Throwback to the time when Meena Kumari's estranged husband, Kamal Amrohi, took revenge on Dharmendra for his alleged affair with her.
Meena Kumari was the most loved and admired heroine in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning 33 years, Meena had starred in 90 films. Popularly known as the Tragedy Queen, Meena was the dream of every director, as she had the aura to create magic on screen with her presence. Films like Parineeta, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Do Bigha Zamin, and Pakeezah proved her versatility as an actress.
Though Meena Kumari’s professional life touched the sky, her personal life was nothing short of a tragedy. Ever since her birth, Meena was dejected as her father, Ali Bux left her outside an orphanage since he could not afford to pay the doctor, who brought her to this world. However, she survived, only to be dejected again by the love of her life, Kamal Amrohi.
Kamal and Meena’s tale of love was one of the biggest tragedies. They fell in love despite him being married. However, destiny had other plans, and the two parted ways. Despite parting ways, Kamal was madly in love with Meena. After their separation, it was rumoured that Meena had an affair with the 'He-Man' of Bollywood, Dharmendra. Meena’s beauty smote the handsome Dharmendra, and he openly confessed his feelings for her.
Dharmendra’s bond with Meena Kumari was visible in the films they acted in together. This didn’t go down well with Meena’s estranged husband, Kamal Amrohi, who was very possessive about her. As per multiple reports, years later, Kamal Amrohi cast Dharmendra in the film, Razia Sultan. While the role of 'Empress Razia Sultan’ was given to Dharmendra’s wife, Hema Malini, he was cast as her slave, ‘Jamal-ud-Din Yaqut’.
For the role of a slave, Kamal insisted Dharmendra to apply black paint all over his body, including his face. In the later segments of the film's shoot, Dharmendra had to face the scorching heat of the sun of the deserts and shoot bare-backed while the black paint was running down his face and torso. Many considered it to be Kamal’s perfectionism to be the authenticity of the character; other sources stated it to be his way of taking revenge on Dharmendra for his alleged affair with Meena.
This is not the only incident in which Kamal Amrohi takes revenge on Dharmendra. As per multiple reports, it is believed that for Kamal Amrohi’s dream project, Dharmendra was cast in the titular role opposite Meena Kumari. However, his growing closeness to Meena irked Kamal, and Dharmendra was soon replaced by Raaj Kumar.
After Dharmendra was replaced from Pakeezah, the actor reacted to the same. In an interview with The Tribune, when Dharmendra was asked if Kamal replaced him in Pakeezah because of Meena Kumari, the actor addressed his affair rumours with Meena Kumari and said:
“People are jealous of me, man. I was not in love with Meena Kumari. She was a huge star and I was her fan. If you call the relationship between a fan and a star as love, then consider it as love.”
Kamal was 34 and was married with three children when he fell in love with the then-18-year-old Meena. Despite his first marriage, Kamal and Meena had a secret nikah on February 14, 1952. Soon after Meena Kumari and Kamal Amrohi’s marriage, cracks started appearing in their relationship. Slowly, the couple started drifting apart, and it had a traumatic effect on Meena. The actress underwent severe bouts of depression and insomnia. She started drinking heavily and was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis.
Pakeezah was Meena’s last film, which Kamal Amrohi directed. Due to their separation, the film got delayed, and Meena had laid a condition that she would complete Pakeezah only after he divorced her. Three weeks after the film’s release, Meena Kumari fell seriously ill and passed away on March 31, 1972.
Meena Kumari and Dharmendra had worked together in films like Phool Aur Patthar, Chandan Ka Palna, Purnima, Baharon Ki Manzil, and Kaajal.
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