Serious Illness
Madhubala was found to have a heart problem after she coughed up blood in 1950. She was discovered to have been born with a ventricular septal defect, commonly known as a "hole in the heart". At the time, the facility of a heart surgery was not widely available in India.
Madhubala hid her illness from the film industry for many years, but this one incident was widely reported by the media in the year 1954: While she was filming in Madras for S. S. Vasan's Bahut Din Huwe,she vomited blood on the set. Vasan and his wife took care of her until she was well again. She continued to work and established herself as an A-grade star.
Madhubala's family was extremely protective of her because of her health problem. While filming at the studios, she would eat only home-prepared food and drink water only from a specific well in order to minimize risks of infection. Eventually her condition would take its toll and abbreviate her career and life. However, for most of the 1950s, Madhubala performed successfully despite her illness.
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