Look up Noor or noor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Noor or Nour may refer to:

People[link]

• Nur (name)

In fiction[link]

• Noor (play), the play by Akbar Ahmed
• Noor, an album by the metal band Adorned Brood
• Noor (soap opera), Arabic title for the Turkish soap opera Gümüş

Places[link]

• Noor, Iran, a city in northern Iran and capital of the Noor county
• Noor County, a county in Mazandaran Province in Iran

Other uses[link]

• Noor (horse), an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse
• Noor (Sufism), a concept in Sufism
• Noor (missile), a version of C-802
• An-Noor (The Light), the 24th sura of the Qur'an
• Kohinoor, the biggest diamond in the world, located on Queen Elizabeth II's Royal Crown

See also[link]

• Nur (disambiguation)
• Nuristan Province, a province in Afghanistan
• Noorani

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Mehdi Hassan Khan (Urdu: مہدی حسن خان ) is a Pakistani ghazal singer and a former playback singer for Lollywood. He is famously known as the 'King of ghazal' (Urdu: شہنشاہِ غزل). He has ruled the Pakistan film industry along with Ahmed Rushdi. He was honoured with Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance and Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan, and Gorkha Dakshina Bahu by the Government of Nepal.

Career[link]

Mehdi Hassan was born on 18 July 1934 in a village called Luna in Rajasthan, India into a family of traditional musicians. He claims to be the 16th generation of hereditary musicians hailing from the Kalawant clan of musicians. Mehdi Hassan had his musical grooming from his father Ustad Azeem Khan and uncle Ustad Ismail Khan who were both traditional Dhrupad singers. Hassan started to perform at a young age and the first concert of dhrupad and kheyal with his elder brother is reported to have been held in Fazilka Bungla^[1], near present DC House (1935) of Undivided Punjab. After the Partition of India, 20-year-old Hassan and his family migrated to Pakistan and suffered severe financial hardships.

To make both the ends meet Mehdi started working in a bicycle shop and later became a car and diesel tractor mechanic. Despite the hardships, his passion for music didn’t wither and he kept up the routine of practice on a daily basis.

The struggle ended when Mehdi Hassan was given the opportunity to sing on Radio Pakistan in 1957, primarily as a thumri singer, which earned him recognition within the musical fraternity. At the time, Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, Begum Akhtar and Mukhtar Begum were considered the stalwarts of ghazal rendition.^{[citation needed]}

He also had a passion for Urdu poetry and began to experiment by singing ghazals on a part-time basis. He cites radio officers Z.A. Bukhari and Rafiq Anwar as additional influences in his progression as a ghazal singer. He is known as the best ghazal singer of all times.

Later career[link]

Following a severe illness in the late 80s, Mehdi Hassan stepped down from playback singing. Later due to severity of his illness he completely departed from music. In October 2010, HMV released "Sarhadein" in which probably the first and last duet song "Tera Milana" featuring Mehdi Hassan and Lata Mangeshkar was released. This song was composed by Mr. Hassan himself written by Farhat Shahzad. Mr. Hassan recorded it in Pakistan in 2009, and Lata Mangeshkar later heard the track and recorded her part in India in 2010 and later mixed together for a duet.

Awards[link]

He has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions: the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz granted to him by Gen Ayub Khan; the Pride of Performance bestowed on him by Gen Ziaul Haq; and the Hilal-i-Imtiaz conferred by Gen Pervez Musharraf. Besides the Nigar Film and Graduate Awards from Pakistan, he was presented the Saigal Award in Jalandhar, India, in 1979, whereas the Gorkha Dakshina Bahu Award was given to him in Nepal in 1983. Recently, he travelled to Dubai to receive yet another award.

Personal life[link]

He has been suffering from a serious lung condition for the past few years. There were rumours of his death on 13/01/2012, however his son Asif Mehdi confirmed that the death rumours were fake, and he is responding to treatments and recovering now.^[2]

Albums[link]

Some of his albums are:

• Kehna Usey
• Nazrana
• Live at Royal Albert Hall
• Andaz-e-Mastana
• Classical Ghazals vol. 1, 2, 3
• Dil Jo Rota Hai
• Ghalib Ghazals
• Ghazals For Ever Vol 1
• Golden Collection Of Mehdi Hasan Vol 1, 2
• Golden Greats
• In Concert
• Khuli Jo Aankh
• Life Story
• Live at Khambays
• Live Concert in India
• Mehdi Hassan
• Mehdi Hassan Ghazals Vol 1
• Sada E Ishq
• Sarhadein
• Sur Ki Koi Seema Nahin
• The Finest Ghazals
• The Legend
• Yaadgar Ghazalen Vol 1
• Tarz(with Shobha Gurtu)
• Naqsh-e-Faryadi

Ghazals[link]

• Aage barhe na qissa -e -ishq -e- butaan se hum
• Aaj Tak Yaad Hai Woh Piar Ka Manzar
• Aankhon Se Mili Aankhen
• Aap Ki Aankhon Ne
• Aaye kuchh abr kuchh sharaab aaye (poet: Faiz Ahmed Faiz)
• Ab Ke Hum Bichde To Shaayad Kabhi Khwaabon Mein Mile (poet: Ahmed Faraz)
• Ae Raushnion Ke Shahr
• Apnon Ne Gham Diye To Yaad Aa Gaya
• Bhuuli bisri chand umeedein
• Chalte ho to chaman ko chaliye
• Charaag-e-toor Jalao Bada Andhera Hai
• Dekh to dil keh jaan se uthta hai
• Dil-E-Nadan Tujhe Hua Kya Hai (poet: Mirza Ghalib)
• Dil Ki Baat Labon Par Laakar.
• Dil Men Toofan Chupae Betha Hon
• Duniya Kisi Ke Pyaar Mein Jaanat Se Kam Nahin
• Dayam Pada Hua Tere Dar Pe Nahi Hoon Main (poet: Mirza Ghalib)
• Ek Bar Chale Aao
• Ek Bus Tu Hi Nahin Mujhse Khafa ho Baitha (poet: Farhat Shezhad)
• Ek Sitam Aur Meri Jaan, Abhi Jaan Baqi Hai (poet: Masroor Anwar)
• Fikr hii thaharii to dil ko fikr-e-Khubaan kyon Na Ho (poet: Josh Malihabadi)
• Ga Mere Dewane Dil
• Garmii-E-Hasarat-E-Naakaam Se Jal Jaate Hai.N
• Gulon Main Rang Bhare, Baad-e-Naubahaar Chale (Lyrics: Faiz Ahmed Faiz)
• Gulshan gulshan shola e gul ki
• Guncha-e-Shauq Laga hei Khilne
• Hamari Sanson Men Aaj Tak
• Har Dard Ko
• Hum mei koi ghum nahi tha ghum-e-aashiqi sai pahlay
• Ik Husn Ki Dewi Se Mujhe Pyaar Hua Thaa
• Ik khalish ko haasil-e-umr-e-ravaan rehne diya (poet: Adeeb Saharanpuri)
• Jab Bhi Aati Hei Teri Yaad Kabhi Shaam ke Baad
• Jab Bhi Chahen Ek Nai Sorat
• Jab Bhi Pee Kar
• Jab Koi Piar Se Bulaae Ga
• Jab Us zulf Ki Baat Chali
• Jahan Jake Chain
• Kahan Gai Woh Wafa
• Khuli Jo Aankh Woh Tha (poet: Farhat Shezhad)
• Kiya Hei Pyaar Jisse Humne Zindagi ki Tarah
• Kya Bhala Mujhko Parakhne Ka Nateeja Nikla
• Kyoon Humse Khafa Ho Gaye Ae Jaan-E-Tamanna
• Main Hosh Mein Tha
• Main khayal houn kisi aur ka (poet: Saleem Kausar)
• Main nazar se pee rha hoon
• Mohabat Karne Wale
• Mohabat Zindagi Hai Aur Tum Meri Mohabat Ho
• Mujhe Tum Nazar Se Gira To Rahe Ho
• Naavak andaz jidhar diida-e-jaana honge
• Patta Patta Boota Boota
• Phuul hi phuul khil utthe
• Pyaar Bhare Do Sharmile Nain
• Rafta Rafta Wo Meri Hasti Ka Saamaan Ho Gaye
• Ranjish Hi Sahi Dil Hi Dukhaane Ke Liye Aa
• Rim Jhim Ki Barsaat Hai Aur Jaage Huye Jazbaat Hain
• Roshan Jamal-e-yaar Se Hain
• Saamne Aa Ke Tujhko Pukara Nahin
• Sahar Ho Rahi Hai
• Shikwa Na Kar Gila Na Kar Ye Duniya Hai Pyaare
• Shola Tha Jal Bujha Hoon (penned by: Ahmed Faraz)
• Tanha Thi Aur Hamesha Se Tanha Hai Zindagi
• Tark-e-Ulfat Ka Sila
• Tere Bheege Badan Ki Khooshboo Se
• Tere Mere Piar Ka Aisa Nata Hai
• Toote Hue Khwabon Ke Liye
• Thah ar Thorri Der To
• Tu Meri Zindagi Hei (Copied by Nadeem Sharavan in "Ashiqi" Hindi Movie India)
• Usne Jab Meri Taraf
• Uzr Aane Mein Bhi Hei Aur Bulaate bhi nahin
• Wo Dil Nawaaj Hei Lekin Nazar Shinaas Nahin
• Yaaro Kisii Qaatil Se Kabhii Pyaar Na Maa.Ngo
• Yun na mil mujhse khafa ho jaise
• Ye Dhooan Kahan Se Uthta Hei
• Ye Kaghzi Phool Jaise Chahre
• Ye Mojazaa Bhii Muhabbat Kabhii Dikhaaye Mujhe
• Ye Tera Naazuk Badan Hai Ya Koi Mehka Gulaab
• Yoon Zindagi Ki Raah Mein Takra Gaya Koi
• Zindagi Mein To Sabhi Pyaar Kiya Karte Hain
• Zulf Ko Teri Ghataon Ka Payam Aaya Hai
• Mehadi Hassan also sung Persian/dari Ghazals In Kabul Afghnistn in 1970s.[1]

See also[link]

• Ghulam Ali

References[link]

Download Songs from musicmela.pk

• Mehdi Hassan Video Collection
• Lyrics and Translations of Mehdi Hassan Songs
• Songs and Albums by Mehdi Hassan
• Songs And Albums By Pakistani Singers
• Mehdi Hasan Songs
• Mehdi Hassan
• Shahanshah-e-Ghazal
• Mehdi Hassan & the complete list of his film songs
• Mehdi Hassan Biography on Sadarang Archives
• Indian Express

External links[link]

• Mehdi Hassan at the Internet Movie Database

Noorjehan^[1][2] or Noorjehan^[3] (Punjabi, Urdu: نور جہاں) was the adopted stage name for Allah Wasai (September 21, 1926 – December 23, 2000) who was a legendary singer and actress in British India and Pakistan. Her career spanned seven decades. She was renowned as one of the greatest and most influential singers of her time in South Asia and was given the honorific title of Malika-e-Tarannum (Urdu: ملکہ ترنم, English: the queen of melody).^[2]

Born in a Punjabi family of musicians, Wasai was pushed by her parents to follow in their musical footsteps and become a singer but she was more interested in acting in films and graced the earliest Pakistani films with her performances. She holds a remarkable record of 10,000 songs to her singing credits in various languages of India and Pakistan including Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and Sindhi languages.^[4] Along with Ahmed Rushdi, she holds the highest record of film songs in the history of Pakistani cinema. She is also considered to be the first female Pakistani film director.

In 1957, Jehan was awarded the President's Award for her acting and singing capabilities.

Early life[link]

Noor Jehan was born in Kasur, Punjab, British India^[5] and was one of the eleven children of professional musicians Madad Ali and Fateh Bibi.^[4][6]

Career[link]

Wasai began to sing at the age of five or six years old and showed a keen interest in a range of styles, including traditional folk and popular theatre. Realising her potential for singing, her mother sent her to receive early training in classical singing under Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan who was also a native of Kasur. He instructed her in the traditions of the Patiala Gharana of Hindustani classical music and the classical forms of thumri, dhrupad, and khyal.^[7] At the age of nine, Wasai drew the attention of Punjabi musician Ghulam Ahmed Chishti,^[8] who would later introduce her to stage in Lahore. He composed some ghazals, naats and folk songs for her to perform, although she was more keen in breaking into acting or playback singing. Once her vocational training finished, Wasai pursued a career in singing alongside her sisters in Lahore and would usually take part in the live song and dance performances prior to screenings of films in film theatres.

The family moved to Calcutta (now Kolkata) in hope of developing the movie careers of Wasai and her sisters. During their stay in Calcutta, the renowned singer Mukhtar Begum, encouraged Wasai and her two older sisters to join film companies and recommended them to various producers. She also recommended them to her husband, Agha Hashar Kashmiri, who owned a maidan theatre (a tented theatre to accommodate large audiences). It was here that Wasai received the stage name Baby Noor Jehan. Her older sisters were offered jobs with one of the Seth Sukh Karnani companies, Indira Movietone and they went on to be known as the Punjab Mail.^[4] Wasai would later adopt Mukhtar Begum's way of performance and sari attire.

In 1935, K.D. Mehra directed Pind di Kuri in which Jehan acted along with her sisters. She next acted in a film called Missar Ka Sitara (1936) by the same company and sang in it for music composer, Damodar Sharma. Baby Noor Jehan also played the child role of Heer in the film Heer-Sayyal (1937). After a few years in Calcutta, Noor Jehan returned to Lahore in 1938. In 1939, Ghulam Haider composed songs for Jehan which led to her early popularity. She then recorded her first song Shala Jawaniyan Mane for Dalsukh M. Pancholi's movie Gul Bakavli.

In 1942, she played the main lead opposite Pran in Khadaan. It was her first role as an adult, and the film was a major success. Khandaan's success saw her shifting to Bombay, with director Syed Shaukat Hussain Rizvi. She shared melodies with Shanta Apte in Duhai (1943). It was in this film that Noor Jehan lent her voice for the second time, to another actress named Husn Bano. She married Rizvi later the same year.^[9]

In 1945 Jehan played the lead role, alongside Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, in the movie Bari Maa.

In 1945, she achieved a milestone, when she sung a Qawwali with Zohrabai Ambalewali and Amirbai Karnataki which was "Aahen Na Bhareen Shikave Na Kiye". This was the first ever Qawwali recorded in female voices in South Asian films.

Noor Jehan's (Deepa govindarajan) last film in India was Mirza Sahibaan (1947) which starred Prithviraj Kapoor's brother Trilok Kapoor. Noor Jehan sang 127 songs in Indian films and the number of talking films she made from 1932 to 1947 was 69. The number of silents was 12. Fifty-five of her films were made in Bombay, eight in Calcutta, five in Lahore and one in Rangoon (now Yangon), Burma.

Acting career in Pakistan[link]

After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Rizvi and Jehan decided to move to Pakistan. They left Bombay and settled in Karachi with their family.

Three years after settling in Pakistan, Noor Jehan starred in her first film in Pakistan, Chan wey (1951), opposite Santosh Kumar, which was also her first Punjabi film as a heroine. Shaukat and Noor Jehan directed this film together making Noor Jehan Pakistan's first female director. Noor Jehan's second film in Pakistan was Dopatta (1952) which turned out to be an even bigger success than Chan wey (1951).

In 1953-54, Jehan and Rizvi were divorced due to personal differences. She kept custody of the three children from their marriage. News of several affairs followed, including one with cricketer, Nazar Mohammad. In 1959, she married another actor, Ejaz Durrani, nine years her junior.^[9]

Durrani pressured her to give up acting,^[9] and her penultimate film as an actress/singer was Mirza Ghalib (1961). This contributed to the strengthening of her iconic stature. She gained another audience for herself. Her rendition of Faiz Ahmed Faiz's Mujh se pehli si mohabbat mere mehboob naj maang is a unique example of tarranum, reciting poetry as a song. Noor Jehan last acted in Baaji in 1963, though not in a leading role.

Noor Jehan bade farewell to acting in 1963 after a career of 33 years (1930 to 1963). The pressure of being a mother of six children and the demands of being a wife to another actor forced her to give up her career. Noor Jehan made 14 films in Pakistan, ten in Urdu, four in Punjabi.

Noor Jehan as a playback singer[link]

After quitting acting she took up playback singing. She made her debut as a playback singer in 1960 with the film Salma. Her first initial playback for a Pakistani film was for Jan-e-Bahar (1958), in which she sang the song Kaisa Naseeb Layi Thi, picturised on Musarrat Nazir. She received many awards, including the highest Pakistani honour in entertainment, Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (The Pride of Performance) in 1966, Pakistan's top civil award. She sang a large number of duets with Ahmed Rushdi, Mehdi Hassan, Masood Rana and Mujeeb Aalam.

She had a great understanding and friendship with many great singers of Asia, for example with the late great Alam Lohar and many more singers also.

In the 1990s Jehan also sang for then débutante actresses Neeli and Reema. For this very reason, Sabiha Khanum affectionately called her Sadabahar (evergreen). Her popularity was further boosted with her patriotic songs during the 1965 war between Pakistan and India.

Jehan visited India in 1982 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Indian talkie movies, where she met Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in New Delhi and was received by Dilip Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar in Mumbai.

Patriotic songs[link]

During the 1965 India-Pakistan war. Noor Jehan sung many patriotic songs enthusiastically, which became tremendously popular. Some of these songs are listed below:

• Ae watan kay sajeelay jawano, Mere naghmay tumharay leeyay hain
• Aeh putr hataan tay nahin wikday, Tu lubni ain wich bazar kuray
• Mereya dhol sipahia, Tenun Rub dyaan rakhhan
• O mahi chhail chhabilah, Haey neen kernail neen jarnail neen
• Yeh hawaoun kay musafir, Yeh samandaroun kay rahi, Meray sir bakaf mujahid, Meray suf shikan sipahe
• Rung laey ga shaheedoun ka lahoo, Yeh lahoo surkhee hay aazadi kay afsanay ki
• Mera sohnan shehr Qasoor neen, Hoya dunya wich mashhoor neen

Last years and death[link]

In 1986, on a tour of North America, Jehan suffered from chest pains and was diagnosed with angina pectoris after which she underwent a surgery to install a pacemaker. In 2000, Jehan was hospitalised in Karachi and suffered a heart attack. On December 23, 2000 Jehan died as a result of heart failure. Her funeral took place at Jamia Masjid Sultan, Karachi and she was buried at the Gizri Graveyard near the Saudi Consulate in Karachi.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Noor Jehan at the Internet Movie Database
• Noor Jehan Audio Collection - Bingo.com.pk
• Rich tributes paid to Noor Jehan - DAWN.com
• Noor Jehan's immortal melodies - DAWN.com
• The unforgettable queen - DAWN.com
• The Melody Queen lives on - DAWN.com
• ^ Songs by Noor Jehan. Retrieved 2005-04-02. Includes a photograph of Noor Jehan.
• Few hits of Noor Jehan
• Madam Noorjehan on Pakistan Film Magazine

Nayyara Noor (Urdu: نیرہ نور ) is a Pakistani playback singer who is also considered one of the South Asia's foremost exponents in the Ghazal genre.^[1][2]

Biography[link]

Nayyara Noor was born in 1950 in Assam. Her family was a merchant class hailing from Amritsar who had settled in Guwahati in Assam State in the North-Eastern India. Her father was an active member of the Muslim League and in 1958, the family moved to Pakistan. As a child, Nayyara is said to have been inspired by the bhajans of Kanan Devi and Kamla as well as the ghazals and thumris of Begum Akhtar.^[3]

Although Nayyara had no formal musical background nor formal training, she was discovered by Professor Israr at the Islamia College in Lahore after hearing her sing for her friends and teachers at an annual dinner at the National College of Arts in Lahore in 1968. Soon thereafter she was asked to sing for the university's Radio Pakistan programs.

In 1971, Nayyara made her public singing debut in Pakistani television serials and then beginning with films like Gharana and Tansen. She has since sung ghazals penned by the likes of Ghalib and Faiz Ahmed Faiz and has performed with legends like Mehdi Hassan and Ahmed Rushdi. She has won three gold medals in the All Pakistan Music Conference and a Nigar Award for best female singer. She has since performed at countless mehfils and mushairas having cemented a following among ghazal lovers in Pakistan and India.Her probably the most famous ghazal (a form of song in Urdu poetry) was ae jazba e dil gar mai chhon, written by Behzad Lakhnavi 1900-1974, a poet, script writer and song writer of radio Pakistan, for which she won many rewards. Behazad Lakhnavi is buried in Sakhi Hasan. This is the place which was allotted by the government for the memories of Behzad Lakhnavi. He was born in Lucknow, India.

Related Information[link]

• Her younger son Jaffer is the lead vocalist of Kaavish, while the elder son Naad-e-Ali has started his debut as solo.^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Nayyara Noor at the Internet Movie Database

This article about a Pakistani singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Meena Kumari (1 August 1932 – 31 March 1972), born Mahjabeen Bano, was an Indian movie actress and poetess. She is regarded as one of the most prominent actresses to have appeared on the screens of Hindi Cinema. During a career spanning 30 years from her childhood to her death, she starred in more than ninety films, many of which have achieved classic and cult status today.

Kumari gained a reputation for playing grief-stricken and tragic roles, and her performances have been praised and reminisced throughout the years. Like one of her best-known roles, Chhoti Bahu, in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Kumari became addicted to alcohol. Her life and prosperous career were marred by heavy drinking, troubled relationships, an ensuing deteriorating health, and her death from liver cirrhosis in 1972.

Kumari is often cited by media and literary sources as "The Tragedy Queen", both for her frequent portrayal of sorrowful and dramatic roles in her films and her real-life story.^[1][2]

Early life[link]

Meena Kumari was the third daughter of Ali Baksh and Iqbal Begum; Khursheed and Madhu were her two elder sisters. At the time of her birth, her parents were unable to pay the fees of Dr. Gadre, who had delivered her, so her father left her at a Muslim orphanage, however, he picked her up after a few hours.

Her father, a Shia Muslim, was a veteran of Parsi theater, played harmonium, taught music, and wrote Urdu poetry. He played small roles in films like Id Ka Chand and composed music for films like Shahi Lutere.

Her mother was the second wife of Ali Baksh. Before meeting and then marrying Ali Baksh, she was a stage actress and dancer, under the stage name, Kamini.

Career[link]

Early work[link]

When Mahjabeen was born, Ali Bakhsh aspired to get roles as an actor in Rooptara Studios. At the urging of his wife, he got Mahjabeen too into movies despite her protestations of wanting to go to school. Young Mahjabeen is said to have said, "I do not want to work in movies; I want to go to school, and learn like other children."

As Mahjabeen embarked on her acting career at the age of 7, she was renamed Baby Meena. Farzand-e-Watan or Leatherface (1939) was her first movie, which was directed for Prakash Studios by Vijay Bhatt. She became practically the sole breadwinner of her family during the 1940s. Her early adult acting, under the name Meena Kumari, was mainly in mythological movies like Veer Ghatotkach (1949), Shri Ganesh Mahima (1950), and fantasy movies like Alladin and The Wonderful Lamp (1952).

Breakthrough[link]

Meena Kumari gained fame with her role as a heroine in Vijay Bhatt's Baiju Bawra (1952). This heroine always negated herself for the material and spiritual advancement of the man she loved and was even willing to annihilate herself to provide him the experience of pain so that his music would be enriched. She became the first actress to win the Filmfare Best Actress Award in 1953 for this performance.

Meena Kumari highly successfully played the roles of a suffering woman in Parineeta (1953), Daera (1953), Ek Hi Raasta (1956), Sharda (1957), and Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi (1960). Though she cultivated the image of a tragedienne, she also performed commendably in a few light-hearted movies like Azaad (1955), Miss Mary (1957), Shararat (1959), and Kohinoor (1960).

One of her best-known roles was in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), which was produced by Guru Dutt. Kumari played Chhoti Bahu, an alcoholic wife. The film was a major critical and commercial success, which was attributed by critics to Kumari's performance, which is regarded as one of the best performances of Hindi Cinema.^[3] The role was famous for its uncanny similarity to Meena Kumari's own life. At that time, she herself was on a road to gradual ruin in her own personal life. Like her character, she began to drink heavily, though she carried on. In 1962, she made history by getting all the three nominations for Filmfare Best Actress Award, for her roles in Aarti, Main Chup Rahungi, and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. She won the award for Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. Upperstall.com wrote about her performance,

"While each of the performances are spot on, if there is one person who is the heart and soul of the film, it is Meena Kumari. Her portrayal of Chhoti Bahu is perhaps the greatest performance ever seen on the Indian Screen. The sequence where Chhoti Bahu dresses for her husband singing Piya Aiso Jiya Main is a poignant exploration of a woman's expectations and sexual desire. And later on when she has become a desperate alcoholic, you cannot help but cry with her in the sequence where she pleads with her husband to stay with her and then angrily turns on him to tell him how she has prostituted her basic values and morals to please him. However the common factors between the actress's life and Chhoti Bahu are too dramatic to be merely coincidental - The estranged marital relationship, the taking of alcohol, turning towards younger male company, the craving to be understood and loved - all elements evident in Meena Kumari's own life."^[4]

Later work[link]

For four more years, Kumari performed successfully in Dil Ek Mandir (1963), Kaajal (1965), and Phool Aur Patthar (1966), all of which earned her Filmfare nominations, with Kaajal garnering her a fourth and last win of the Best Actress award. However, after divorcing her husband in 1964, her addiction to alcohol became stronger, and she often dulled her senses with liquor. She also relied more and more on intimate relationships with younger men like Dharmendra. Her subsequent releases, including Chandan Ka Palna and Majhli Didi did not do well.^[1]

Kumari's heavy drinking had badly damaged her liver, and in 1968 she fell seriously ill.^[1][5] She was taken to London and Switzerland for treatment. Back home, she started settling her debts and made peace with her estranged sister, Madhu, whom she had not spoken to for two years.^[5] Because of her heavy drinking, she increasingly lost her good looks, and when she returned, she began playing character roles in movies like Jawab (1970) and Dushmun (1972).^[1]

She developed an attachment to writer-lyricist Gulzar and acted in his directorial debut Mere Apne (1971). Kumari presented an acclaimed portrayal of an elderly woman who got caught between two street gangs of frustrated, unemployed youth and got killed, her death making the youth realise the futility of violence.

Pakeezah, starring Kumari and directed by her ex-husband Kamal Amrohi, took 14 years to reach the silver screen. First planned by Amrohi in 1958, the film went on the studio floors in 1964, but the shooting came to a standstill after their separation in March 1964, when it was more than halfway complete.^[5] In 1969, Sunil Dutt and Nargis previewed some reels of the shelved film and convinced the estranged Amrohi and Kumari to complete it.^[1] Hindustan Times described the meeting which Dutt had organised between the two:

"Not much was said, but streams of tears were shed... Amrohi greeted her with a token payment of a gold guinea and the promise that he’d make her look as beautiful as the day she had started the film."^[5]

Gravelly ill, Kumari was determined to complete the film and, well aware of the limited time left for her to live, went out of her way to complete it at the earliest. Despite her rapidly deteriorating health, she gave the finishing touches to her performance. Initially, after its release in February 1972, Pakeezah opened to a lukewarm response from the public; however, after Meena Kumari's death less than two months later, people flocked to see it, making it a major box-office success. The film has since gained a cult and classic status, and Kumari's performance as a golden-hearted Lucknow prostitute drew major praise. She posthumously received her twelfth and last Filmfare nomination.

Throughout her life, Kumari had a love-hate relationship with movies, and besides being a top-notch actress, she was a talented poetess, and recorded a disc of her Urdu poems, I write, I recite with music by Khayyam.

Death[link]

Three weeks after the release of Pakeezah, Meena Kumari became seriously ill, and died on 31 March 1972 of liver cirrhosis. At her death, she was in more or less the same financial circumstance as her parents at the time of her birth: It is said that when she died in a nursing home, there was no money to pay her hospital bills. She was buried at Rahematabad Qabristan located at Narialwadi, Mazgaon, Mumbai.

Relationship with Kamal Amrohi[link]

In 1952, on the sets of one of her films, Meena Kumari fell in love with and married film director, Kamal Amrohi, who was fifteen years elder than her and was already married. She wrote about Amrohi:

"Dil saa jab saathi paya
Bechaini bhi woh saath le aaya"

(When I found someone like my heart
He also brought sorrow with him)

Soon after marriage, Kamal Amrohi and Meena Kumari produced a film called Daera (1953), which was based on their love story. They also planned another film, Pakeezah. However, it took sixteen years (1956 to 1972) before Pakeezah reached the silver screen. (The scenes in Pakeezah's popular song, Inhi logon ne, were originally filmed in black and white, and were later reshot in color.)

It is said that Amrohi did not want children with Meena Kumari because she was not a Syed. They raised Kamal Amrohi's son, Tajdaar, who was greatly attached to his chhoti ammi (younger mother).

Due to their strong personalities, however, Meena Kumari and Kamal Amrohi started to develop conflicts, both professionally and in their married life. Their conflicts led to separation in 1960, and ultimately divorce in 1964. Highly affected Meena Kumari, who, once a happy woman, became depressed and found solace in heavy drinking. They remarried, but Meena Kumari had become an alcoholic by then.

She expressed her sorrows prominently in her poetry. About Kamal Amrohi she wrote:

"Tum kya karo ge sun kar mujh se meri kahani
Bay lutf zindagi ke qissay hain pheekay pheekay"

(Why do you want to listen to my story:
Colourless tales of a joyless life)

At the time of the divorce, she wrote:

"Talaaq to day rahay ho Nazar-e-qehar ke saath
Jawani bhi meri lauta do Mehar ke saath"

(You are divorcing me with rage in your eyes
Return to me, also, my youth along with the alimony!)

Filmography[link]

• Gomti Ke Kinare (1972) .... Ganga
• Pakeezah (1972) .... Nargis/Sahibjaan
• Dushmun (1971) .... Malti R. Din
• Mere Apne (1971) .... Anandi Devi/Auaji (Aunt)
• Jawab (1970) .... Vidya
• Saat Phere (1970)
• Abhilasha (1968) .... Mrs. Meena Singh
• Baharon Ki Manzil (1968) .... Nanda S. Roy/Radha Shukla
• Bahu Begum (1967) .... Zeenat Jahan Begum
• Chandan Ka Palna (1967) .... Shobha Rai
• Majhli Didi (1967) .... Hemangini 'Hema'
• Noorjehan (1967)
• Phool Aur Patthar (1966) .... Shanti Devi
• Pinjre Ke Panchhi (1966) .... Heena Sharma
• Bheegi Raat (1965)
• Jadui Angoothi (1965)
• Kaajal (1965) .... Madhavi
• Purnima (1965) .... Purnima V. Lal
• Maain Bhi Ladki Hun (1964) .... Rajni
• Benazir (1964) .... Benazir
• Chitralekha (1964) .... Chitralekha
• Gazal (1964) .... Naaz Ara Begum
• Sanjh Aur Savera (1964) .... Gauri
• Akeli Mat Jaiyo (1963) Seema
• Dil Ek Mandir (1963) .... Sita
• Kinare Kinare (1963)
• Aarti (film) (1962) .... Aarti Gupta
• Main Chup Rahungi (1962) .... Gayetri
• Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) .... Chhoti Bahu
• Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan (1961) .... Geeta, Shyam's wife
• Pyaar Ka Saagar (1961) .... Radha/Rani B. Gupta
• Zindagi Aur Khwab (1961) .... Shanti
• Bahaana (1960)
• Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai (1960) .... Karuna
• Kohinoor (1960)
• Ardhangini (1959) .... Chhaya
• Chand (1959)
• Char Dil Char Raahein (1959) .... Chavli
• Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan (1959) .... Ratna
• Jagir (1959)
• Madhu (1959)
• Satta Bazaar (1959) .... Jamuna
• Shararat (1959)
• Farishta (1958)
• Sahara (1958) .... Leela
• Savera (1958)
• Yahudi (1958) .... Hannah
• Miss Mary (1957) .... Miss Mary/Laxmi
• Sharada (1957) .... Sharada Ram Sharan
• Bandhan (1956)
• Ek-Hi-Rasta (1956) .... Malti
• Halaku (1956) .... Niloufer Nadir
• Mem Sahib (1956) .... Meena
• Naya Andaz (1956)
• Shatranj (1956)
• Adl-E-Jahangir (1955)
• Azaad (1955) .... Shobha
• Bandish (1955) .... Usha Sen
• Rukhsana (1955)
• Baadbaan (1954)
• Chandni Chowk (1954) .... Zarina
• Ilzam (1954)
• Daera (1953) .... Sheetal
• Dana Paani (1953)
• Do Bigha Zamin (1953) .... Thakurain
• Foot Path (1953) .... Mala
• Naulakha Haar (1953) .... Bijma
• Parineeta (1953) .... Lalita
• Aladdin Aur Jadui Chirag (1952)
• Baiju Bawra (1952) .... Gauri
• Tamasha (1952) .... Kiran
• Hanumaan Pataal Vijay (1951)
• Lakshmi Narayan (1951)
• Madhosh (1951) .... Soni
• Sanam (1951)
• Anmol Ratan (1950)
• Hamara Ghar (1950)
• Magroor (1950)
• Shri Ganesh Mahima (1950)
• Veer Ghatotkach (1949) .... Surekha
• Bichchade Balam (1948)
• Piya Ghar Aaja (1947)
• Bachchon Ka Khel (1946)
• Duniya Ek Sarai (1946)
• Lal Haveli (1944)
• Pratiggya (1943)
• Garib (1942)
• Bahen (1941) (as Baby Meena) .... Bina
• Kasauti (1941)
• Nai Roshni (1941)
• Ek Hi Bhool (1940)
• Pooja (1940)
• Leatherface (1939)

Filmfare Awards[link]

• Filmfare Best Actress Award – Won
  1953 Parineeta – Lalita
  1954 Baiju Bawra – Gauri
  1963 Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam – Chhoti Bahu
  1966 Kaajal – Madhavi
  

• Filmfare Best Actress Award – Nominated
  1956 Azaad – Shobha
  1959 Sahara – Leela
  1960 Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan – Ratna
  1963 Aarti – Aarti Gupta
  1963 Main Chup Rahungi – Gayetri
  1964 Dil Ek Mandir – Sita
  1967 Phool Aur Patthar – Shanti Devi
  1973 Pakeezah – Nargis / Sahibjaan (posthumous nomination)^[6]
  

Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards[link]

Meena Kumari has won several awards at the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards (BFJA)

• 1963 Best Actress (Hindi): Aarti
• 1965 Best Actress (Hindi): Dil Ek Mandir
• Special Award: Pakeezah^[7]

Biography[link]

One of the first biographies of Meena Kumari was written just after her death by Vinod Mehta in the year 1972. It was simply titled Meena Kumari.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Meena Kumari at the Internet Movie Database
• Meena Kumari at Manas: Culture of India
• Collection of verses by Meena Kumari