Madhur Bhushan: ‘Kareena Kapoor will portray Madhubala well’

On Madhubala’s 92nd birth anniversary, her sister Madhur Bhushan says the biopic’s scripting is on; picks Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone or Alia Bhatt to play the actor

Madhubala would’ve turned 92 today. Her loss has been felt by many over the past 55 years, most of all by her youngest sister, Madhur Bhushan. Last year, Bhushan, along with Sony Pictures International Productions, announced a biopic on the late actor. The anticipation around the project is understandable considering her legacy has lived on for decades. “People talk about her beauty, but she was a woman of incredible warmth and courage, a dedicated artiste, and for us, she was almost like a mother,” recalls Bhushan. She reiterates that there can’t be another Madhubala, purely because of her courage. The actor—who ruled Bollywood through the 1950s and early ’60s, featuring in Mr & Mrs 55 (1955), Howrah Bridge (1958), and Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958)—passed away of a congenital heart condition at 36. “Her doctors in London told her she’d live for one more year. But she came back and worked. It’s only because of her spirit that she lived for eight years after that.”

Madhubala

Bhushan hopes this spirit shines through in the biopic, which will be helmed by Darlings (2022) director Jasmeet K Reen. “What I love about Jasmeet’s process is that she is loyal to the story while giving it a contemporary gaze. She has clarity of vision. [Among Madhubala’s movies], I love Mughal-e-Azam [1960], and Tarana [1951]. I hope they are in the film. Eventually, it’s a story of courage and resilience.”

Is the film at the casting stage? Not yet, Bhushan says, but she has a few actors in mind for the role. “When Kareena Kapoor Khan joined the industry, I was a huge fan of hers. I still am. I always thought she’ll play her well. Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt are beautiful, sincere actors. But the decision is the director’s and she’ll choose whoever is most suited for the role.”

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