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Plans for Madhubala’s biopic have been taking rounds in the industry, with names of Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor Khan being dropped as the main leads of the film. Now it has been announced that the film is indeed rolling; however, no names have been finalized yet for the lead actress of the film who will play the legendary beauty.
Better known as Mughal-E-Azam‘s Anarkali, the actress was originally named Mumtaaz. In fact, she was credited by the same name when she made her film debut as a child actress in the film Basant in 1942. She was a revelation on screen and was hired on a salary of Rs 300 per month.
So, at a very young age, she was earning more than his father, who earned only Rs 150 per month. Madhubala made her film debut with Neel Kamal and was credited as Mumtaz then as well. Later, she turned into a rage and started getting offers.
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Madhubala’s biggest competition at that time was Suraiya, who was paid as much as Rs 45,000 per film. However, the Naya Daur actress was obsessed with work, and all she wanted was to sign as many films as she could. In fact, according to some old and classic Bollywood blogs, she kept her fee at Rs 7000 per film. Much lower than Suraiya’s fee only for one simple.
The Anarkali of the Indian Cinema made the perfect business move, keeping her fee so affordable that she was flooded with projects. In 1949, she was cast with Ashok Kumar in Kamal Amrohi’s directorial debut Mahal, which could be considered her proper launch.
The film was a blockbuster. It was made on an estimated budget of 9 lakh and collected around 90 lakh in its lifetime. After Mahal, there was no looking back for Madhubala. She turned into a superstar overnight. While she was charging Rs 7000 per film earlier, her salary jumped by 1328%, and she started earning 1 lakh per film.
The actress did as many as 24 films in the early 4 years of her career. However, not many of these films work. Her brightest work that made her immortal was, of course, Mughal-E-Azam, which she shot despite sharing a strained relationship with Dilip Kumar.
The actress died very early in 1969. However, by that time, she already appeared in 60 films. The actress was broken and hurt in love. In 1957, she was interviewed by Filmfare, and she let her heart out in the same. The actress was quoted saying, “The sum total of my life is a bitter experience which is coiled tight like a spring within my heart, and when released hurts excruciatingly. I am very emotional. I have always lived with my heart. For that, I have suffered more than is necessary. I have been hurt. In the sacred books, in the Quran, and in the Bible, it is said that if you do good, good will be done to you. With me, it has been otherwise.”
Madhubala’s biopic would offer a strenuous and heart-wrenching tale of an actress who was torn between love and responsibilities towards her family of 9. Hopefully, the film will do justice to her stature and her body of work.
For more such throwbacks, stay tuned to Koimoi.
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