WEB DESK
Google today remembered the late legendary actress Meena Kumari on her 85th birth anniversary through its doodle.
“As shown in the doodle, Meena Kumari captivated audiences with her beautiful, expressive eyes,” according to the official Google Doodle page.
Born in 1933, Meena Kumari grew up on camera, lighting up the silver screen from the age of four when she was known as Baby Meena. She became a formidable actor in Indian cinema, appearing in more than 90 films during her 38-year career.
In her over three decade long career, she appeared in more than 90 films. However, her most memorable work was her role in Pakeezah. Some of her memorable films include “Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam”, “Pakeezah”, “Mere Apne”, “Aarti”, “Baiju Bawra”, “Parineeta”, “Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai”, “Foot Path”, “Dil Ek Mandir” and “Kaajal”.
Meena Kumari was not only an iconic star of Hindi cinema, she was also a poet of great flair and delicacy.
Born on August 1, 1933 as Mahjabeen Bano, she is popularly known as Bollywood’s original Tragedy Queen. Her father was a Sunni Muslim named Master Ali Bux who had migrated from Bhera (now in Punjab province of Pakistan). Meena Kumari’s mother Iqbal Begum, whose original name was Prabhawati Devi, was a Bengali Christian converted to Islam.
She was born into a family of poor theatre artists and started acting at four. Her persona was so versatile that she was regarded as “historically incomparable” actress of Hindi cinema by Indian film critics. The actress starred in about 92 films in a career spanning 33 years. Some of her notable films include Pakeezah, Baiju Bawra, Parineeta, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Foot Path, Dil Ek Mandir and Kaajal.
She won four Filmfare awards in the Best Actress category. She made history at the 10th Filmfare (1963), by receiving all of the nominations for Best Actress and won for her performance in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam.
