Madhubala’s life was marked by immense stardom as well as deeply painful relationships. She entered the film industry as a child artist in the early 1940s and rose to prominence with the 1949 classic *Mahal*, directed by Kamal Amrohi. According to Amrohi’s son Tajdar, the filmmaker and the legendary actress fell in love while working on the film. However, their relationship eventually came to an end because Madhubala wanted Kamal to divorce his wife, Sayeda, and separate from his family.Tajdar opened up about his father’s relationship with Madhubala, which took place years before Kamal went on to marry actor Meena Kumari. Recalling the circumstances of their split, Tajdar said in an interview with Vickey Lalwani, “Madhubala, aapko ye bata doon, mujhe badi khushi hoti hai ye baat kehte hue ki probably Kamal is the only man who has worked with three most beautiful ladies of the Indian screen — the only man. Meena Kumari, that Tragedy Queen of India, the Venus of the Indian screen Madhubala, and the Dream Girl Hema Malini.”When further asked if Kamal Amrohi and Madhubala were in a relationship, his son said, “Yes, this was before Meena Kumari ji. I won’t say he rejected or brok up, but got back, peeche ho gaye. Baba called it off.” Giving the reason for their break-up, Tajdar revealed that Madhubala demanded that Kamal Amrohi divorced his wife and leave his children. He said, “Madhubala wanted my father to get to divorce my mother, which Meena ji did not demand. No, toh woh chahti thi ki Baba divorce karein.”He said, “Madhubala wasn’t an ordinary heroine. She was a major star of her time, and she was so beautiful.” He also referred to the actress’s other much-discussed relationships, saying, “There were many stories of her relationships with others as well. It is well known that she was with Dilip Kumar.”He added further, “Toh unhone ajeeb demand rakhi, Madhubala ne. Baba ne mana kar diya. Unhone kaha ki main itne paise deti hoon. Badi heroine thi, producer bhi ho gayi thi, paisa bhi bahut tha. Ki main aapko itna paisa deti hoon. Aap itna paisa apni biwi ko de dijiye aur itna paisa aapke bachchon ko de dijiye aur unko life se hata dijiye. Life se hata dijiye. (She was a major star and a producer as well. She had lots of money too. She said, ‘I will give you x amount of money. You give this much to your wife and to your kids, and get them out of your life).”According to Tajdar, Kamal refused to compromise on his family. He recalled his father’s response: “My father told her, ‘We won’t meet from here on because I sell stories and dialogues, not my children and wife. You want me to leave my wife. That won’t happen. She is a woman of my family’.”Tajdar explained that his parents were related, with his mother being the daughter of Kamal’s maternal uncle. He also claimed that Madhubala was “disappointed” after the relationship ended. According to him, her father, Attaullah Khan, had initially “no objection” to the match because Kamal had become a prominent name following the success of *Mahal*.Tajdar further said his mother was unaware of the affair at the time. “My mother didn’t know about Madhubala. She just knew that Mahal was being made, and it was my father’s first directorial,” he recalled.Kamal Amrohi later married Meena Kumari, but his first wife, Sayeda, reportedly learned about the marriage through film magazines while she was living with their children in their village in Uttar Pradesh. In an earlier conversation with News18 Urdu, Kamal’s daughter Rukhsar recalled that her mother eventually encouraged the children to establish contact with Meena through letters. Over time, the children developed a close relationship with the actor and began affectionately calling her ‘Choti Ammi’.
