Meena Kumari was one of the most respected and loved actresses in Hindi cinema. In a career that spanned over 30 years, she worked in almost around 90 films. Such was the impact of her acting prowess that she emerged as Bollywood's Tragedy Queen. While her professional journey shone brightly, her personal life was filled with immense pain. Meena’s story had a tragic beginning, her father, Ali Bux, left her outside an orphanage right after her birth because he couldn’t afford the hospital bill. Years later, Meena later fell in love with filmmaker Kamal Amrohi, who was already married. Despite this, they secretly got married on February 14, 1952. After their breakup, rumours spread about Meena’s closeness with Dharmendra. He admired her deeply and didn’t hide it. They worked in films together, and their bond was quite evident from the onscreen chemistry they shared. This reportedly made Kamal Amrohi, Meena Kumari's estranged husband, extremely jealous.
Years later, when Kamal made Razia Sultan, he cast Dharmendra opposite his second wife, Hema Malini. Dharmendra was given the role of a slave and was asked to paint his entire body black and shoot in the scorching heat. Many believed this was Kamal’s way of subtly taking revenge for the Meena-Dharmendra dating rumours.
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Another rumour suggested that Dharmendra was originally cast in Kamal’s dream project Pakeezah opposite Meena, but Kamal later replaced him with Raaj Kumar due to Meena and Dharmendra’s alleged closeness.
When asked about his relationship with Meena, Dharmendra later said: “I was not in love with Meena Kumari. She was a huge star and I was her fan. If people call that love, then so be it.”
Meanwhile, Meena and Kamal’s marriage continued to fall apart. Meena struggled emotionally and physically. Her health worsened due to heavy drinking, and she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis. Pakeezah was Meena’s final film. Due to their strained relationship, the film got delayed for years. Meena agreed to finish it only if Kamal divorced her. The film finally released, but just three weeks later, Meena Kumari passed away on March 31, 1972, and left everyone heartbroken.
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