The tragedy queen of Indian cinema, Mahjabeen Bano a.k.a., Meena Kumari was undoubtedly a soul that we don't deserve to live with on this planet and her life was crystal-clear proof of the same. Despite suffering endless tortures from her husband and screenwriter, Kamal Amrohi to being left heartbroken by Dharmendra, she had given everything she had, to the people she had loved and sadly, all of them had taken her for granted. The late legendary actress, Meena Kumari is one of the most iconic names that comes in our mind whenever we talk about the most stunning and most talented actresses of all-time.
Some critics had described her as a 'historically incomparable' actress because she had an illustrious career in which she had starred in about 92 films in a career spanning 33 years. But it was her disastrous personal life that had overshadowed her successful career for most of her life, and it was on March 31, 1972, when at the young age of 38, Meena Kumari had passed away after two days of being in the coma.
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During her final rites, it was her close friend and late actress, Nargis, who had come to pay her respects to her friend had said, "Meena Kumari, Maut Mubarak ho!" The legendary actress revealed why she had said this to her great friend in her article, which was published in an Urdu magazine.
The legendary actress, Nargis had started her column with a heartbreaking message for her late friend, Meena Kumari. She had written,
"'Congratulations on your death' I have never said this earlier. Meena, today your baaji (elder sister) congratulates you on your death and asks you to never step into this world again. This place is not meant for people like you."
Going further in her column, the actress had recalled the incident that had turned them from industry-mates to great friends. She had revealed,
"During the shooting of Main Chup Rahungi, my husband (Sunil Dutt) invited me on sets with the kids. There Meena and I became great friends. When I went for dinner with Dutt saab, Meena voluntarily took care of Sanjay and Namrata, changing their clothes to making their milk."
After which, Nargis had revealed how one night, she had seen Meena panting heavily in the garden and when she had inquired about her ill health, the exhausted actress hadn't revealed anything and had assured Nargis that she is absolutely fine. However, Nargis had heard some noise of intense violence from her room. In her words,
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"One night I saw her panting in the garden, I told her, why don't you rest, you look very tired. She said, "Baaji, resting is not in my destiny. I will rest just one time." That night there was the noise of violence from her room. Next day, I saw her eyes were swollen. I caught hold of Kamal Amrohi's secretary Baqar and spoke to him in direct terms, "Why do you people want to kill Meena? She has worked enough for your sake, For how long is she going to feed you?" He said, when the right time comes, we will rest her."
Concluding her article, Nargis revealed that Meena had divorced Kamal Amrohi after that incident but had dipped deeply in the addiction to alcohol which had resulted in her getting admitted to the hospital. Recalling the incident, Nargis concluded,
"After some time, I heard she had walked out of Kamal saheb's home. She had a huge fight with Baqar and then she did not step into Kamal Amrohi's house again.... Soon enough, excessive consumption of alcohol weakened her liver. When I visited her in the nursing home, I asked her, "you are free, but of what use is such freedom when you are bent upon killing yourself?" She replied, "Baaji, my patience has a limit. How dare Kamal saheb's secretary raise his hand on me? When I complained, what Kamal saab did, nothing. Now I have decided to not go back to him."
Meena Kumari's health was so fragile that doctors had told her that her next drink would kill her. Even though she had left drinking for a while and had recovered temporarily, her health was still a concern. And hence, one month after the release of her last film, Pakeezah, Meena was hospitalised at St. Elizabeth's Nursing Home and had died two days after being in the coma. Recalling the same, Nargis had written, "She would say, "solitude is my destiny. I do not pity myself and neither should you"."
What is your take on Meena Kumari's tragic personal life? Let us know!
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