Everyone was enamoured by the beauty and smile of actress Madhubala, who was known as ‘Husn Ki Mallika’. Her admirers included everyone from Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to Bal Thackeray. Dilip Kumar also fell in love with her charm. Born on 14 February 1933, Madhubala never wanted to enter the film world. She had a hole in her heart since childhood and doctors had advised her to take maximum rest. But the financial condition of the house became such that her father pushed her into the film world.
Madhubala’s father used to work in the Imperial Tobacco Company in Lahore. When he lost his job, he brought the whole family to Delhi and then from there to Bombay. He hoped that Madhubala would get work in films in Bombay. Madhubala was only 6 years old at that time. She was the only breadwinner in a family of 11 siblings.
That special condition in Madhubala’s contract
Film journalist Ajay Kumar Sharma writes in his book ‘Bollywood Ke Ankahe Kisse’ that Madhubala’s contract for new films was mostly signed by her father Ataullah Khan, who was very stubborn and outspoken. There was a special condition in his contract that visitors would be prohibited from entering the set. There came a time when this condition became a bone in his throat.
Apart from Madhubala, Dev Anand and Mazhar Khan were in the lead roles in the 1950 film ‘Nirala’. One day Mazhar Khan invited some of his guests to watch the shooting. They were not aware of the conditions of Madhubala’s contract. When Ataullah Khan came to know about Mazhar Khan’s guests, he went to director M. Sadiq fuming with anger. After this, the guests were not allowed to come inside. Also, the shooting of the film was stopped.
There was a dispute on the set
Mazhar Khan himself went to Madhubala and requested her to allow the guests to come inside but she flatly refused. Madhubala replied- ‘It will be as Abba says. Otherwise I will leave the shooting…’ Mazhar Khan swallowed the insult. But this news spread like wildfire. When the journalists came to know about this, some people tried to talk to Madhubala directly, but she did not talk properly to the journalists either.
Why did the journalists boycott?
Ajay Sharma writes that after this the journalists also got angry. Journalists from India and Pakistan together formed the ‘Indo Pak Journalist Association’ and made Movie Times magazine editor BK Karanjia its secretary. This organization decided that now they will not publish Madhubala’s picture, advertisements of her films and interviews in their newspapers and magazines until Ataullah Khan and Madhubala apologize to the journalists.
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She reached PM to ask for help
Meanwhile, Madhubala started receiving threats on phone. There were even talks of her kidnapping. Madhubala was so fed up with these threats that she went to meet the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai. She told the PM how she was receiving threats. After this, on the instructions of the Prime Minister, she was provided with a personal security guard, who was engaged in her security 24 hours a day.
The entire controversy continued for a year. After a year, Madhubala’s father Ataullah Khan felt that his daughter’s popularity was now being affected. Finally, Madhubala and her father apologized to the journalists at BK Karanjia’s bungalow and the entire matter was settled. The next day after this settlement, Madhubala also hosted a grand party for the journalists at her bungalow in Bandra.
Tags: Bollywood actress, Bollywood films, Bollywood News
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 22, 2024, 10:11 IST