She may have been young when she passed away, but Bollywood legendary actress Meena Kumari left an unmatchable legacy behind. Every once in a while we come across an actor who not just nurtures our remarkable movie but also changes the look of the whole era. The actress who made her debut at the age of 6 ruled the Indian cinema industry for a long period of time. The multi-award-winning legendary actress left her stamp in every genre of cinema and won the title of a Tragedy queen. Today, in remembrance of the Tragedy Queen, here we bring you a list of the top 10 powerful movies of Meena Kumari:
1. Baiju Bawra: This movie will always stay special for Meena as after winning hearts as a child artist, the actress finally got her first breakthrough as a lead actress with this blockbuster. In the movie about the lives of two warring musicians, she played the role of the love connection of the lead.
2. Pakeeza: One of the finest cinematic products of Indian cinema, Pakeeza took Indian cinema to the out of the average level. It’s a movie that holds a supernatural power to move you to the parallel world of fantasy. The movie was made under the directorial of Kamal Amrohi.
3. Ghazal: The movie which never fails to leave your eye teary, was one of the most applauded blockbusters of its time. Based on the rising voice of the young generation to win the right of choosing their own life partner, the movie starred Meena Kumari opposite Sunil Dutt.
4. Parineeta: Parineeta is the cinematic take on one of the highest-selling Bengali novels written by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Kumari played the role of an orphaned niece of a poor clerk and is known as Kumari’s one of their finest works.
5. Kaajal: Kaajal is another powerful venture of the actress which helped her win her fourth and last Filmfare award. The turned into a box-office superhit, Kaajal was the cinematic version of ‘Maahavi’ a novel written by Gulshan Kumar.
6. Kohinoor: Capturing, the tragedy king and queen, Meena Kumari and Dilip Kumar in lead, Kohinoor is the story of a prince and princess of two different dynasties. This movie made the versatile Meena Kumari popular for her comical scene in the film.
7. Saheb Biwi Aur Gulam: The film stars Guru Dutt, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman, and Nazir Hussain. It is based on the Bengali novel Sahib Bibi Golam by Bimal Mitra. This movie was critically acclaimed but was a flop at the box office. Meena Kumar’s performance as Choti Bahu was regarded as one of the best performances of Indian cinema.
8. Dil Apna or Preet Parai: This is a romantic drama film by Meena Kumari which was produced by S. A. Bagar and directed by Kishore Sahu. Here she plays the role of a nurse who doesn’t get married to her lover.
9. Dil Ek Mandir: The remake of the Tamil film Nenjil Or Aalayam (1960) is an interesting romantic drama about a woman whose husband has cancer and is being treated by her former lover. With both men desperately in love with her, what follows is a unique romantic triangle that weighs up duty versus desire.
10. Majhli Didi: This often-forgotten classic was actually India’s entry to the 41st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and was based on a story written by acclaimed author Sarat Chandra. Kumari portrays an educated city girl who marries a very traditional family and gets caught up in the crossfire of family politics.
