Madhubala’s Tragic Love Life- 7 Men Came In Actress Life Only To Leave Her All Alone

When we talk about the iconic stars of the Hindi cinema, Madhubala is the name that comes instantly to our mind. With her beautiful eyes, winsome smile and katil adaayein, she had an entire generation swooning over her looks. Speculations were rife that she fell in love many times but nothing worked out. In her biography, “The Mystery and Mystique of Madhubala”, freelance journalist and author, Mohan Deep wrote,

“She was a woman possessed. Haunted by her own insecurities until the very end. She loved men. And lost them. Latif, Mohan Sinha, Kamal Amrohi, Premnath, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Dilip Kumar, Pradeep Kumar, Bharat Bhushan, Kishore Kumar.”

Let us introduce you to all the men that came in Madhubala’s life:

1. Latif

He was Madhubala’s bachpan ka pyaar. This is known to all that the lady was born and brought-up in Delhi and then moved to Mumbai to become an actress. Latif was sad when she moved to the new city. Madhubala gave him a red rose which he kept with him and placed it on the actress’ grave when she passed away. Every year on February 23 (the day she died), a retired IAS officer, Latif visits Madhubala’s grave and place a red rose.

2. Kidar Sharma

Director Kidar Sharma gave Madhubala her first break in movies. Speculations were rife that he fell in love with her when he saw her for the first time. However, young Madhubala didn’t feel the same for him. Thus, this one-sided love story ended shortly. Madhubala’s younger sister Madhur Brij Bhushan talked about it and said,

“Kidar Sharma and Mohan Sinha were old enough to be her father.”

3. Kamal Amrohi

Kamal directed cult movie Mahal, which became one of the biggest hits of all the time. It was said that the director was head over heels in love with Madhubala and they used to spend hours together. Reportedly, her father was also happy with their relationship. He said,

“Aage chalke ein donho ki shaadi ho jaaye to mujhe koyi aitraaz nahin hai.”

Kamal was already married to another famous Bollywood actress of those times, Meena Kumari. Madhubala didn’t want to be his second wife and asked him to divorce his then wife. He refused to do so and wanted Madhubala to adjust with his first wife. In fact, it was also said that she offered Rs 9 lakh to Kamal. Her sister Madhur said,

“Kamal Amrohi was a married man and given our economic conditions how could she, the sole earning member of our family, offer him Rs 9 lakh?”

4. Premnath

Madhubala was already a huge star when she made Premnath on the sets of Badal. After dating for 6 months, the actress started to distance herself from him. Filmfare quoted Madhubala’s sister Madhur saying that they parted ways on the grounds of religion. She said,

“Apa [Madhubala] first fell in love with Premnath. The relationship lasted six months. It broke on grounds of religion. He asked her to convert and she refused.”

5. Dilip Kumar

Madhubala and Dilip Kumar first met on the sets of Tarana and had a nine-years-long relationship. They were even engaged but it is said that their break up involved Madhubala’s father, Ataullah Khan. The actress cried for days and even wanted things to work out. Madhur shared a part of conversation that both the stars had.

She said,

“Leave your father and I’ll marry you’. She’d say, ‘I’ll marry you but just come home, say sorry and hug him’. It was zid (ego) which destroyed their love. But my father never asked her to break the engagement or ever demanded an apology from him.”

Speculations were rife that Madhubala sent two identical notes with red rose to Dilip and Premnath. They couldn’t reject her proposal. According to “The Mystery and Mystique of Madhubala”,

“She wanted both her heroes—Premnath and Dilip Kumar. Unknown to her, however, Dilip and Premnath were fast becoming friends. Working together in Aan, the Pathan and the Punjabi shared several private moments together. Such moments were spent in exchanging cigarettes and sharing thoughts. Sometimes, the two buddies confided their secrets. And, the name of Madhubala cropped up. Suddenly, it dawned on them that they had been taken for fools by their young co-star. Both had received a red rose sent through the star’s hairdresser. Both had received identical notes. And the most degrading part—both had replied in the same manner…. The young girl, who looked like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, had made ulloos of them.”

Madhur rubbished rumours and said,

“Tell me, if Premnath and Dilip Kumar were angry over her two-timing, why were they present at her funeral?”

6. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

He was not from the industry and was a barrister at the Bombay High Court. He even owned loads of estate in Mumbai. To catch the glimpse of Anarkali, Zulfiqar used to visit on the sets regularly. As Madhubala was in pain after her relationship with Dilip ended, her alleged affair with Zulfiqar also ended because they didn’t have future.

7. Kishore Kumar

Madhubala wanted a stable relationship and then on the sets of Chalti Ka Naam Gadi and Half Ticket, she met Kishor Kumar. After getting married in 1960, they went to London where doctors said that she had a hole in her heart and she had only two years to live. Talking about Kishor’s reaction, Madhur said,

“After marriage they flew to London where the doctor told her she had only two years to live. After that Kishore left her at our house saying, ‘I can’t look after her. I’m on outdoors often’. But she wanted to be with him. He’d visit her once in two months though. Maybe he wanted to detach himself from her so that the final separation wouldn’t hurt. But he never abused her as was reported. He bore her medical expenses. They remained married for nine years.”

Madhubala used to write a diary and after she died, her father buried it in her grave at the Santa Cruz Muslim cemetery.