The legacy of Bollywood’s one of the initial female superstars, Mumtaz Begum Jehan Dehlavi alias Madhubala can be determined by the fact that the name of the veteran actress is today used as the synonym of excellence and beauty. The actress was already an established child-artist way before she was given lead roles. The Venus Queen of Indian Cinema ruled the industry between 1942-62. The actress made her stamp in the industry for her mind-blowing dialogue delivery and control over her emotions. Let's take a look at 10 most charismatic movies of The Venus Queen:
1. Mughal-e-Azam: This is not just the greatest movie of Madhubala’s career but also one of the cult classics of the industry that made India shine on the international stage. The story of the movie is about a 16th century Mughal prince who falls in love with a court dancer and battles with his emperor's father.
2. Mahal: Mahal was that one movie that established her in the industry as an impeccable actress. The movie was a horror story focused on the life of bank workers and his encounter with the spirit of a young girl. She was only sixteen, but Madhubala enamored us with her ability to emote. One of Indian cinema’s greatest.
3. Mr and Mrs 55: The acting skills of the actress came out in this movie when she played the role of a bubbly rich girl and mature women in a same role. That was the journey of her character Anita Verma in Mr and Mrs 55, a film seeped in naive romance. The movie also included Guru Dutt, Johnny Walker and Lalita Pawar in the cast.
4. Chalti Ka Naam Gaddi: Every aspect of this movie was just phenomenal. From songs to acting nothing about this movie lower the curve. Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi was the Ganguly brothers’ (Ashok, Kishore and Anup Kumar) attempt to recreate the Marx Bros’ madness and they did just that.
5. Half Ticket: Half ticket witnessed some of the final performances of the actress. Starring Kishore Kumar as young boy with child sensibility and Madhubala played the quintessential city girl who gets in touch with her fun side, Half ticket was mad mad movie.
6. Barsaat ki Raat: The songs and Qawali of the movie was not the only thing it was famous for it was famous for the performance of Madhubala. Barsaat ki Raat was Madhubala’s personal favourite movie that she watched over and over again.
7. Insan Jag Jutha: A lesser known film by Shakti Samanta, Insan Jaag Utha was the story of a conman falling in love and mending his greedy ways. Madhubala played the role of Gauri, a village girl, who works at the construction site of a dam. One of the highlights of the film was how beautiful Madhubala appeared in a simple village girl avatar.
8. Amar: Amar was one of the Mehboob’s classic which saw the impeccable acting performance of Madhubala. Playing a rich city girl, who learns more about life when she observes the trauma of a village girl, Madhubala floored her role with a nuanced performance.
9. Kalapani: In more ways than one, Kalapani was Dev Anand’s film. The role and story were tailor made for him and no wonders then that he took home the Filmfare Award. Madhubala deserved credit for leaving an impact through her exuberance and charm. Her role as Asha was to be Dev Anand’s love interest, but leave it Madhubala to make a walkthrough role a memorable one.
10. Howrah Bridge: It was a performance par excellence by Madhubala in Howrah Bridge. She was singing, dancing and gyrating in a way that made Ava Gardner and Rita Hayworth Hollywood icons. Helen in Mera naam Chin Chin Chu did steal the spotlight for a few minutes, but rest of the way.
