‘Couldn’t take my eyes off her’: When Shammi Kapoor was stunned by Madhubala’s beauty

Madhubala was one of the iconic actresses of the Indian film industry who won rave reviews from the audience for her performances. She was the epitome of beauty, style and grace. Madhubala’s counterparts – Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and others were extremely charmed by her beauty. Shammi Kapoor had spoken about it in an interview with Rediff.com. He said, “When I first met her on the sets of Rail Ka Dibba, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I was struck like a thunderbolt. I was so nervous that I kept forgetting my lines. And she was fully aware of the effect she had on me and was enjoying it immensely.” One of the crew members on the sets of the film, including a lighting technician, was also reportedly mistaken for the beauty of actress Shirin Farhad. Reports claimed that the lighting technician was so fixated on her that he could not keep his balance and fell from his position on the ground.

According to the late actress Minoo Mumtaz, Madhubala’s skin was so light and translucent that you could almost see the red colour flowing down her throat when she ate paan.

These are some pictures that show the ethereal charm of the actress played by Shirin Farhad.

Mughal-E-Azam

Mughal-E-Azam was one of the best works in Madhubala’s acting career. She played the role of a courtesan Anarkali who falls in love with Prince Saleem (Dilip Kumar). The audience loved Madhubala and Dilip Kumar’s on-screen chemistry in this film. One of the songs titled Jab Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya became a major highlight of Mughal-E-Azam.

There is an interesting fact related to this song. Madhubala was reportedly not a good dancer, especially when it came to girki (body gyration), which required skill. Reports have it that a male dancer, Laxmi Narayan, performed the dance sequence during the shooting of the song, wearing a rubber mask that matched her face. The mask was so perfect that people mistook the dancer for Madhubala herself.

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Dead

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Madhubala died on February 23, 1969 at the age of 36.