The name of that Afghan fairy was – Madhubala

Kandahar is a mountainous province in southern Afghanistan. The men of this province are warriors and the women are beautiful. Recent DNA tests of the Kandahar ‘Pashtun‘ tribe have found that they are descendants of the Aryans. The Aryans invaded this region about 2300 years ago. A girl born in a Pathan family there was very beautiful. She was the fifth of eleven siblings.

An astrologer in Delhi had told Ataullah Khan, “Your fifth daughter will achieve great fame and wealth.” Well, based on this prediction, Khan Saheb bought a ticket to Mumbai.

Father Ataullah Khan had come to Delhi from Kandahar. He drove a horse-drawn cart to support the family. His financial situation was very poor. One day, the whole family boarded a train at the Delhi platform and came directly to Mumbai.

A queue of love-crazed friends

Father took his eight-year-old daughter to Bombay Talkies in Malad for a voice test. She immediately got a job in a film. Very pleased with her acting and childlike beauty, Devikarani named her – ‘Madhubala’. She made her debut in the film ‘Basant’ in 1942. After working in a few films, in 1947, she got the opportunity to work with another great artist. His name was ‘Raj Kapoor’. After this film, Madhubala’s winning streak began. However, in 1949, a supernatural event happened. The whole of India and neighboring countries got two female deities to worship throughout their lives, after the song ‘Aayega Aanewala’ from the film ‘Mahal’, – ‘Lata Mangeshkar and Madhubala’.

It is said that women born on Valentine’s Day are beautiful and charming. And they drive men crazy. This is exactly what happened in the case of Madhubala. Many men fell in love with Madhubala, who was born on February 13, 1933. While leaving Delhi, she had gifted a red rose to her childhood friend Latif. He became an IAS. Latif loved her till his death. He kept the rose till the end. Director Kidar Sharma played a big role in bringing Madhubala forward. He fell in love with her at first sight. But Madhubala did not understand the language of his love at a young age. That friendship did not last long.

Another reason for the success of the film ‘Mahal’ was that director Kamal Amrohi had fallen in love with Madhubala. He would discuss Madhubala’s costumes and dialogues with her for hours. Even after ‘Mahal’ was released in 1949, the love story between the two continued. Kamal Saheb really wanted Madhubala to marry him.

Madhubala’s father also had approval. But one problem was that Kamal Saheb was already married. He also had children. Madhubala had no desire to settle down with his wife and Kamal Saheb was not ready to divorce his first wife. Then the friendship broke up automatically.

Lal Bhadak Gulabache Phool

Premnath played the role of the hero in the film ‘Badal’. On the very first day of shooting, Madhubala went to Premnath’s makeup room and presented him with a Lal Bhadak Gulabache Phool. There was a note with the flower. The note read, “If you love me, accept this flower. If you don’t love me, give me the flower back…” Premnath was momentarily stunned by the sudden shower of love from a beautiful woman. But he immediately planted the flower in his buttonhole. Their friendship lasted for a few weeks. But then it ended. A few days later, Premnath learned from Ashok Kumar that he too had received a gift of a red-hot flower. Then, however, Premnath got angry and said goodbye to Madhubala forever.

If you look at it that way, Dilip Kumar was also a Pathan. Madhubala had been in love with him since she was only seventeen years old. Just when Madhubala was beginning her days of hope and earning wealth, Dilip Sab entered her life. But there was a big wall between the two, that of Madhubala’s father. He thought, if Madhubala got married to Dilip Sab one day, who would look at the world? The wealth that had just started flowing would suddenly dry up. So they started to lag behind like a shadow. Meanwhile, Dilipsaab had also received a gift of a red rose.

BR Chopra was preparing to make an ambitious film in 1957. For this, a contract was signed with Dilip and Madhubala. The film was to be shot for 40 days in Bhopal. His father broke this and refused permission to Madhubala. Chopra was not allowed to shoot in the studio at all. The contract was broken. Tension was rising between the lovers. Around the same time, another great artist was eager to seek Dilipsaab’s “saht” in Bhopal for the immortal song “Maang Ke Saath Tumhara, Maang Liya Sansar” from ‘Naya Daur’. Her name was Vaijayantimala. His father filed a case against Chopraab for breaking the contract. Chopra filed a counter-case against Madhubala. The bitterness grew. An out-of-court settlement was reached. But the friendship between 1951-58 was broken. Dilip Sahib later said in court, “I will love Madhubala till I die”!

A Worlikar’s Love Affair

In 1950, Madhubala-Dilip K. Asif Sahib had already been bound by a contract. The film was called ‘Mughal Azam’. The shooting lasted for 10 years. Due to the conflict, Dilip and Madhubala were no longer speaking to each other. But in front of the camera, Anarkali gave an unforgettable performance of love for Salim. This film is proof that she was a supernatural artist. The shooting was over. A medical examination found that Madhubala had a serious heart condition due to a hole in her heart. The doctors advised her to retire from the film industry, at that time she was 28 years old.

Zulfikar Bhutto was practicing law in the Mumbai High Court at that time. He fell in love with Madhubala.
A man living in Worli fell in love with Madhubala. His name was Zulfikar Bhutto. He actually lived in Pakistan. After becoming a barrister, he practiced law in the Mumbai High Court in the 1950s. He was literally captivated by Madhubala’s beauty. He would go to the studio for hours to watch the filming of Mughal Azam. He was completely shocked when he saw the filming of the song “Mohe Panghatpe Nandlal Chheed Gayo Re”. At the same time, he was going to propose to Madhubala but changed his mind. The proposal to marry Madhubala was actually difficult. Because Zulfikarji was already married, not once, but twice. The first marriage was with ‘Shirin Begum’, the daughter of a wealthy landlord in the ‘Lakrana’ region, and the second marriage was with a beautiful Iranian girl named ‘Nasrat’. This was Benazir’s mother. While in Mumbai, they were going through double rounds of Lakrana-Kara. After becoming friends with Madhubala, the rounds became triple. This friendship ended when Saheb entered politics.

Despite opposition in the family, Kishoreda proposed to Madhubala.

Three people proposed to Madhubala at one time – Bharat Bhushan, Pradeep Kumar and Kishore Kumar. Nargis didi advised, “Look, girl, you decide. But in my opinion, Bharat Bhushan is better”. He was a widower at that time. But she did not listen to her advice. ‘Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi’ was filmed with Kishoreda. Kishoreda was completely immersed in her love. She had her first marriage. Her future father-in-law warned her, “Madhubala is going to undergo surgery in a London hospital. You should get married when you return”. But Kishoreda was not ready to wait. She got married in 1960. It was a testament to Kishoreda’s passionate love.

In the real world, Madhubala wanted to become the wife of a good man and start a family. She was consumed by this jealousy. She felt terrible loneliness. On the silver screen, she presented a sexy and flirtatious image of a young woman from time to time. However, in her private life, she was mentally ill. Due to heart disease, she was constantly living in the shadow of death. She had achieved immense fame, admiration and wealth. But she was aware that all of them were fleeting. In this state, she sometimes behaved eccentrically and then it was difficult to contain her. After living for only nine years, Madhubala passed away in 1969. She was cremated in the Santa Cruz cemetery, along with her diary. In this diary, she had written her true story that no one knew about.

The mistress of Kandahar never came home. She went to Allah.

Kandahar had begun to become a center of operations for the terrorist Taliban. The 1999 Indian Airlines hijacking further darkened the black and white of Kandahar’s infamy. Madhubala’s family was from Kandahar. How proud the people of Kandahar were of her! They wanted her to spend a few days with them. They kept their eyes on the road, yearning for her. But in the end, Mahervasin never came to Kandahar. One day, news came that Madhubala had gone.