Madhubala

Madhubala was born as Mumtaz Jahan Begum Dehlavi in New Delhi, India on 14 February 1933. She was the fifth child among eleven children of a conservative Muslim couple. She starred in several successful movies in the 1950s and early 1960s, many of which have attained a classic status. With her contemporaries Nargis and Meena Kumari, she is widely regarded as one of the most influential and talented Hindi movie actresses.Madhubala had many successful films following Mahal. With pressure to secure herself and her family financially, she acted in as many as twenty four films in the first four years of her adult career. Consequently, critics of the time commented that Madhubala s beauty was greater than her acting ability. It was the film Mughal e Azam that marked what many consider to be her greatest and definitive characterization as the doomed courtesan Anarkali.Madhubala became one of the most sought after actresses in India, she also attracted interest from Hollywood. She appeared in many American magazines such as Theatre Arts. In their August 1952 issue, Madhubala was featured in an extensive article with a full page photo. The piece was entitled: The Biggest Star in the World. It presented the actress as a mysterious and ethereal woman of mythical beauty with a legion of fans.