MUMBAI: Meena Kumari is one of the most iconic actresses of the 60s and 70s. Her films like Baiju Bawra, Pakeezah and many more are still some of the most iconic films in Indian cinema history. She was called the tragedy queen for the roles that she portrayed. However her real life was no less tragic. She died at the age of 39 a few weeks after her blockbuster film Pakeezah released.
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It is said that in her final days, Meena Kumari was financially broke and didn't even have Rs 3500 in her bank account so that the hospital could release her dead body.
Director Bimal Roy’s daughter Rinki Roy Bhattacharya told a news portal, “When this actress of high calibre, the reigning Goddess of cinema breathed her last on the afternoon of March 31, 1972, at 3:25 pm in St Elizabeth’s nursing home, she did not have Rs 3,500 required to release her body.” Rinki shared that the doctor had to step in and pay so the family could bury the remains. “It was a miracle when her physician bailed out the family.”
Singer Lata Mangeskar who was close to the actress had previously said in an interview about meeting her in her last days. Lata had said, “I came to know she was extremely ill. When I reached her place with flowers, she said, ‘Allah, aap yahan aaye, main badi khush-kismat hoon’. We chatted. She asked me for tea, though I sensed she was in no position to offer me anything except her warmth in that condition. She passed away a little later.”
Director Saawan Kumar Tak once said, “I once footed the bill of Rs 15,000. I sold my Standard car for this. She died a few weeks after that. I gave her kandha (shouldered her coffin). Meenaji faced much heartbreak in her life. Roses and handsome men could not take away her tragedies.’
Meena Kumari died in 1972 due to liver cirrhosis.
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Credit-Indianexpress
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