Skip to main content

Meena Kumari traversed realms rarely explored, symbolised women's oppression


By Harsh Thakor* 
On 31st March we commemorated the 50th death anniversary of legendary Meena Kumari, who perished after a prolonged illness in a private hospital in Mumbai in 1972. Although labelled as a ‘tragedy Queen’ Meena Kumari was morally a most consummate actress, capable of enacting a huge spectrum of roles. It may be regrettable that she was made to play tragic roles almost unanimously, inhibiting her innate ability to portray humour.
Kumari took sensitivity in film acting to realms rarely traversed as though her very soul was speaking.It was simply remarkable the manner she immersed into the very skin of a character ,being as natural as the waves of an ocean.. When enacting tragedy she gave vibrations of lightning and thunder being struck but still portrayed a subtle stillness or composure which made an audience detached. In many ways her work had overtones of the Brechtian acting methods. It was most admirable the manner she displayed restraint in her acting, not trapped into the morass of overacting. Her sheer simplicity, innocence and conviction in roles were unsurpassed.
In important ways her roles reflected the opression of women in an exploitative society or their subordination and also symbolized the progressive aspects of a woman. Few ever better portrayed the patriarchical, feudal or male-chauvinist nature of society.
Unlike Nutan, Nargis or Waheeda Rehman she did not cap her acting with a style or panache ,like giving an icing to the cake . She was close to a female equivalent of Dilip Kumar in her time or the equivalent of a Madhubala in tragic roles. Even 50 years after her death her soul shimmers in Bollywood.
Even when portraying grief she never lost that touch of liveliness and could sprinkle vibrations of beauty, like a lotus blooming within a thundersorm. Although most of her films lacked Socialist overtones they most illustratively projected the suppression or subjugation of woman to male chauvinism in no uncertain terms.
It is ironic that her personal life was more tragic than her tragic roles on the silverscreen be it the manner she was inducted into her acting career in childhood as result of poverty or her marriage with Kamal Amrohi, which was a disaster. In the end she was victim before the age of 40 of being an alcoholic, as a result of depression. Even a book would not do adequate justice to the extent she was subdued. More than any female actress, she reflected how ruling the silver screen hardly meant brimming with joy in one’s personal life, and thus conveyed the superficiality of film industry. Her relationship with star Dharmendra was simply striking, the manner she shaped his illustrious career. She was also involved in a relationship with Gulzar.
Meena Kumari was deeply disturbed by her close friends in the film industry not giving her enough attention or even deserting her, with quite a few artists exploiting her for their promotion. Her life story tells us about the alienation of true and sensitive female artists in society with the screen a total cover of the internal reality .It is poignant that Meena Kumari did not end up selling her body at any cost like the actresses of today and till her death maintained her dignity. Her real life story itself is a lesson even today.
We greatly missed a Meena Kumari in later eras when a woman was westernized or modernised and with dramatic changes in the economic and political scenario. I am certain like Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil she would have championed art films, particularly projecting oppression of a woman. Actresses could still take Meena Kumari as a model of acting, portraying the traumas of woman hood. In the age of globalisation and liberalization I would have loved to see her prowess in exposing the superficiality of consumerism, how the chains on women were tightened further and the hypocrisy of glamour. I would have also loved her portrayal as character confronting woman sold as sex symbols, casteism and communal chauvinism.
Her biography by Vinod Mehta written in 1972 and updated in 2013 is a must read which dwells into the very thick of the skin what circumstances shaped her life and penetrates the very essence of her soul. It illustrates the total dichotomy between an artist’s glory on the screen with his real life and the sheer narcasm or ruthlessness within the film world.

Best Films

Even if ‘Pakeezah’ was the most artistic movie in the classical sense in my view her best performance was as ‘Choti Bahu ‘ in ‘Sahib.Bibi or Ghulam.’
‘Sahib Bibi or Ghulam’ is one of the most defining movies reflecting Bengali feudalism. or the Brahamo Samaj society. It is a narrative of a zamindar family unable to keep up with the pace of the changing times, and of the flux of inter-personal relationships within the family or and how feudal values governed relationships .The alienation of Bhootnath and Jaba, enacted by Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman.are an abject reflection of the society. A lower-class yet educated Atulya “Bhoothnath” Chakraborty(Guru Dutt) arrives in the colonial Calcutta looking for work and along with his brother-in-law, he lives in the haveli of the Choudhury zamindar family.
Meena Kumari as Choti Bahu was the perfect foil for Waheeda Rehman as Jaba,a woman of great integrity . Meena Kumari enacts ‘Choti Bahu ‘with great artistic flair portraying a woman trapped into the morass of seduction and drunkenness in pursuit of love of her husband Chote Babu(Rehman) ,who is entranced by a prostitute dancing. She brilliantly portrays her evolution from a lover to an alcoholic.
With great subtlety she contrasts her acting style when trying to win over her unfaithful husband who fails to fulfil her with her bonding with.Bhootnath’. One can simply never forget her attempt to seduce her philandering husband from visiting the Kotha with heart touching pathos. The scene when she forces herself to drink in order to nullify her inhibition and please her husband ,holding on to Rehman’s hand or throwing flowers at him to attract attention, was simply acting skill of sublime proportion .
‘Pakeezah’ virtually ushered a new epoch in Hindi film history. In ‘Pakeezah’ in a double role as a female courtesan and a daughter Meena Kumari simply blossomed like a lotus giving classical overtones. In spite of being terminally ill Meena Kumari still looked as beautiful as ever. Film was sculpted in the manner of a Michelangelo work, with each scene appearing like a different statue. The dialogues captured the imagination of the nation. making it one of Bollywood’s most memorable movies ever. Most artistically she distinguishes her roles as a frustrated tawaif wishing her daughter Sahinbjan marry her lover Shahbudin.
In remarkable setoff sequences Shabudin tracks down Sahibjann when she turns into an adult, when she works as an entertainer at Nawbjaan’s brothel. and In spite of as series of turbulent events her face expressed serenity of a lark’s voice. It is a most touching scene when she opens the note written by a stranger, Salim and discovers it is him, like a gravitational force acting. Salim goes on to elope with her after a chain of events.. However She refuses to marry Salim who after being heartbroken invites Sahibjaan to perform a Mujra at the wedding . During the event, Nawabjaan recognises Shahbuddin and calls him to witness the irony of the situation; his own daughter dancing and entertaining his family. Shahbuddin’s father tries to shoot Nawabjaan to silence her but instead kills Shahbuddin while trying to protect her. With his dying breath, Shahbuddin asks Salim to marry Sahibjaan. Salim’s doli (vehicle) defies all conventions and arrives at Sahibjaan’s brothel, fulfilling Shahbuddin’s wishes.
In ‘Parineeta’ most sensitively she plays apart in a cross class romantic drama with Ashok Kumar, with continuous ebb and flow. to throw light on the contradictions within the social sytem.Lalita (Meena Kumari) is an orphaned niece of an impoverished clerk named Gurucharan (Nazir Hussain). Shekhar (Ashok Kumar), is the son of their rich landlord neighbor. Shekhar had a liking for Lalita. Gurucharan has to mortgage his house to Shekhar’s father in order to get one of his daughters married as he is heavily debt-ridden. Shekhar’s father often chides him about his overdue loan and a day comes when completely pressed on all sides, Gurucharan is forced to take advantage of the altruistic offer of an interest-free loan made by a wealthy young man named Girin. This gives rise to an ugly misunderstanding that Lalita has been “sold” to Girin. What happens thereafter forms the gripping conclusion of this great story of perfect love. The beautiful part of this movie is dialogue and communication between Meena Kumari and Ashok Kumar.
In ‘Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan’, she literally touches the soul of the audiences in realms rarely traversed .The movie illustrates patriarchal values within family .Geeta (Meena Kumari) is married to Shyam (Balraj Sahni), but is unable to bear children. Orphaned as a youth, Mohan (Sailesh Kumar) is raised by his elder brother Shyam and his wife, Geeta, who offers the boy motherly love and devotion. Mohan marries Prabha (Seema Deo), Prabha is from a wealthy family and her life is ruled over by her dominating mom (Durga Khote). Mohan’s youthful bride becomes jealous of his loyalty to his family. Misunderstandings arise to such an extent that Prabha moves out of her home, and back to her mom’s. She gives birth to a baby, and not even her husband comes to visit her or to see the baby. But when the infant falls ill, Prabha must set aside her apprehension and learn to trust.
In ‘Majahli Didi” most courageously she challenges her sister-in-law, Kadambini , and her husband, Navinchandra in manipulating property and defending step brother step-brother, Kishan .She again bring virtues of womanhood to the fore, in overcoming patriarchy. Kumari portrays an educated city girl who marries into a very traditional family and gets caught up in the crossfire of family politics. Bipinchandra (Dharmendra) breaks family tradition by marrying a city girl, Hemangini (Meena Kumari), much to the chagrin of his sister-in-law, Kadambini (Lalita Pawar), and her husband, Navinchandra (Bipin Gupta). Things are delicate even after both women give birth to two children each. Then Hemangini testifies against Navinchandra in Court, leading to the division of the property. Things get worse by the arrival of Kadambini’s orphaned school-going step-brother, Kishan (Sachin), who is beaten and abused not only by Kadambini and Navinchandra, but also by their overweight son. When Hemangini objects to Kishan’s ill-treatment, Bipin takes the side of the rest of the family, and may probably force her to abandon Kishan to his fate or divorce her.
In ‘Dil Ek Mandir’ she projects virtuosity at a crescendo in movie with the theme of a love entanglement interwoven in a most moral social theme.In the hospital scenes it appeared as though her very soul was speaking. The remake of Tamil film Nenjil Or Aalayam (1960) is an interesting romantic drama about a woman whose husband has cancer and is being treated by her former lover. With both men desperately in love with her, what follows is a unique romantic triangle that weighs up duty versus desire. She would get yet another Filmfare Best Actress nomination for her wonderful performance in the film.
In ‘Footpath’ co-starring with Dilip Kumar she plays an important role in a theme illustrating the evils of the social system. The story portrays theme of pursuing wealth to escape abject poverty in contrast to moral values.
In ‘Sanjh or Savera’ enacting ‘Maya’ reflects the ebb and flow within marriage, be it love or sexual relationship and the gravity behind it. Shankar arrives home one day and discovers that Prakash and Maya are missing; his search for them proves fruitless. He later learns that his wife is an imposter and that she is probably married to Prakash.
In ‘Dil Apna aur Preet Parai’ a surgeon who is obligated to marry the daughter of a family friend, while he is in love with a colleague nurse, played by Meena Kumari. It is one of the most telling performances of lead actress Meena Kumari’s career.
In ‘Mere Apne’ she is an embodiment of morality when re conciliating two political gangs who were engaged in a tussle, and her death in a crossfire defines the theme of the film. which in it’s own way reflected the culture of those times.
Other memorable movies of Kumari include ‘Kaajal’, ‘Beju Bawra,’ ‘Phool Aur Pathar’ Meena Kumari also displayed flair for humorous films like ‘Azad’, ‘Kohinoor’, and ‘Mother Mary’ .

*Freelance Journalist

Comments

TRENDING

Eight years of empowering tribal communities through water initiatives in Chhattisgarh

By Gazala Paul*   In the heart of Chhattisgarh, amidst the echoes of tribal life, a transformative journey has unfolded over the past eight years. The Samerth organization has diligently worked to elevate the lives of indigenous communities in the Kawardha district through the project, "Enabling Baiga Community to access safe drinking water." 

Martin Crowe played instrumental role in making New Zealand a force in world cricket

By Harsh Thakor* Late Martin Crowe was the perfect manifestation of how mere figures could not convey or do justice to the true merit of a batsman. Crowe was arguably the most complete  or majestic batsmen of his era or the ultimate embodiment of batting perfection, or the classical batsmen. He perished 7 years ago, due to a rare and aggressive form of cancer, follicular lymphoma, which originated in 2012. In September, we celebrated his 60th birthday but sadly he left for his heavenly abode.

Regretful: Kapil Dev retired not leaving Indian cricket with integrity he upheld

By Harsh Thakor  Kapil Dev scaled heights as an entertainer and a player upholding the spirit of the game almost unparalleled in his era. In his time he was cricket’s ultimate mascot of sportsmanship On his day Kapil could dazzle in all departments to turn the tempo of game in the manner of a Tsunami breaking in. He radiated r energy, at a level rarely scaled in his era on a cricket field. Few ever blended aggression with artistry so comprehenisively. Although fast medium, he could be as daunting with the ball as the very best, with his crafty outswinger, offcutter, slower ball and ball that kicked from a good length. Inspite of bowling on docile tracks on the subcontinent, Kapil had 434 scalps, with virtually no assistance. I can never forget how he obtained pace and movement on flat pancakes, trapping the great Vivian Richards in Front or getting Geoff Boycott or Zaheer Abbas caught behind. No paceman carried the workload of his team’s bowling attack on his shoulders in his eras muc

How the slogan Jai Bhim gained momentum as movement of popularity and revolution

By Dr Kapilendra Das*  India is an incomprehensible plural country loaded with diversities of religions, castes, cultures, languages, dialects, tribes, societies, costumes, etc. The Indians have good manners/etiquette (decent social conduct, gesture, courtesy, politeness) that build healthy relationships and take them ahead to life. In many parts of India, in many situations, and on formal occasions, it is common for people of India to express and exchange respect, greetings, and salutation for which we people usually use words and phrases like- Namaskar, Namaste, Pranam, Ram Ram, Jai Ram ji, Jai Sriram, Good morning, shubha sakal, Radhe Radhe, Jai Bajarangabali, Jai Gopal, Jai Jai, Supravat, Good night, Shuvaratri, Jai Bhole, Salaam walekam, Walekam salaam, Radhaswami, Namo Buddhaya, Jai Bhim, Hello, and so on.

Towards 2024: Time for ‘We the People of India’ to wake up before it is too late

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ*  It is Constitution Day once again! We, the people of India, gratefully remember 26 November 1949 when the Constitution of India was passed and adopted by the Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly comprised women and men of distinction, who were able to represent the heart and soul of the people of India without fear or favour. They gave of their best, so that we may a visionary Constitution, which would be the mainstay for and of democracy in India!

Ceasefire a tactical victory for Palestinian resistance, protests intensify across globe

By Harsh Thakor*  The Zionist leadership and Netanyahu’s government were compelled to concede the defeat of their first attempt after almost 50 days of daily fighting in the Gaza Strip.  Netanyahu was forced to concede that he was unsuccessful in suppressing the Palestinian Resistance; and that the release of the prisoners was only plausible because they accepted Hamas’ terms.

Odisha leadership crisis deepens: CM engages retired babus to oversee depts' work

By Sudhansu R Das  Over decades, Odisha has lost much of its crop diversity, fertile agriculture land, water bodies, employment potential, handicraft and handloom skills etc. The state has failed to strike a balance between the urban and rural sector growth; this leads to the migration of villagers to the urban areas leading to collapse of the urban infrastructures and an acute labor shortage in rural areas.  A large number of educated, skilled and unskilled Odia people have migrated to other states for higher education, quality jobs and for earning livelihood which plummet the efficiency level of government departments. Utmost transparency in the recruitment and promotion in the state government departments will improve governance mechanisms in the state.  "No near and dear one approach" in governance mechanisms can only achieve inclusive growth for the state on payment basis. This is a moral hazard. When so many educated young people seek employment outside the

1982-83 Bombay textile strike played major role in shaping working class movement

By Harsh Thakor  On January 18th, 1982 the working class movement commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Textile Workers Strike that lasted for 18 months, till July 1983. It was landmark event that played a major role in shaping the working class movement. With more than 2.5 lakh workers from 65 textile mills joining in this strike for almost two years, this strike became one of the most significant strikes in terms of scale and duration All democrats should applaud the mill workers’ united battle, and their unflinching resilience an death defying courage continues to serve as a model for contemporary working-class movements. Many middle class persons harboured opinions that the Textile workers were pampered or were a labour aristocracy, ignorant of how they were denied wages to provide for basic necessities. The Great Bombay Textile Strike is notably one of the most defining movements in the working class struggles in Post-independent India. Bombay’s textile industry flourished in

Massive tropical deforestation: Big finance's $307 billion go to forest-risk commodities

A note on report by Forests & Finance coalition -- Rainforest Action Network, TuK Indonesia, Profundo, Amazon Watch, Repórter Brasil, BankTrack, Sahabat Alam Malaysia and Friends of the Earth US: *** A new report released on ‘Finance Day’ at COP28 by the Forests & Finance Coalition , provides a comprehensive look into the role big finance plays in driving deforestation, biodiversity loss, climate change and human rights abuses in tropical forest regions. The report reveals that since the Paris Agreement, banks have pumped over $307 billion into high risk forestry and agriculture companies linked to tropical deforestation, proving that the policies of major global banks and investors are failing to prevent continued widespread forest and biodiversity loss.

20% of Indian businesses have no emission plan in place despite climate emergency: Report

By Jag Jivan   New research underlines urgent need for strategies and transition plans to combat climate change, remain successful and meet stakeholder expectations.