Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi was none other than Madhubala. Madhuwala was born as Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi in Delhi as the 5th child into a poor, conservative Pashtun Muslim family of 11 children on February 14, 1933.
Madhuwala is considered one of the most beautiful actresses to have graced the screens of Bollywood.

Her first film was Basant (1942). Devika Rani was impressed by her performance and changed her name to Madhubala who was to appear in Jwar Bhata (1944) in which Dilip Kumar was playing the lead role. She was unable to work in the film, but this was when Madhubala first set eyes on Dilip Kumar. Mohan Sinha, a Producer-Director taught her to drive at the age of twelve.

Her big break came when Kidar Sharma gave her a chance to act opposite Raj Kapoor in Neel Kamal (1947). Madhubala had finally arrived on the Indian screen. Over the next two years she had blossomed into a captivating beauty (fans referred to her as the "Venus of the Screen"). In 1949, Madhubala starred in Bombay Talkies production Mahal. The film became a super hit. The song Aayega Aanewaala made the careers of Madhubala as well as the playback singer Lata Mangeshkar.

Her captivating beauty and natural performance won the hearts of many and soon she was the talk of the town. But the film that established her as a household name and a full fledged star was Mahal (1949). She was only sixteen years old and yet her skillful performance was applauded by critics and masses alike. The film had a famous song, Aayega Aanewala which rode on the top of popularity charts. But what was more important was the emergence of two stars, Madhubala and the iconic singer Lata Mangeshkar.

Madhubala love affair with celebrated actor Dilip Kumar was a favorite scoop of the journalists of the time. In spite of keeping a low profile, her affair with Dilip Kumar was widely followed. They met during the filming of Tarana and two years after it, their off-screen romance began and lasted for five years. They also sizzled as an on-screen romantic pair. However, an unfortunate court case brought an end to their beautiful courtship. When the unit of Naya Daur had to go to Bhopal for shooting, Madhubala’s father intervened and refused to let his daughter go because he felt that the entire trip was nothing but a ruse concocted by Kumar to romance his daughter. The director sued Madhubala for the advance she had received. And Dilip Kumar put the final nail to their relationship when he testified against Madhubala in court.  

But in 1960, the two estranged couple worked in one the biggest grosser in Indian film history in the historical epic mega-budget, Mughal-e-Azam.  It was for 15 years the highest grosser of Indian cinema. Barsaat Ki Raat also augmented her popularity further.

In 1960, she got married to Kishore Kumar, the renowned singer and actor. Because he was a Hindu, she was not accepted in his household and for the remaining part of her life, their marriage never sailed smoothly.

Since acting was no longer permitted by her heakth, she showed interest in film making. In 1969, her directorial debut was all set with the film Farz Aur Ishq. But she succumbed to her illness during its pre production days. She died on 23rd February, 1969, just nine days after her 36th birthday.