Meena Kumari Birth Anniversary Special: Do you know when 'Tragedy Queen' made her acting debut?

Mahjabeen Bano also known as Meena Kumari was a great actress of her time and she was also a very good poetess. She worked in many great films and is still popularly known as the Tragedy Queen. She is considered one of the best and greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema. According to media reports, Meena started acting at the age of only 4 years. In her film career spanning 33 years, Meena won the hearts of people with her brilliant acting in more than 90 films.

Meena was abandoned in an orphanage after birth!

According to media reports, Meena Kumari was born on August 1, 1933 to Ali Bux and Iqbal Begum with the name Mahjabeen Bano. Meena's birth was not liked by her father at all, because Ali Bux wanted a son. After Meena was born, she was left in an orphanage, but a few hours later they changed their mind and took her back home. She was the second daughter of Ali and Iqbal and had two more sisters. The elder one was named Khurshid Junior and the younger one was named Mahlika.

Meena did her first film at the age of four

Meena Kumari was never fond of films, nor did she ever think of acting in films because Meena liked to go to school and study from the beginning. Despite this, her parents used to take her to film studios for work opportunities. Director Vijay Bhatt casted Meena in the film 'Leatherface' and on the first day of work, she was given 25 rupees. 'Leatherface' was released in 1939. Meena made this film at the age of only 4 years. After the film, Meena was admitted to school, but due to work in films, Meena had to skip her classes many times. Meena's father Master Ali Bux was a Sunni Muslim who had migrated from Bhera (now in Pakistan). 

He was a veteran of the Parsi theatre, played harmonium, wrote Urdu poetry, composed music and also played small roles in a few films. Kumari's mother Iqbal Begum, whose original name was Prabhavati Devi, was a Christian who converted to Islam after her marriage. Iqbal Begum was Ali Bux's second wife. Before meeting and marrying Ali Bux, she was a stage actress and was said to be related to the Tagore family of Bengal.

Vijay Bhatt named Meena 'Baby Meena'

Meena Kumari initially worked in most of the Vijay Bhatt productions, including films like Leather Face, Adhoori Kahani, Puja and Ek Hi Bhool. Vijay Bhatt changed the name of Mehjabeen Bano i.e. Mani Kumari to "Baby Meena" during the film 'Ek Hi Bhool'. Ramnik Production's film 'Bachchon Ka Khel' was cast in the name of Meena Kumari. The biggest shock in Meena Kumari's life was the death of her mother, who passed away on 25 March 1947. Meena had acted and also sung songs in many films, including 'Duniya Ek Sarai', 'Piya Ghar Aaja' and 'Bichde Balam'. By the end of the 1940s, she had turned her attention towards mythological or fictional films. Meena got real recognition from the film 'Baiju Bawra'.

Meena was suffering from liver cirrhosis, love remained incomplete

According to media reports, in the year 1968, Meena Kumari came to know that she was suffering from liver cirrhosis. She died on  March 31, 1972. After her death, her very close friend actress bore the expenses of Meena's last rites. It is said that when Meena's hospital expenses increased beyond limits, her ex-husband Kamal Amrohi disappeared. It is said that Dharmendra held a special place in Meena Kumari's life.

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