Legendary actress, Meena Kumari is revered as one of the greatest actresses in Bollywood till date and on her 85th birth anniversary, Google remembered the ‘Tragedy Queen’ and released a Google Doodle about the same. Born in 1933 as Mahjabeen Bano, she began her film career when she was four years old and was known as "Baby Meena".
She received her epithet, ‘Tragedy Queen’, after the audience witnessed her roles as a strong yet vulnerable woman devastated by romance. She would portray an array of emotions with ease and connect with the audience. Her acting earned her three Filmfare Awards in1954,1955 and 1963. The actress is known for her roles in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Pakeezah, Mere Apne, Aarti, Baiju Bawra, Parineeta, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai, Foot Path, Dil Ek Mandir and Kaajal.
While she was undoubtedly was a master of expressions with her acting, her skill with the words too, had earned her a lot of fame. She wrote Urdu poetries under the pen name of ‘Naaz’. Indian lyricist Gulzar had compiled and published the collection of Meena Kumari’s poems, ‘Tanha Chaand’ after her death.
After three weeks of the release of her film ‘Pakeezah’, Kumari became seriously ill and on March 31, 1972, Meena Kumari breathed her last at an early age of 38. While the whole world was mourning after losing a gem, Kumari was resting in peace with the following prose for her tombstone:
" She ended life with a broken fiddle, with a broken song, with a broken heart, but not a single regret."
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