Meena Kumari died at the age of 38 years, from cirrhosis of the liver, which has been associated with her alcoholism.
46 Facts About Meena Kumari
2.
Meena Kumari won four Filmfare Awards in the Best Actress category.
3.
Meena Kumari was the recipient of the inaugural Filmfare Best Actress Award for Baiju Bawra in 1954 and had a consecutive win in the second Filmfare Awards for Parineeta.
4.
Meena Kumari made history at the 10th Filmfare Awards by receiving all three of the Best Actress nominations, and won for her performance in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam.
5.
Meena Kumari's father was a Sunni Muslim named Master Ali Bux who had migrated from Bhera.
6.
Meena Kumari was a veteran of Parsi theater, played harmonium, wrote Urdu poetry, composed music and played small roles in a few films.
7.
Meena Kumari's mother Iqbal Begum, whose original name was Prabhavati Devi, was a Christian, who converted to Islam after her marriage.
8.
Meena Kumari had two daughters; one of whom was Prabhavati, Kumari's mother.
9.
Meena Kumari was born with the name Mahjabeen to Ali Bux and Iqbal Begum on 1 August 1933.
10.
Meena Kumari was the second daughter and had two sisters; the elder named Khursheed Jr.
11.
Meena Kumari became the breadwinner in the Bux family at a very young age.
12.
Meena Kumari was admitted into a regular school, but the demands of work frequently interrupted her curriculum.
13.
Meena Kumari did not attend school in any meaningful sense, therefore her education was the result of private tuition and self-education.
14.
Meena Kumari initially worked mostly in Vijay Bhatt productions; Leather Face, Adhuri Kahani, Pooja and Ek Hi Bhool.
15.
Meena Kumari was cast under the name Meena Kumari in Ramnik Production's Bachchon Ka Khel.
16.
One of the major setbacks in Meena Kumari's life was the death of her mother who died on 25 March 1947.
17.
Meena Kumari's rise came with her mentor Vijay Bhatt's musical, Baiju Bawra.
18.
The film won four Filmfare Awards, including the Best Actress award and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 13th Berlin International Film Festival, where Meena Kumari was selected as a delegate.
19.
Meena Kumari was determined to complete the film and, aware of having limited time left to live, went out of her way to complete it early.
20.
Meena Kumari posthumously received her twelfth and last Filmfare nomination for Pakeezah.
21.
Meena Kumari sang as a child artist for films like Bahen until 1945.
22.
Meena Kumari sang for Pakeezah the song was not used in the film and was later released in the album Pakeezah-Rang Ba Rang.
23.
The contract was signed on 13 March 1951 but on 21 May 1951, Meena Kumari was involved in a car accident while returning from Mahabaleshwar to Bombay.
24.
Meena Kumari was admitted to Sassoon Hospital in Poona for an injury to the left hand and Amrohi visited her regularly.
25.
Meena Kumari covered her left hand with a dupatta or saree during shoots.
26.
Meena Kumari remained adamant on her decision, but stayed in her father's house.
27.
Meena Kumari unsuccessfully asked for her father's permission, then left for her husband's residence at Sion.
28.
Meena Kumari agreed, but with passing time she kept breaking them.
29.
Meena Kumari immediately called for Amrohi who instead insisted that she return home.
30.
An enraged Meena Kumari went to her sister, Madhu's home and never returned to Amrohi's.
31.
In 1968, Meena Kumari was diagnosed with cirrhosis of liver and received treatments in London and Switzerland in June 1968.
32.
Three weeks after the release of Pakeezah, Meena Kumari became seriously ill.
33.
Meena Kumari slipped into a coma two days later and died shortly afterwards on 31 March 1972.
34.
Meena Kumari was credited for never using products like glycerin to shed tears, but always shed genuine tears while acting.
35.
Meena Kumari helped Dharmendra enormously in the initial stages of his career, and established his acting career in Indian Cinema.
36.
Meena Kumari was very choosy, but once she accepted a role, she put her heart into it and it's not surprising that she's still remembered for her sensitive portrayals.
37.
Sometimes when saying a dialogue I'd add a line not in the script and even as I worried about how Meena Kumari would react, she'd surprise me with just the right response.
38.
Meena Kumari empathized greatly with Marilyn Monroe, and the fact that Marilyn's husband, Arthur Miller, had some passing similarities to her husband Kamal Amrohi, made the identification closer.
39.
Meena Kumari set fashion trends which are still in high demand.
40.
Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has said that he appreciates the aesthetics of Pakeezah and the way Meena Kumari played the role with grace and beauty.
41.
The greatest hallmark of Meena Kumari is her ability to depict the struggle of Indian women existing especially in the 1950s and 1960s.
42.
Meena Kumari not winning an award for her performance in Pakeezah stirred controversy at the 20th Filmfare Awards.
43.
Meena Kumari's autograph was featured along with statues, handprints and autographs of other artists.
44.
Meena Kumari has always been a subject of interest among present day filmmakers.
45.
Meena Kumari later turned to actress Sunny Leone who showed great interest to portray her onscreen.
46.
Meena Kumari later argued that Kumari was a public figure and noone has the right to grant permission for creating a work of art.