Madhubala (14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969), born Mumtaz Jahan Dehlavi, was an Indian Bollywood actress who appeared in film classics Mahal (1949), Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958) and Mughal-e-Azam (1960). She was active between 1949 and 1960, after which illness shortened her career. With her contemporaries Nargis and Meena Kumari she is regarded as one of the influential Hindi movie actresses. In the early 1950s, as Madhubala became one of the most sought-after actresses in India, she attracted interest from Hollywood. She appeared in the American magazine Theatre Arts where, in its August 1952 issue, she was featured in an article with a full page photograph under the title: "The Biggest Star in the World - and she's not in Beverly Hills". At this time, on a trip to Mumbai and its film studios hosted by the Hindi film industry, the American filmmaker Frank Capra wanted to meet Madhubala to discuss an opening for her in Hollywood, however, Madhubala's father declined his proposal.[citation needed] Madhubala appeared in over seventy films. Three biographies and numerous articles have been published on her and she has been compared to Marilyn Monroe, having a similarly iconic position in Indian film history.[citation needed] Because she died before being relegated to supporting or character roles, Madhubala remains one of the most enduring and celebrated legends of Indian cinema, in spite of a proportionally low number of successful films during her career: fifteen box office hits. Her appeal to film fans was underlined in a 1990 poll conducted by Movie magazine, in which she was voted the most popular vintage Hindi actress of all time with 58% of votes, outranking contemporary actresses Meena Kumari, Nargis, and Nutan.[citation needed] More recently in Rediff.com's International Women's Day 2007 special, Madhubala was ranked second in its top ten list of "Bollywood's best actresses. Ever".In 2004 a digital-colorized version of Mughal-e-Azam was released, 35 years after her death. In 2008 a commemorative postage stamp featuring Madhubala was issued. The stamp was produced by India Post in a limited edition presentation pack. It was launched by veteran actors Nimmi and Manoj Kumar in a ceremony attended by colleagues, friends and surviving members of Madhubala's family. The only other Indian film actress to be honoured in this manner is Nargis Dutt. Source: Article
