When a weak and ill Madhubala met Dilip Kumar one last time after his wedding with Saira: ‘Shezadi mil gai’

Talking about how his second wife, actor Saira Banu had the quality to “forget the past and live in the present”, Dilip Kumar recalled his last meeting with Madhubala in his autobiography. “Soon after our nikah (marriage), while we were staying in Madras, I received a message from Madhubala that she wished to see me urgently. I confided in Saira as soon as we returned to Bombay about the message. Saira Banu at once insisted that I should meet Madhu since it must be something she was distressed about.”

He added, “When I went to Madhu’s home, I was pained to see that she was frail and looked very weak. The pallor on her face not only belied her ill health, but her magnificent, impish smile seemed such an effort. She was happy to see me and said: ‘Hamarey shehzade ko unki shehzadi mil gayi hai, main bahut khush hoon!’ (Our prince has got his princess, I am very happy!).”

Dilip also wrote that Madhubala was worried about “some personal matters that she needed my advice on and we discussed them until she was somewhat satisfied that they could be sorted out. She then relaxed. That was the last time I saw her.” Incidentally, the above excerpt comes in the chapter that discusses Dilip’s second wife, actor Saira Banu.

Having first met in 1951 on the sets of their film Tarana, Dilip and Madhubala were immediately attracted to each other. Soon, they featured in films such as Sangdil, Amar together and were already one of the most celebrated onscreen couples. They were even engaged to get married, however her father objected to the match. Their last film together was the iconic K Asif period drama Mughal-E-Azam.

In the book, Dilip also wrote that he was way less affected than it was portrayed in the media, when they parted ways. “I was truly relieved when we parted because I had also begun to get an inkling that it was all very well to be working together as artistes but in marriage it is important for a woman to be ready to give more than receive. I had grown up seeing Amma’s steadfast devotion to the family and her flawless character as a woman.”