Meena
Kumari
did
all
kinds
of
roles,
yet
attained
the
sobriquet
of
Tragedy
Queen.
Stepson
Shandaar
Amrohi,
who
has
announced
an
annual
Acting
Excellence
award
in
the
actress's
name,
recalls
his
Chhoti
Ammi,
a
woman
of
many
moods
"My
father
had
announced
Anarkali
with
Meena
Kumari
in
the
early
'50s.
A
few
scenes
were
canned
at
Bombay
Talkies
Studios
and
it
was
financed
by
a
silver
merchant.
After
one
schedule,
the
film
was
abandoned.
Later
Meenaji,
or
Chhoti
Ammi
as
I
called
her,
was
travelling
to
Pune
when
she
had
an
accident
and
was
admitted
in
Pune's
Sassoon
Hospital.
My
father
would
go
and
meet
her
there
and
that's
how
love
bloomed.
They
were
married
in
1952.
They
soon
came
together
in
Daera
professionally,
but
it
flopped.
But
Baiju
Bawra
in
1952
changed
everything
-
Meena
Kumari
became
a
top
star
and
soon
dad
launched
Pakeezah,
a
script
that
she
loved.
When
my
father
and
Chhoti
Ammi
married,
my
mother
Mahmudi
and
we
three
kids-my
brother
Tajdar
and
sister
Rukhsar
-
were
all
living
in
Amroha,
and
we
came
to
know
about
the
nikaah
from
a
report
in
Shama,
a
top
monthly.
I
was
told
that
I
had
a
Chhoti
Ammi
too,
but
was
told
young
to
understand
what
it
meant.
Soon,
my
relatives
began
to
go
to
Mumbai
as
there
was
some
consternation.
But
each
would
come
back
charmed
by
the
politeness
and
humility
of
the
lady.
My
own
maternal
grandfather
was
suffering
from
a
terminal
disease
and
went
to
Mumbai
for
treatment.
He
came
back
floored
by
Meena
Kumari
and
told
us,
"Ussne
to
mere
beti
se
bhi
zyaada
seva
ki." And
so
it
went
on
-
Chhoti
Ammi
conquered
my
chacha
and
all
my
aunts.
And
my
mother
finally
met
her
and
succumbed
to
her
charms
too!
Soon,
my
brother
and
I
also
came
to
Mumbai
and
slowly
my
relationship
with
her
grew.
She
was
a
caring
mother
to
me,
yet
a
woman
of
moods.
She
would
also
take
my
brother
and
me
out
and
was
very
concerned
about
our
education.
On
the
professional
front,
she
was
now
a
major
star
and
that
was
a
side
that
I
could
not
fully
understand
as
a
kid.
But
she
did
take
us
to
the
shootings
of
Yahudi
and
Miss
Mary.
She
was
a
dramatic
actress
who
did
every
kind
of
role,
but
she
was
known
best
as
the
Tragedy
Queen.
After
my
father
shot
the
song
Inhi
logon
ne,
she
insisted
that
such
a
song
and
a
film
like
Pakeezah
deserved
to
be
made
in
colour.
So
my
father
scrapped
the
black-and-white
reels
and
began
to
reshoot
the
film
in
colour
with
characteristic
meticulousness.
The
Gulabi
Mahal
and
Bazaar-E-Husn
sets
were
created
with
an
unhurried
sense
of
perfection.
But
no
hero
was
willing
to
do
this
heroine-oriented
film.
There
was
talk
of
signing
Dharmendra
when
the
film
was
abruptly
stopped
in
1964.
Around
that
time,
a
secretary
poisoned
her
mind
against
my
father.
I
do
not
know
exactly
what
happened,
but
on
one
day,
after
Chhoti
Ammi
shot
at
Filmistan
Studios,
she
went
straight
to
actor
Mehmood's
house
(he
had
married
her
sister)
and
never
returned
home.
My
father
rushed
there,
I
do
not
what
transpired
between
them,
but
after
that
their
respective
egos
took
over.
They
never
spoke
a
word
against
each
other,
never
had
a
divorce,
and
always
loved
each
other
till
the
end.
And
this
finally
facilitated
the
completion
of
Pakeezah.
Sunil
Duttsaab
convinced
Chhoti
Ammi
to
complete
the
film
and
it
was
revived
around
1968-'69.
The
remaining
scenes
were
shot,
and
though
she
was
in
ill-health
and
her
body
and
face
had
changed,
my
father
overcame
the
difficulty
by
using
a
duplicate.
For
example
there
was
a
long-
shot
in
the
song
Aaj
hum
apne
duaaon
ka
asar
dekhenge
that
was
shot
with
Padma
Khanna.
Chhoti
Ammi
would
address
my
father
as
Chandan,
and
he
would
call
her
Manju.
She
was
given
to
extremes
and
she
was
sensitive.
After
attending
the
premiere
of
Pakeezah,
as
she
was
leaving
she
told
me,
"Apne
abbu-jaan
se
keh
dena
ki
ab
koi
picture
na
banaaye." Shortly
before
that,
she
came
to
know
that
Kamalsaab
had
fallen
ill
just
before
the
release
of
the
film
and
she
came
to
visit
him,
but
her
health
disallowed
her
from
climbing
the
two
floors
to
our
flat.
I
offered
to
carry
her
up,
but
she
just
said,
"Unse
kehna
Manju
aayi
thi.
Aur
apna
khayaal
rakkhe."
Her
flair
for
shaayari
is
well-known,
but
few
know
that
she
also
kept
a
diary.
Recorded
in
her
diary
were
details
of
how
she
and
my
father
met
the
famous
daku,
Amrutlal.
Her
weak
point
as
a
star
was
that
she
was
not
a
great
dancer,
otherwise
she
would
have
been
even
more
successful.
In
those
days
actresses
would
rarely
be
friends
with
each
other,
but
Chhoti
Ammi
was
good
friends
with
Nargis.
She
had
a
great
sense
of
music
and
would
always
say
that
among
the
young
actresses,
Sadhana
would
replace
her.
Though
I
never
showed
any
acting
talent,
she
always
hinted
that
I
would
become
an
actor
and
encouraged
me.
My
father
was
not
in
favour
and
I
finally
did
just
one
film
-
Razia
Sultan
-
in
the
negative
role
of
a
prince.
She
angered
her
Sunni
community
by
insisting
that
she
should
be
buried
as
a
Shia
because
my
father
was
one
-
proof
again
that
she
still
loved
him.
The
uproar
was
silenced
when
my
father
showed
the
clear
statement
in
her
will.
Today,
I
have
given
Chhoti
Ammi
the
unprecedented
honour
of
having
an
annual
Acting
Excellence
award
instituted
in
her
honour.
Each
year
it
will
go
to
a
young
actress
of
today
and
a
senior
star.
This
year
I
have
chosen
Tabu
and
the
late
Nutanji.
I
am
a
good
judge
of
acting
and
I
know
that
while
she
was
unequalled
among
our
actresses
Nutan
was
the
only
one
who
came
close
to
her."