Madhubala was the reigning queen of the Indian film fraternity. The whole industry was mesmerised by the flawless beauty of the Marilyn Monroe of Bollywood. Although Madhubala was seriously involved with Dilip Kumar and everyone was aware of their tragic love story, they never got their happy ending.
Her steamy romance with actor Premnath and marriage with singer Kishore Kumar made many headlines but there was one another actor who had the desire to marry the beauty queen, the Anarkali of Bollywood. Yes, you read it right.
Amongst the people who used to get dazzled by the grace of Madhubala, there was also a young boy from Bollywood's Kapoor Clan, who was simply spellbound by the style diva and his name was Shammi Kapoor.
When Shammi Kapoor was bewitched by Madhubala's beauty
Back in the days, every co-star of Madhubala used to fall for her natural beauty and grace. Shammi Kapoor, who himself was one of the superstars of his era, had once fallen hard for Madhubala. Confessing his love for the tragedy queen of Bollywood, Shammi Kapoor once said that his experience with Madhubala was 'just out of this world'.
Junglee star of Bollywood Shammi Kapoor once revealed that "When I met her on the set of Rail Ka Dibba for the first time, I could not take my eyes off her. I was like hit by a thunderbolt."
"I was so nervous that I kept forgetting my lines,' he had said. 'And she was fully aware of the effect she had been having on me and was relishing it thoroughly," Shammi added.
Shammi was mesmerised by Madhubala's beauty to such extent that he once confessed, "She was breathtakingly beautiful... Woh jab paani peeti thi toh aisa lagta tha jaise yahan se (runs his finger down his neck) ek nas mein se paani guzarta hua neeche ja raha hai... (when she drank water, it was as if I could see water flowing down her throat). She was so delicate."
Madhubala-Shammi Kapoor and Dilip Kumar - A love triangle?
Though Shammi Kapoor was aware of the fact that Madhubala was romantically involved with Dilip Kumar and supposedly Premnath, he couldn't stop himself from falling in love Madhubala.
"I kept wondering yeh Shammi Kapoor beech mein kaise aa gaya? (How did Shammi Kapoor land in between?) Since I was just a nobody at that stage, no one had bothered to associate my name with Madhu's," said Shammi Kapoor in an old interview.
Loverboy Shammi knew that Madhubala was way out of his league and might never leave Dilip but he still never shied away from expressing his love. "I must admit, in spite of knowing that Madhu was already in love, I could not resist falling madly in love with her. No one can blame me for it," said Kapoor.
"Even today, after meeting so many women and having had relationships with God knows how many, I can swear that I have never seen a more beautiful woman. Add to that her sharp intellect, maturity, poise and sensitivity. She was awesome," Shammi Kapoor disclosed through an interview in 2011.
He was head over heels for Madhubala and even went to her with a marriage proposal. But Madhubala simply laughed and denied him. Talking about his gorgeous co-star, Shammi Kapoor revealed how much he missed her.
"When I think of her even now, after six decades, my heart misses a beat. My God, what beauty. What presence. Today's girls make me feel they might have just hopped out of incubators," said Shammi.
Madhubala-Shammi Kapoor movies
Madhubala and Shammi Kapoor have graced the silver screens with their oozing chemistry in Rail Ka Dibba (1953) and Boy Friend in 1961. As per the sources, the first ever film Shammi had signed was Aspi Irani's Hum Tum Aur Woh opposite Madhubala. But that film didn't go beyond the opening shot.
Talking about her untimely demise, Shammi said, "I think life was a bit too harsh on her. She didn't deserve to go through all that she did."
