When the dance of destiny whips up its rhythm, few can resist matching its tempting steps, measure for measure. Whether it be pirouetting up the flight of Fame, basking in the glad eye of glory or alighting in the arena of adulation. And when, secure in the warmth of the spotlight, one awaits the next twirl, destiny smirks and casts its child into the depths of depression. Taking away, as easily as it gave, its gifts of fame, glamour and power. Baffled and bewildered, the child dances the last dance to doom. Madhubala and Marilyn Monroe, both Destiny’s children, seemed to have danced this cruel dance. Yet, puppets in the hands of Destiny, they still were able to wrest immortality. Marilyn was a contemporary of Madhubala and both stars shared more than just the letter M. They were breath-taking beauties with smiles that have fascinated generations of movie-goers. Each had a life that rose from the ashes to the pinnacle of fame and glamour and then crumbled in tragedy. Each faced the pangs of unrequited love and were spurned by the men they loved. And yet neither was a victim and perhaps the wattage of the immortal smiles of Madhubala and Marilyn owed its luminosity to their irrepressible spirit! Madhubala was born on Valentine’s Day (14th Feb 1933) and in this very month that she died (23rd February 1969) at the youthful age of 36! But in this short season Madhubala achieved the enviable. She was at once the queen of hearts with her gasp-evoking smile and in this short span had made as many as 76 films. Madhubala had always dreamt of becoming a movie star, but it was poverty that actually saw her dream turning into a reality. When her father Ataullah Khan gave up his job in a fit of rage at Imperial Tobacco, he turned to 8-year-old Mumtaz to keep his kitchen fire burning. Mumtaz was the prettiest of his six daughters and Khan took her to the Bombay Talkies studio bosses, Devika Rani and Himanshu Rai for auditions. Mumtaz was chosen for a childhood role in Basant and Devika Rani was so impressed by her performance that she changed her name to Madhubala! Kidar Sharma’s Neel Kamal (1947) billed Mumtaz as Madhubala, and co-starred her with Raj Kapoor. The film shot her into the limelight. In the next two years she blossomed into a captivating beauty, a veritable “Venus of the Screen”. Her lead role in Mahal (1949) made her a byword in beauty! Though she was only 16 at the time, critics widely acknowledged her subtle and skillful performance and the song ‘Aayega aanewaala…’ heralded the arrival of two new superstars - Madhubala and playback singer Lata Mangeshkar. In the midst of such heady success came the tragic discovery of her illness. Madhubala's heart problem was discovered by doctors in 1950 after she frequently coughed up blood on the sets. Her illness was a well kept secret till 1954, when Madhubala, while shooting for S.S Vassan’s film Bahut Din Huye, vomited blood on the sets. This incident in Madras was however soon erased from public memory and Madhubala continued her reign as the Queen of Hearts. There is an apocryphal story that says the secret of Madhubala's beauty lay in her drinking water only from a certain well in south Mumbai. In the early ’50s as Madhubala became one of the most sought after actresses in India, she also attracted interest from Hollywood. She appeared on the covers of many American magazines such as Theatre Arts, which featured her as ‘The Biggest Star in the World - And she's not in Beverly Hills’. Frank Capra, on a trip to Bombay, had a meeting to discuss an opening for Madhubala. Her father however declined and put an emphatic end to her potential Hollywood film career. Films and fame followed her footsteps and she danced to destiny with the definitive grace of a diva. Whether she played the ethereal tantaliser of Mahal, the efficient reporter of Kaala Paani, the mischievous tease of’ Chalti Ka Naam Gadi, the nightclub nymphet Edna in Howrah Bridge or the fragile, angst ridden Anarkali, her portrayals were effortless. As Dev Anand remarked, “Madhubala would never over-rehearse, she would be spontaneous and that’s how delightful numbers like ‘Accha ji main haari chalo maan jaao na’, took shape.” Her co-stars at the time were the most popular of the period: Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Rehman, Pradeep Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Dev Anand. Notable leading ladies of the time including Kamini Kaushal, Suraiya, Geeta Bali and Nimmi worked with her. The most prolific and respected directors Mehboob Khan, Guru Dutt, Kamal Amrohi and K. Asif directed her. She also ventured into production and made the film Naata (1955).