THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN DILIP AND MADHUBALA
Dilip Kumar had loved Madhubala, but would marry her only on his terms. Her father had loved her too, but laid down his own terms and conditions at every stage. Finally, both had to stand by and watch the disintegration of a beautiful human being before their eyes.
People say that Dilip Kumar till date makes it a point to place flowers over her tomb.
(Taken from an interview with Dlip Kumar still hold the bitterness towards Atullah after all these year he still loves Madhu and doesn?t let anyone in)
What about Anarkali? It is no secret surely that he had a tempestuous affair with Madhubala, the film's heroine? He does not deny the relationship. So were they really in love when Mughal-e-Azam was made? Or was it all just acting? Dilip Kumar begins to get a little evasive. "Frankly," he says finally, "I don't remember the exact timing. Was I carrying on an affair with her when the film was made? Was it before? I don't remember." A breakthrough. He is notoriously reluctant to talk about any of the women in his life so even this slightly evasive answer about Madhubala marks a break with precedent. "Why didn't you marry her?" I persist. "She was very beautiful." "She was a very nice girl," he responds. "She made a conscious attempt to improve herself. By the end, she had even learnt to speak good English." Was her family the problem? He begins to talk about something else. Saira Banu comes to my rescue. "Her father Ataullah Khan was also a Pathan, wasn't he?" she begins. She knows her husband well. The response is immediate. "Pathan, my foot! He couldn't speak one world of Pathani! He was no Pathan. He was from Delhi or somewhere." So the family was the problem. But Saira will not let him off so easily. "Is it true that Ataullah Khan wanted you to act in his home production and you refused and this led to a rift?" "How can a man like that expect to make movies?" says Dilip Kumar, now slightly agitated. "He thought that because of his daughter, I was signed, sealed and delivered." I look accusingly at Saira. "He's told you the Madhubala story before?" I ask. "No, no," she says. "He never talks about her.