |
Siblings | Brother- None Sister- Khursheed Bano ![]() |
Favourite Things | |
Favourite Actor | Dharmendra |
Favourite Writer | Gulzar |
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 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.
- Meena Kumari worked with various Bollywood actors such as Dilip Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Raj Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Dev Anand, Dharmendra, etc.
- 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.