One of the finest actors of the Indian cinema of her times, yet the one with the most tumultuous trajectory died at a very young age. Sadly, Meena Kumari stood up to the roles she played in the films and her  tragic life ended on a very remorseful note in the year 1972. Regarded as 'The tragedy queen' she was born to artist parents in the year 1932 and was named Mahjabeen Bano.

She started working at an age of seven because of her family conditions and her first film was 'Farzand-e-Watan' in the year 1939. However, she caught public attention with Vijay Bhatt's 'Baiju Bawra'. Where on one hand her film career was flourishing, on the other hand, her personal life was a lot similar to her role in the famous film 'Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam'. 

Meena Kumari rewrote history by getting three Filmfare nominations for her roles in the films 'Aarti', 'Main Chup Rahungi' and 'Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam', winning the film for the last film. 

Meena Kumari got married to director Kamal Arohi, who was already married. But after their marriage broke, the brunt of the broken marriage was borne by the film 'Pakeezah'. Kamal Arohi's 'Pakeezah' took 14 years to release after their split. The film went on to the studio floors in 1964 and released in the year 1972. The film was released two months before her death and until today, it is considered one of the finest films that she is associated with. She died at the age of 39 of liver cirrhosis.