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rajnish manga · 04-11-2013, 09:35 PM

Harper Collins have republished well known Indian editor, Vinod Mehta’s biography of Meena Kumari authored in the 1970s (Meena Kumari: The Classic Biography). This is a fine introduction to a larger-than-life person and performer. By no means authoritative it does give a fairly detailed account of her life, achievements and travails. As Mehta mentions at the start of the book, in 1972 he was a struggling ad copywriter “going nowhere. With false bravado which comes easily to a person who has achieved little, I accepted the commission and duly delivered the finished manuscript” in a few months. Mehta was “embarrassed at the effort” because the subject of his biography was not available for interviews, and Dharmendra — “the man who had callously used and discarded her” never gave him the time to hold detailed interviews. Having said that, the biography is fairly well-researched and brings forth lesser known facets of this exceptionally talented woman who remains a bit of an enigma to date.
Born in 1932 to Master Ali Bux (who migrated from Bhera in Punjab province) and Iqbal Begum (a Bengali Christian who converted to marry Iqbal), Mahjabeen (Meena) was the second of three sisters. Meena Kumari started her career at the age of 4 when she became a vehicle to supplement the family income and was taken to the studios. She started as a child actor with Leather Face and soon she was in high demand. Her transformation as a heroine was therefore an organic feat. Prior to her work as a heroine, Meena Kumari starred in many mythological films during the pre-Independence days, mostly playing Hindu goddesses. Mehta tells us how “A Sunni Muslim, without even a rudimentary knowledge of Indian scriptures, conducted herself with such familiarity that people on the sets often mistook her for a Hindu girl. She was so perfect in these mythologicals that the early Meena became an essential feature of this genre.” By the 1940s she was charging Rs. 10,000 for a film and very soon her financial independence empowered her to make her own choices.

04-11-2013, 09:35 PM	#3
rajnish manga Super Moderator Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Faridabad, Haryana, India Posts: 13,293 Rep Power: 241	Re: The real Meena Kumari Harper Collins have republished well known Indian editor, Vinod Mehta’s biography of Meena Kumari authored in the 1970s (Meena Kumari: The Classic Biography). This is a fine introduction to a larger-than-life person and performer. By no means authoritative it does give a fairly detailed account of her life, achievements and travails. As Mehta mentions at the start of the book, in 1972 he was a struggling ad copywriter “going nowhere. With false bravado which comes easily to a person who has achieved little, I accepted the commission and duly delivered the finished manuscript” in a few months. Mehta was “embarrassed at the effort” because the subject of his biography was not available for interviews, and Dharmendra — “the man who had callously used and discarded her” never gave him the time to hold detailed interviews. Having said that, the biography is fairly well-researched and brings forth lesser known facets of this exceptionally talented woman who remains a bit of an enigma to date. Born in 1932 to Master Ali Bux (who migrated from Bhera in Punjab province) and Iqbal Begum (a Bengali Christian who converted to marry Iqbal), Mahjabeen (Meena) was the second of three sisters. Meena Kumari started her career at the age of 4 when she became a vehicle to supplement the family income and was taken to the studios. She started as a child actor with Leather Face and soon she was in high demand. Her transformation as a heroine was therefore an organic feat. Prior to her work as a heroine, Meena Kumari starred in many mythological films during the pre-Independence days, mostly playing Hindu goddesses. Mehta tells us how “A Sunni Muslim, without even a rudimentary knowledge of Indian scriptures, conducted herself with such familiarity that people on the sets often mistook her for a Hindu girl. She was so perfect in these mythologicals that the early Meena became an essential feature of this genre.” By the 1940s she was charging Rs. 10,000 for a film and very soon her financial independence empowered her to make her own choices.