Madhubala, an iconic luminary of the golden era of Bollywood, remains etched in the memory of her devotees. Celebrated for her exceptional beauty and acting prowess, she left an indelible imprint on the entertainment landscape, particularly through her portrayal of resolute female characters. Despite a brief career, she carved a distinct niche for herself. Tragically, in February 1969, Madhubala’s radiant presence was extinguished at the tender age of 36, as she succumbed to a heart attack in the company of her family and husband, Kishore Kumar.
Often hailed as the ‘Venus of Indian Cinema,’ Madhubala grappled with a congenital heart condition from birth – a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD), mirroring a similar ailment afflicting actress Bipasha Basu’s daughter, Devi. VSD, a prevalent congenital heart anomaly, manifests when an abnormal opening exists in the partition dividing the heart’s lower chambers. This defect, a constant companion since birth, punctuates her remarkable journey.
Reflecting on her daughter’s medical condition, Bipasha, during a conversation with Neha Dhupia, unveiled that Devi had been confronted with a dual ventricular challenge, bearing witness to two cardiac cavities. To counter this formidable predicament, young Devi underwent a critical surgical intervention at the tender age of three months, signifying an early and courageous confrontation with her heart’s intricate anatomy.
She had said, “For a new mother, when you get to know that… I got to know on the third day of me having a baby that our baby is born with two holes in her heart. I thought I’ll not share this, but I’m sharing this because I feel that there are a lot of mothers who helped me in this journey.”
Madhubala had a heart attack late at night on February 22. Despite efforts to fight it for a few hours with her family and Kishore Kumar by her side, she passed away at 9:30 am on February 23, just nine days after turning 36.
Madhubala started acting when she was just 9 years old in a movie called “Basant” in 1942. She became really famous for her role in the movie “Mughal-e-Azam” alongside Dilip Kumar and Prithviraj Kapoor. She acted in more than 70 movies and was even compared to Marilyn Monroe in Bollywood. Her health problem wasn’t noticed until 1954 while she was working on a movie. Over time, her health got worse.