Madhubala's Life Decisions Were Dominated By Her Father Ataullah Khan: Reports

Madhubala is considered one of the most famous actresses in the country to ever exist. Her acting, personality, beauty, grace and elegance are still celebrated. She appeared in more than 60 films in her acting career. Most of her films were superhits. She emerged as the favourite actress of millions of people for her cheerful face and vivacious nature. Behind the glamorous world of the silver screen, she had a painful life mostly due to her health conditions. She had to face some darkest days in the world of the Hindi film industry for some of her decisions. But do you know that she never took any decision in her life on her own? This may surprise you but this is true. Let us know more about this in this article.

The actress was introduced to the film industry by her father Ataullah Khan. As per media reports, her father made all the decisions related to her films and personal life. Madhubala reportedly stopped working on a film due to her father’s instructions. It took place just after the release of the 1949 film, Mahal, directed by Kamal Amrohi. The film starred Ashok Kumar alongside Madhubala. The film was highly praised by the audiences and the critics. Soon after this film became a hit she was offered the leading role in the film Nirala which was released in 1950.

As per media reports, the makers tried to negotiate with Madhubala for the shooting and other things, but all the decisions were taken by her father Ataullah. He imposed a strange condition before signing the contract for the film. The condition was that no strangers should be allowed to watch the shooting on the set. It was mentioned by senior journalist, Ajay Kumar Sharma in his book.

Dev Anand and Mazhar Khan also played key roles in the film. One day, Mazhar Khan invited some guests to watch the shooting. When the guests arrived on the set, Madhubala’s father was furious. He then remained the director, Devendra Mukherjee, of the condition. Mazhar Khan was reportedly unaware of the condition. Ataullah Khan refused to let the guests in and halted the shooting.

Mazhar then approached the actress for permission. She refused that saying she would go according to her father’s condition. This news spread like wildfire. When journalists asked for comments on the development, Ataullah insulted them. The journalists then decided to boycott Madhubala and decided not to publish any pictures, advertisements, or interviews of Madhubala until she and her father apologise.

Following some series of more such incidents, Madhubala started receiving threats. The controversy continued for a year and the actress’s stardom began to wane. Then, she and her father apologised in front of the media. She also hosted a grand party at her Bandra Bungalow for the journalists.