Iconic actress Madhubala, who would have been 89 today, wasn’t really happy in her marriage with actor-filmmaker-singer Kishore Kumar as he had “no time.” On Madhubala’s birth anniversary, the sister of the veteran actress, Madhur Bhushan, shared insights into her life.
In an interview with ETimes, Madhur recalled memories of Madhubala and how her relationship with her husband Kishore Kumar was. Madhubala had tied the knot with singer-actor in 1960 after her relationship with late actor Dilip Kumar ended. Talking about Madhubala and Kishore’s marriage, Madhur told the publication, “Kishore da had no time. He was travelling a lot. He was very busy with his shows and recordings. On the other hand, Madhubala had been told by the doctors that she had only two years to live. She cried a lot in loneliness.”
Madhur told ETimes that Madhubala never forgot Dilip, and the actor even came to Breach Candy Hospital when she was ailing and told her that they will work again together. At the time, Dilip was not married to Saira Banu. Madhur also mentioned that Dilip came to the graveyard when Madhubala died but the burial was over.
Madhubala and Dilip had been together for nine years before they parted ways. Madhur told ETimes that the cause of Dilip and Madhubala’s breakup was the controversy that arose from the movie Naya Daur. Madhur told ETimes, “If you believe me, it was the ‘Naya Daur’ case that created wedges between them. Tempers flared and things got bad.” She added that Madhubala’s father was against sending his daughter to Gwalior for the shooting of Naya Daur since he believed it was not a safe place. However, Dilip sided with Naya Daur director BR Chopra and insisted that the shooting continue in Gwalior. Due to this reason, Madhubala was replaced from the movie and Vyjayanthimala was cast opposite Dilip. Madhur told ETimes, “Dilip saab had come home after that and yes, Madhubala did ask him to say ‘sorry’ to our father. But Dilip saab termed him as ‘dictator and difficult.’ Madhubala reminded Dilip saab that he’d never behaved like that with him. My father liked Dilip Kumar.” Due to this incident, the two actors had to part ways.
Despite the turmoil in their personal life, Dilip and Madhubala shot for their blockbuster film Mughal-e-Azam, which is considered the pinnacle of early Hindi cinema.
