Madhubala - Personal Life and Controversial Court Case

Personal Life and Controversial Court Case

Madhubala had a long affair with actor and frequent co-star Dilip Kumar. They first met on the sets of Jwar Bhata (1944), and worked together again in the film Har Singaar (1949) which was never completed or released. It was two years later during the filming of, Tarana (1951), that their off-screen relationship began. They also became a popular romantic screen team appearing in a total of four films together.

Madhubala was known for never making public appearances, (with the exception of the premiere for the film Bahut Din Huwe in 1954) and she rarely gave interviews. Tabloids often speculated over her personal life and romantic liaisons and Dilip Kumar was repeatedly mentioned. These rumours were confirmed with a bold and rare public appearance during their courtship in 1955. Madhubala was escorted by Dilip Kumar hand in hand for the premier of his film Insaniyat (1955), a film with which she had no other association. Though this may have been another gesture of gratitude to the producer and director S. S. Vasan, who had cared for her earlier when she had taken ill during the filming of Bahut Din Huwe (1954), this appearance was significant for another reason. By attending the premiere officially escorted by Dilip Kumar, they publicly acknowledged their relationship.

Madhubala's romance with Kumar lasted for five years, between 1951 and 1956. Their association was ended following a highly controversial and widely publicized court case. B.R. Chopra, the director of the film Madhubala and Dilip Kumar were currently starring in, Naya Daur (1957), wanted the unit to travel to Bhopal for an extended outdoor shooting. Ataullah Khan objected and even claimed that the entire Bhopal schedule was a ruse to give Dilip Kumar the opportunity to romance his daughter. Finally, Chopra sued Madhubala for the cash advance she received from him for a film she now had no intention of completing. He also replaced her with South Indian actress Vyjayanthimala. Madhubala obediently supported her father despite her commitment to Dilip Kumar. Kumar testified against Madhubala and Ataullah Khan in favor of the director B.R. Chopra in open court. The case was lost by Madhubala and her father amid much negative publicity. Up until that point Madhubala had worked hard to gain a reputation as a reliable and professional performer with much good will in the industry. Her image was badly damaged after this episode. Madhubala and Dilip Kumar were effectively separated from that point on.

When rediff news spoke to her sister Madhur Bhushan, her account of the story was:

The reason Madhubala broke up with Dilip Kumar was B R Chopra's film Naya Daur, not my father. Madhubala had shot a part of the film when the makers decided to go for an outdoor shoot to Gwalior. The place was known for dacoits, so my father asked them to change the location. They disagreed because they wanted a hilly terrain. So my father asked her to quit the film. He was ready to pay the deficit. Chopra asked Dilip Kumar for help. Dilipsaab and Madhubala were engaged then. Dilipsaab tried to mediate but Madhubala refused to disobey her father. Chopra's production filed a case against her, which went on for a year. But this did not spoil their relationship. Dilipsaab told her to forget movies and get married to him. She said she would marry him, provided he apologised to her father. He refused, so Madhubala left him. That one 'sorry' could have changed her life. She loved Dilipsaab till the day she died.

She met her would-be-husband, actor and playback singer, Kishore Kumar during the filming of Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958) and Jhumroo (1961). At the time he was married to the Bengali singer and actress Ruma Guha Thakurta . After his divorce, because Kishore Kumar was Hindu and Madhubala Muslim, they had a civil wedding ceremony in 1960. His parents refused to attend. The couple also had a Hindu ceremony to please Kumar's parents, but Madhubala was never truly accepted as his wife. Within a month of her wedding she moved back to her bungalow in Bandra because of tension in the Kumar household. They remained married but under great strain for the remainder of Madhubala's life.

Probably because of her publicity-shy image and a protective lifestyle, Madhubala managed to create an aura of mysticism around her. This led to her love-life being constantly talked about and speculated on in media even today. According to rumors circulated in magazines of that era, and claims made by Mohan Deep in his book Madhubala: Mystery and Mystique (1996), she was linked with Director Kidar Sharma, Kamal Amrohi, Actor Premnath and Pakistani politician Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto at different points of her career. However, B. K. Karanjia, former Filmfare editor and a close friend of both Madhubala and her father Ataullah Khan, cleared the air, "Yes, she was aware of her beauty. And because there were so many in love with her, she used to play one against the other. But it was out of innocence rather than shrewd calculation. Madhubala was a child at heart." Besides, Mohan Deep's book has been widely trashed by renown film journalists and artistes: M.S.M. Desai, one of the privileged film journalists allowed by Ataullah Khan to visit the sets of his star daughter, contends, "Her father was very strict and since nobody, not even journalists, were allowed into her makeup room, Madhubala had few chances of flirting. Also, Mohan Deep was not around at the time of Madhubala, so how is he capable of writing about her without resorting to hearsay?"; Shammi Kapoor lashes out saying, "Mohan Deep is a swine. You can't cash in on the dead—it is in bad taste. It is a pity that while in America you could be sued for misrepresentation, in India sleaze only gives a shot to sales. That's the reason I believe one should let lying dogs lie. Madhubala, a wonderful person and a dedicated artiste, doesn't deserve this." Madhubala's father's portrayal in media as an autocrat and someone who ruined her life was refuted by Madhur Bhushan:

Being protective about and inculcating discipline in your daughter doesn't mean you are harsh and difficult. Abba (Ataullah Khan) was very orthodox. Our mother was in purdah and except for her daughters and very close relatives, no one knew what she looked like. We hate it when such nasty things are written about our father because they aren't true. Yes, he was possessive about us and wanted to protect us. ... He never allowed her (Madhubala) to work after six in the evening or attend parties because he was afraid of mishaps and my sister being led astray. (Joshi, 2008, p. 93)

B.K. Karanjia described Madhubala at home as a lively and down-to-earth person who used to wear "simple white saris, matching sandals, without a touch of make-up", and minimal or no jewelry, yet she was "quite an extraordinary beauty" who had a "peaches and cream complexion", "expressive" and "luminous" eyes and a "dazzling smile". He fondly remembered how unpretentious the star was by chronicling her playing hide-and-seek with his little daughter: "The child was still present in the woman". Karanjia also reminisced that her marriage with Kishore Kumar was "the unlikeliest of marriages, even by Bollywood standards". (Karanjia, 2006.)