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Madhubala

Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. She is considered as one of the greatest and finest actresses in the history of Indian cinema. One of the country's highest-paid star in the 1950s, Madhubala appeared in over 70 filmsranging from slapstick comedies to historical dramasin a two decade-long career. Long after her death, she remains a Bollywood icon, particularly noted for her beauty and unconventional screen persona. Media outlets often refer to her as "The Venus of Indian cinema".

Born and raised in Delhi, Madhubala relocated to Bombay (now Mumbai) with her family when she was 8 years old and shortly after began playing minor roles, starting with ''Basant'' (1942). She progressed to leading roles in the late 1940s, and earned success with the dramas ''Neel Kamal'' (1947) and ''Amar'' (1954), the horror film ''Mahal'' (1949), and the romantic films ''Badal'' (1951) and ''Tarana'' (1951). Following a brief setback, Madhubala found continued success with her roles in the comedies ''Mr. & Mrs. '55'' (1955), ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' (1958) and ''Half Ticket'' (1962), the crime films ''Howrah Bridge'' and ''Kala Pani'' (both 1958), and the musical ''Barsaat Ki Raat'' (1960).

Madhubala's portrayal of Anarkali in the historical epic drama ''Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960)the highest-grossing film in India at the timeearned her widespread critical acclaim and her only nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress; her performance has since been described by critics as one of the finest in Indian cinematic history. She worked sporadically in film in the 1960s, making her final appearance in the drama ''Sharabi'' (1964). Additionally, she produced three films under her production house Madhubala Private Ltd., which was co-founded by her in 1953.

Despite maintaining strong privacy, Madhubala earned significant media coverage for her charity work and personal life. In the early 1950s, she had a highly-publicised relationship with actor Dilip Kumar that ended amidst the ''Naya Daur'' court case (1956–57). She married actor-singer Kishore Kumar in 1960. Throughout her adult life, Madhubala suffered from recurring bouts of breathlessness and hemoptysis caused by a ventricular septal defect, ultimately leading to her death at the age of 36, in 1969. Provided by Wikipedia