Dilip-Madhubala: Love birds who flew in different directions to never cross paths again

‘Tragedy King’ as he used to be called, Dilip Kumar’s affair with Madhubala met a tragic end. But they were such enchanting figures that any new or not-so-new angle to their story stirs a massive interest even now

By Mehre Alam

‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all… This gem from Alfred Lord Tennyson, the grand old man of Victorian poetry, is so dateless it seems eternally inspiring for love birds.

In their time and day, actors Dilip Kumar and Madhubala were love birds too. And then the unthinkable happened. They separated. They flew apart. They went traversing in different directions. Yusuf Khan aka Dilip Kumar went his way. Madhubala, still considered the most beautiful face to have adorned the Indian cine screen, went her way – tragically for her, her journey lasted so much shorter.

Cut to the present day and the Dilip-Madhubala story is back in the thick of news over Madhubala’s biopic (It’s happening, yes!).

In a recent interview with ETimes, Madhubala’s sister Madhur Bhushan, while confirming the biopic plans, has said that but for the court case that was slapped on her father, her sister would have probably got married to Dilip Kumar.

“She [Madubala] had urged Dilip saab to apologise to our father. She had tried to convince him to let bygones be bygones, just say one sorry for the sake of their relationship. Dilip saab refused. Why would the girl who had loved him for 9 long years, why would she give up on that relationship for a deadly father? Why would anyone leave a good man like Dilip saab? He was the most wonderful human being, it’s just that he wasn’t able to say sorry to our father,” Madhur has said in the interview.

‘Ego Clashes’

It was a classic case of ego clashes getting the better of matters of heart, according to Madhur.

One is reminded of poet Muzaffar Razmi’s immortal words, “…Lamhon ne khata ki thi, sadiyon ne saza payi” (The fleeting moments had committed the mistake, but the punishment was meted out for ages). How else does one explain such a committed relationship withering away over a ‘sorry’? Yes, just a ‘sorry’, confirms Madhubala’s sister.

“She would cry and tell Dilip saab, ‘Dekho humari zindagi barbaad ho jayegi’ and Dilip saab would ask her, ‘Tum itni zidd kyun kar rahi ho?’. Apa would try to explain to him that Ataullah Khan [her father] was his would-be father-in-law, she was the would-be wife,” Madhur has told the interviewer.

‘Tragedy King’, as he used to be called, Dilip Kumar’s story with Madhubala had a tragic end. But both were such enchanting figures that any new or not-so-new angle to their story stirs a massive interest even now. The love birds may not have flied together for very long in their lifetime but their legend will continue to fly high long, long, long after they departed on their eternal journey.

(Pictures courtesy Wikipedia)

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Mehre Alam is a senior journalist currently working as a Consulting Editor with the Qatar Tribune newspaper. He has worked in senior positions at publications in India and abroad including Hindustan Times, Khaleej Times, The Times of Oman etc. He can be reached at mehrealam@gmail.com