Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Madhubala(1933-1969)

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Madhubala
A diamond thief hides his loot on an innocent child, but the child turns out to be an adult posing as a youngster to purchase a half-priced train ticket. Now, the thief will have to outwit the eccentric in a series of wacky misadventures.
Play trailer1:23
Half Ticket (1962)
2 Videos
7 Photos
Arguably the most beautiful artiste to ever grace the Indian screen, Madhubala rose from humble beginnings to become the most captivating star India has ever produced. Madhubala was born Mumtaz Jehan Begum on Valentine's Day 1933, in a poor, conservative family of Pathan Muslims in Delhi, a part of a prolific brood of sisters, and entered the world of films at the tender age of eight. After about five years of playing child roles, Madhubala got her first break in a lead role in Neel Kamal (1947), produced anddirected by her mentor, veteran filmmaker Kidar Sharma. At the age of 14, she played a romantic lead against another fledgling star, Raj Kapoor, and Madhubala had finally arrived on the Indian screen. Over the next two years she had blossomed into a truly rapturous beauty (which earned her the sobriquet of the Venus Of the Indian Screen) and with the movie Mahal (1949), literally overnight, she was a superstar.

It has been often said that her beauty overshadowed her acting talents, which to an extent is true; however this was more due to poor judgement than lack of talent. Being encumbered by a large family to support, and forever living under the domination of an imperious father who, she made several poor choices in movies which seriously undermined her credibility as a serious performer, to the extent of being labelled "box-office poison". However, her more or less dismal repertoire in the 50s was marked by spots of true brilliance - movies like Tarana (1951), Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955) and of course her swansong Mughal-E-Azam (1960) showcased her remarkable talents as a serious artiste across several genres and revealed what this ethereal beauty was truly capable of.

Sadly, she was plagued by a persistent heart disease that confined her to a bed for almost nine torturous years, and eventually claimed her life on February 23 1969, nine days after her 36th birthday. In this short life, she had made over 70 movies, and to this day remains one of the most enduring legends of Indian cinema.
BornFebruary 14, 1933
DiedFebruary 23, 1969(36)
BornFebruary 14, 1933
DiedFebruary 23, 1969(36)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Awards

Photos7

Dilip Kumar and Madhubala in Mughal-E-Azam (1960)
Ashok Kumar and Madhubala in Howrah Bridge (1958)
Kishore Kumar and Madhubala in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958)
Madhubala in Bahut Din Huwe... (1954)
Dilip Kumar and Madhubala in Mughal-E-Azam (1960)
Kishore Kumar and Madhubala in Half Ticket (1962)

Known for

Mughal-E-Azam (1960)
Mughal-E-Azam
8.1
  • Anarkali
  • 1960
Mahal (1949)
Mahal
6.9
  • Kamini
  • 1949
Badal (1951)
Badal
7.2
  • Ratna
  • 1951
Sangdil (1952)
Sangdil
6.8
  • Kamal
  • 1952

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Jwala (1971)
    Jwala
  • Dev Anand and Madhubala in Sharabi (1964)
    Sharabi
    • (as Madhu Bala)
  • Half Ticket (1962)
    Half Ticket
  • Shammi Kapoor and Madhubala in Boy Friend (1961)
    Boy Friend
  • Passport (1961)
    Passport
    • (as Madhu Bala)
  • Jhumroo (1961)
    Jhumroo
  • Mehlon Ke Khwab (1960)
    Mehlon Ke Khwab
  • Jaali Note (1960)
    Jaali Note
  • Barsaat Ki Raat (1960)
    Barsaat Ki Raat
  • Mughal-E-Azam (1960)
    Mughal-E-Azam
  • Do Ustad (1959)
    Do Ustad
  • Kal Hamara Hai (1959)
    Kal Hamara Hai
  • Insaan Jaag Utha (1959)
    Insaan Jaag Utha
  • Police (1958)
    Police
  • Baghi Sipahi (1958)
    Baghi Sipahi

Producer

  • Mehlon Ke Khwab (1960)
    Mehlon Ke Khwab
  • Naata (1955)
    Naata

Soundtrack

  • Passport (1961)
    Passport
    • ("Sun Le Dastan Yun Na Sata")
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos2

Half Ticket (1962) Trailer
Trailer 1:23
Half Ticket (1962) Trailer
Mughal-E-Azam (1960) Trailer
Trailer 1:35
Mughal-E-Azam (1960) Trailer

Personal details

Edit
    • February 14, 1933
    • Delhi, British India
    • February 23, 1969
    • Bombay, Maharashtra, India(hole in the heart)
    • Kishore Kumar1961 - February 23, 1969 (her death)
    • Attaullah Khan
    • (Sibling)

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    She and Dilip Kumar met on the set of Tarana (1951) when she was eighteen years-old. While filming, she sent her hairdresser with a note written in Urdu along with a red rose asking him to accept it if he loved her, which intrigued and amused him and so he accepted the rose.
  • Quotes
    No sooner had I learned what I was doing, God said, 'Enough.'

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb App
  • Get the IMDb App
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • IMDb Developer
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.