Changes between Initial Version and Version 1 of Meena Kumari


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Timestamp:
Jun 25, 2012, 4:19:47 PM (12 years ago)
Author:
Trupti
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  • Meena Kumari

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     1'''Meena Kumari (1933-72)''' 
     2 
     3 
     4Hindi-Urdu star born in Bombay; daughter of 
     5the Parsee theatre actor, singer and music 
     6teacher Ali Bux and the dancer Iqbal Begum. 
     7Having hit upon hard times and living near the 
     8Rooptara Studios, Ali Bux sought to get his 
     9three daughters into films. The middle 
     10daughter, Mahajabeen, was hired aged 6, renamed 
     11Baby Meena and cast by Vijay Bhatt in 
     12Leatherface. Later, for Bhatt’s big musical 
     13Baiju Bawra, she was named Meena Kumari. 
     14Acted in mythologicals by e.g. Homi Wadia 
     15and Nanabhai Bhatt. Best known in the 50s 
     16for comedies (Miss Mary) and socials 
     17(Parineeta), even appearing in Do Bigha 
     18Zameen. Her main persona was constructed 
     19via Kamal Amrohi’s Daera, Bimal Roy’s 
     20Yahudi and Guru Dutt’ Sahib Bibi Aur 
     21Ghulam, culminating in her most famous film, 
     22Pakeezah. Deploying the image of the 
     23‘innocent’ courtesan first developed by 
     24Zubeida, her arched body, limpid eyes and 
     25tremulous voice combined with the lavish sets 
     26and costumes to create the classic image of the 
     27exotic Oriental, an icon achieved by mixing the 
     28Urdu stage historical with European neoclassical 
     29ornamentation (cf. Aga Hashr 
     30Kashmiri), e.g. in the mise en scene of the Na 
     31jao saiyan song in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. 
     32Married Amrohi, director of her best work, but 
     33then broke with him in 1964. The couple 
     34eventually completed the film they had jointly 
     35conceived, Pakeezah, in 1971 just before her 
     36death. Her off-screen life extended her image 
     37as the lovelorn woman who drowns her 
     38passion in drink. Wrote poems in Urdu using 
     39the pen-name Naaz, a collection of which, 
     40Tanha Chand [The Solitary Moon], compiled 
     41by Gulzar, was published after her death. In 
     42their Women Writing in India (vol. 2, 1993), 
     43which includes one of the star’s poems, Susie 
     44Tharu and K. Lalitha describe her as ‘an 
     45exceptionally beautiful and talented actress, 
     46always dressed in white’, and they quote Afeefa 
     47Banu’s comment that she is ‘an object of 
     48fantasy and a motif of melancholy’. 
     49 
     50 
     51'''FILMOGRAPHY:''' 1939: Leatherface; 1940: 
     52Ek Hi Bhool; Pooja; 1941: Kasauti; Bahen; 
     53Nai Roshni; 1942: Garib; 1943: Pratigya; 
     541944: Lal Haveli; 1946: Bachchon Ka Khel; 
     55Duniya Ek Sarai; 1947: Piya Ghar Aaja; 1948: 
     56Bichhade Balam; 1949: Veer Ghatotkach; 
     571950: Magroor; Shri Ganesh Mahima; Hamara 
     58Ghar; 1951: Hanuman Pataal Vijay; Lakshmi 
     59Narayan; Madhosh; Sanam; 1952: Alladdin 
     60And The Wonderful Lamp; Baiju Bawra; 
     61Tamasha; 1953: Daera; Dana Pani; Do 
     62Bigha Zameen; Footpath; Naulakha Haar; 
     63Parineeta; 1954: Baadbaan; Chandni 
     64Chowk; Ilzaam; 1955: Adl-e-Jehangir; Azad; 
     65Bandish; Rukhsana; 1956: Bandhan; Ek Hi 
     66Raasta; Halaku; Mem Sahib; Naya Andaz; 
     67Shatranj; 1957: Miss Mary; Sharada; 1958: 
     68Farishta; Sahara; Savera; Yahudi; 1959: 
     69Ardhangini; Chand; Char Dil Char 
     70Raahein; Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan; Jagir; 
     71Madhu; Satta Bazaar; Shararat; 1960: 
     72Bahana; Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi; Kohinoor; 
     731961: Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan; Pyar Ka Sagar; 
     74Zindagi Aur Khwab; 1962: Aarti; Main Chup 
     75Rahungi; Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam; 1963: 
     76Akeli Mat Jaiyo; Dil Ek Mandir; Kinare Kinare; 
     771964: Benazir; Chitralekha; Ghazal; Main 
     78Bhi Ladki Hoon; Sanjh Aur Savera; 1965: 
     79Bheegi Raat; Kajal; Purnima; 1966: Phool Aur 
     80Patthar; Pinjre Ke Panchhi; 1967: Bahu 
     81Begum; Chandan Ka Palna; Manjhli Didi; 
     82Noorjehan; 1968: Abhilasha; Baharon Ki 
     83Manzil; 1970: Jawab; Saat Phere; 1971: 
     84Dushman; Mere Apne;Pakeezah; 1972: 
     85Gomti Ke Kinare. 
     86 
     87[[Actor]]