Kolkata, WEST BENGAL /  Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Lucnow:

Did you know that the mother of prominent Bollywood actor ‘tragedy queen’ Meena Kumari had a Lucknow connection?

When her mother Ikbal Bano was a young woman, she left her hometown Kolkata and came to Lucknow with her mother in the 1920s to explore a career in the arts. Meena, though, never visited Lucknow.

Bano had come to Lucknow following her connection with Rabindranath Tagore’s family. She worked as a dancer here for some time before moving to Mumbai to try her luck in Bollywood. There she met Ali Baksh, a harmonium player, whom she married. Their daughter Meena Kumari is a name we know well.

Several such lesser known facts about the life and journey of Hindi cinema’s enduring actress Meena Kumari will be shown in a play called ‘Adhoore Khwaab’, to be staged in the city on Monday. Over 40 trained actors will portray various tangents of her life in an 80-minute show organized as part of the 27th International Literary Festival by the Hindi Urdu Sahitya Award Committee.

SN Lal, the writer of the play, said, “In this play, we have tried to bring to light a different side of her charismatic personality. For the first time, we have incorporated one of the verses of matam (mourning during Moharram) penned by her in a play,” explained Lal.

Despite being one of the most popular names in cinema, Meena faced several hardships, he added.

The last scene of the play has been kept identical to real incidents of her life. “While shooting a song for Pakeezah, she had fallen ill and after that, never returned to movies or shooting. She died following the long illness. We have tried to recreate those moments on stage,” said Middat Khan, the director of the play.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / Vidita Chandra / TNN / April 11th, 2016