I remember Madhubala for her mesmerisation on screen. As a young viewer of her cinemas, I always equalled her to a Goddess because  Madhubala had those divine looks; she was par excellence in whichever role she performed. I don’t want to get into tragedies of her personal life; her illness, whom she married, why and how…. I will forever remember her as the bubbliest and the cutest actress Indian cinema has produced.

She is remembered for her million dollar smile, her acting prowess, and her brilliant screen presence. She could get easily into skin of the roles: be it a quintessential rich girl, a next door girl, assistant to detective, or a mature woman. She played her roles with the same precision. She could strike a lovely chemistry with her co-stars. Madhubala stuck perfection to the hilt.

It is said that in her private life, she carried absolutely no fuss attitude. She was an actress who ate what she liked, she wore what she wanted. She was very fond of her favourite kundan jewellery and wore it everywhere. She liked remaining in those simple white sarees. Some days, she would even walk around her house in her nightwear. At the age of 20, she possessed everything from bungalows to imported cars. But from all her wealth, what she enjoyed were only long drives in her car. It’s rare to find such grounded actor.

Gateway of India

In the film Gateway of India (1957) Madhubala plays a young heiress named Anju is confined by a gang of criminals. She manages to escape but meets up with more and more crooks. One by one, she promises to meet all of them at the Gateway of India at dawn. She has a bigger plan. Her co-start in the movie was Pradeep Kumar. Listen to this most adorable song. Listen to the eternal song do ghadi woh jo pass aa baithe…

Kala Pani Her film Kala Pani (1958) was a super duper hit. Though her co-star Dev Anand took home the Filmfare Award, Madhubala left an impact on the viewers through her liveliness and high energy. She looked extremely charming as Asha and made a walkthrough role which was a memorable one. The song, Accha ji main hari chalo maan jao na, widely considered one of Indian cinema’s best, featured Madhubala at her playful best.

Howrah Bridge She was par excellence in Howrah Bridge (1958). She sang, twisted, danced and boogied in a way that made Edna – the role played by her in the movie most unforgettable. Helen in Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu did steal the spotlight for a few minutes. The movie was a super thriller suspense all the way; Howrah Bridge was about edge-of-the-seat suspense, Ashok Kumar looked intense while Madhubala bubbly and opulently sensuous. In this movie, viewers saw mysticism pouring from Madhubala’s eyes. I like this song the most from the film, dekhake tei nazar……….

Jaali Note In their movie Jaali Note (1960) Dev Anand and Madhubala strived hard to cash in on the plot of the film; they were successful to some extent. However, Dev Anand in ‘disguise’ through most of the film hams it up as the undercover imposter prince, his exuberant charisma and alluring Madhubala keep the audience glued to their seats. Madhubala strived through by her sketchy role as Rune/Beena. I watched the movie few times because I am fan of both Dev Anand and Madhubala. The songs are evergreen composed by O.P.Nayyar. The following song Chand zard zard hai is a beautiful number.

Passport Enjoy this classic romantic Hindi song ‘Saaz-E-Dil Chhed De’ from the highest grossing film of 1961 ‘Passport’ sung by Mohammed Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar. Music composed by Kalyanji Anandji. The film stars Pradeep Kumar and Madhubala in the lead roles. The film was directed by Pramod Chakravorty. This song is on a low bass but both Rafi and Lata have sung it comfortably. The reason being that these songs were formatted correctly as per raags and then the legends knew how to do justice with such a melody.