Dilip Kumar and Madhubala were engaged to be married, but a legal dispute put an end to their romance. The origins of Madhubala and Dilip Kumar’s romance may be traced back to the 1950s, when the two illustrious actresses fell in love while filming Tarana (1951). Dilip and Madhubala’s tragic tale encompasses every component of a movie screenplay, from romance to agonising separation.
On the other hand, actress Saira Banu had a crush on Dilip Kumar since she was a young girl. Saira had an unfathomable amount of love and affection for Dilip because she had grown up watching his movies. They were destined to be together, so in 1966, Dilip Kumar, then 44, married Saira, then 22, despite their 22-year age difference. However, Saira Banu previously praised Madhubala, Dilip’s ex-girlfriend, in an interview with a media outlet.
In a 1973 interview with Stardust, Saira was questioned about her detractors who assert that her success in the Bollywood industry is a result of her glamour rather than her talent. In response, Saira praised Madhubala, her ex-husband Dilip Kumar’s ex-girlfriend, and stated that despite Madhubala being an incredibly accomplished actress, similar charges were made about her. She had remarked: “Maybe they are right – but what counts is that I am around, whether they like it or not! Remember, the same was said of a great star called Madhubala, or another named Marilyn Monroe, and I am happy to be in such illustrious company!”
Madhubala committed to the movie Naya Daur and even participated in the 15-day shoot. B.R. Chopra, the director, switched the shooting location to Bhopal, which didn’t sit well with the actress’s father. B.R. Chopra sued her when she denied finishing the movie. Madhubala was adamant about her father’s choice, but their already strained relationship was made worse by Dilip Kumar’s testimony against them. In an earlier interview with ETimes, Madhur Bhusan, the sister of Madhubala, revealed that her sister would have wed Dilip Kumar if he had shown regret to their father.
She had remarked: “Had the court case not happened, Madhubala would have probably got married to Dilip Kumar. She 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.”
During the same conversation, Madhur added that although Dilip was a wonderful person, his refusal to express regret had caused many people’s hearts to break. Additionally, she described how Madhubala would sob and try to convince him, but he would always reject it. In her words: “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?’.”
For those who are unaware, the late actor Dilip Kumar wrote a biography titled Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow in which he discussed his relationship with Madhubala.
