Meena Kumari in Dharmendra’s Life and Career

Reading the tributes that have appeared in the press following his passing, I was surprised that no mention was made of Meena Kumari’s great love for Dharmendra and how their relationship helped him in honing his acting skills, and also furthered his career to an extent. In contrast, every article on Meena Kumari will mention her love for Dharmendra! The couple were to act in several films and the chemistry between the two was quite visible.

Phool Aur Patthar

It was OP Ralhan who got it all right in his Phool aur Pathar (1966). Meena Kumari was older by two years to Dharam in real life but when it came to the film industry she was far, far his senior, having begun her career at the age of nine. And like in the film, where she is a widow, in real life, she found Dharmendra on the rebound after her marriage to Kamal Amrohi failed. The famous bare chested scene in the film has Dharmendra coming back dead drunk and Meena Kumari, as Shanthi, cowering in her bed, afraid as to what will befall her. He comes near and then covers her with a blanket.

In real life, Dharmendra always maintained he had no feeling for her beyond friendship – she was a star and he the fan. The film too ends on an uncertain note – does Shaka marry Shanti? We don’t have an answer. Very likely he becomes her protector, and may find marital bliss elsewhere.

A Pair and Yet, Not So

A few other filmmakers too probably felt that way. In Kaajal (1965), the two are in the same film but not paired. Even in Main Bhi Ladki Hoon (1964), their first film as a pair to be released, a heavy Tamil film made in Hindi, they are an ill-matched pair in the story- her dark complexion is considered unsuitable for his good looks. Watching the film, we of today may discount the skin colour angle but they do appear ill-matched though Meena Kumar sparkles in his company. And then, in 1968, in Baharon Ki Manzil, they are not a couple, at least in that she is married to Subodh Roy, essayed by Rehman.

Meena Kumari and Dharmendra

I have wondered as to how audiences of the time viewed Meena Kumari, who thanks to her alcoholism looked far older, being paired with Dharmendra. Probably not too kindly, for the movies where they were a couple like Chandan Ka Palna and Majhli Didi did not do well. She was after all heroine with actors of far greater seniority such as Bharat Bhushan, Ashok Kumar, Pradeep Kumar and Raaj Kumar. To her this may be did not matter, as she was a star. But Dharmendra being cast with her in at least eight films did contribute to his career.

What of Meena Kumari? She never spoke or recorded her views on Dharmendra. But hers was a nature that craved for some emotional support and it must be added that she was never satisfied with it when she got it. But she kept up the search. After Dharmendra there was another Jat/Punjabi aspirant whose name I forget and then came Gulzar and Sawan Kumar Tak. But there was only one Dharmendra.

When Meena Kumari benefited Dharmendra

It is said that she took him under her wings and trained him in acting assiduously. And he was grateful. He spent hours with her over drinks but at the same time tried his best to curtail her intake. It is claimed that she finally let him go saying marriage was impossible as she did not want someone else’s ghar to go ujaad (destroyed) but there again there is no confirmation of that. But separate they did, at a time when his career was on the upswing and her’s sadly on the way down. Mohan Deep’s scurrilous biography of Meena Kumari claims that the attraction was purely physical and that Dharmendra was the only one who could put with her demands but somehow that does not hold water when you consider the nature of the two people.

Go in Peace, Both of You

He was soft-hearted – witness how he was the only star at the funeral of Suraiya. Dharmendra was there for her funeral too but then so were several other co-actors. It was the death of a colleague. But Suraiya’s was a different matter – she had long faded and yet he did attend. Nargis in an article on Meena Kumari wrote that there was only one man in her life and that was Dharmendra. May be that is confirmation enough. And when he left, whatever the reason, she was finished, only to rise like a flame in Pakeezah, one last time. And even if he did have a physical relationship with Meena Kumari, what the hell, they were two consenting adults.