[rajnish manga]

‘Our heorine’ passed away within days of the release of her epic Pakeezah which took 14 years to complete. Such was her devotion to the medium that Meena finished the film despite her ill-health and bitterness with Amrohi. The film did not get instant positive response and initial reviews were discouraging. But her death changed fortunes as Pakeezah became a platform for her fans to pay homage to their enchantress-heroine. Pakeezah was a story of a ‘pure’, love-seeking woman and cemented that lasting popular image of the heroine: deep sorrow, longing and unsaid verses in those beautiful eyes.
To characterize her as a merely pitiful, lonely and tragic figure would be unfair
Mehta appropriately grants himself some leeway by stating at the outset: “It would be a brave, possibly foolish man who would write a book on Meena Kumari without the necessary escape clause”. There are many more versions of Meena’s life but this one is a must read for it is simply written, gripping and brings forth a fulsome image of a complex woman. It is quite clear at the end of the book that Meena made her own choices and paid for them as well. But to characterize her as a merely pitiful, lonely and tragic figure would be unfair to someone so talented and intelligent. Her poetic skills merit a separate piece and I promise to do that once I locate all my dusted versions of her poetry picked up from old books stalls in Lahore’s Anarkali.

An original poster of the film Pakeezah

Mehta starts and concludes his book with a simple line that echoes what many of us tell ourselves: “Wish I had known you.”