I Want to Live: The Story of MadhubalaMadhubala – the very name conjures up vivid images of a love goddess possessing bewitching beauty, dazzling radiance, subtle sensuality, and, above all, a tantalizing screen presence. Her ‘reel life’ histrionic performances held (and continue to hold) audiences/viewers entranced. Her talent was phenomenal, and she could literally glide through a movie, whatever be the role. She could convey an impressive array of emotions with her eloquent eyes and facial expressions without resorting to melodramatic contortions. Tragedy, romance, comedy, drama, and what have you – she could take everything in her stride, exquisitely and flawlessly, as convincingly proved by superhits such as Mahal, Tarana, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi and the magnum opus, Mughal-e-Azam. All this she achieved despite a major heart disease, which assumed serious proportions as her career soared. This volume presents a fascinating panorama not only of the ‘reel life’ Madhubala but also of the ‘real life’ Madhubala, who was an extremely compassionate and caring human being, but lived in the shadow of her dominant father. The author recounts her captivating saga, right from her first film – Basant (1942), as a child star, up to the magnificent Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and beyond. Enthralling cameos from her masterpieces such as Mahal, Mr & Mrs 55 and Amar, are depicted in graphic detail. Also, all the drama involved in her love affair with Dilip Kumar, which culminated in intense acrimony, has been poignantly portrayed. The last few years of her life were spent in virtual solitude in spite of her being married to Kishore Kumar, and death, in a way, came as a release for her. |
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Aayega actor actress Ajit Akbar Amar Anarkali Anil Biswas artiste Ashok Kumar Asif Asif’s Ataullah Khan B. R. Chopra Baby Mumtaz beauty Bombay Talkies camera Cast Chalti Ka Naam Chanchal cinema co-star dance daughter Dev Anand dialogue Dilip Kumar emotional eyes face father film industry Filmfare Filmindia gave girl Gita Bali Guru Dutt happiness heart heroine India Indian screen journalists Kala Pani Kamal Amrohi Kamini Kaushal Karanjia Khan Saheb Kidar Sharma Kishore Kumar Kumar and Madhubala live look love scenes Madhu Madhubala Madhubala and Dilip married Meena Kumari Mehboob Mohan movie Mughal Mughal-e-Azam Naam Gaadi Nadira Nargis Naushad Naya Daur Neel Kamal never Nimmi person picture played Pradeep Kumar Prakash Premnath Prince Salim Prithviraj Kapoor Producer Director Music Raj Kapoor recalled released role sets Shahpoorji Shammi Kapoor Sheesh Mahal shooting shot sister Sitara Devi smile song star story studios Suraiya talent Tarana wanted