Meena Kumari was the ultimate tragedy queen, the doomed diva millions of Indian women of the time identified with. One of the finest Indian actresses of all time, Mahjabeen Ali Bux had begun her screen career as a child artiste Baby Meena in Vijay Bhatt’s Farzand-e-Watan or Leatherface in 1939. She was seven then, totally averse to the prospect of working in films. Most of her films as a teenager were nondescript mythological dramas like Veer Ghatotkach (1949), Shri Ganesh Mahima (1950), Lakshmi Narayan (1951) and Hanumaan Pataal Vijay (1951) and small-time socials, which went almost unnoticed. Her mentor Vijay Bhatt of Prakash Pictures rechristened her Meena Kumari when he cast her as the heroine of his Baiju Bawra in 1952. She played a martyr in the film who negated herself to help the man she loved to rise materially and spiritually with great aplomb, giving, in the process, a new face to the suffering, self-effacing Indian woman. She was convincing in whatever she did in the film, which won her the inaugural Filmfare Award for the Best Actress. She followed it up with another sterling performance in Daera (1953) directed by her husband Kamal Amrohi. The two films marked the birth of an outstanding actor, who went on to give virtuoso-like performances in a series blockbusters like Ek Hi Raasta (1956), Sharada (1957), Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi (1960), Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Dil Ek Mandir (1963) and Phool Aur Phattar (1964). In 1962 she archived the incredible feat of being nominated for three films in the Best actress category: Aarti, Main Chup Rahungi and Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam, wining it for the last named. However, in the process of epitomizing the suffering Indian woman, Meena tended to undermine her uncanny flair for fun and romance. She was brilliant in Azad and Kohinoor (1960) (both with Dilip Kumar) and Shararat (1959)(opposite Kishore Kumar) in light flamboyant roles with a touch of comedy. The highpoint of her career was Guru Dutt’s classic, Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), where she excelled the protagonist, Choti Bahu, once again embodying the doomed diva! A turbulent relationship with the then rising star Dharmendra and her break up with husband Kamaal Amrohi in 1964 led her to the bottle which played havoc with her career. But nothing diminished her histrionic acumen as Dulal Guha’s Dushman (1971) and Gulzar’s Mere Apne (1971) revealed. Her last film was the cult classic, Pakeezah (1972), which had been in the making for 14 years. The film, which had opened to lukewarm response when released on February 4, 1972 and declared a flop, picked up dramatically after her death on March 31, to become a major blockbuster!