THE FAMILY

Meena Kumari, was the youngest among the three sisters, Khurshid Madhuri and Mahzabeen. Khurshid and Madhuri later on married. After teh death of her mother at an early age, Meena Kumari was almost alone as Khurshid and Madhuri had married and setled in their families. Meena Kumari's father later on ended up being her manager when she became very popular in films. However, she was the main bread earner for the family since as early as 1939, the age of six.

Her mother was Iqbal Negum and her father, Ali Bux. Ali Bux

Very few people know that Meena Kumari was connected to the grand Rabindranath Tagore family. Meena Kumari's grandmother, Hem Sundari Thakur (Tagore) was married into the Tagore family but after she lost her husband Rev Bill, she was compelled to give up all her rights to the family name or property by her in-laws.

Hem's daughter Prabhawati was Meena Kumari's mother. Prabhawati too was a stage actress and a dancer. Her stage name was Kaamni. Prabhawati later got married to a Pathan called Ali Bux. He was a Sunni Muslim. He played the harmonium and wrote Urdu poetry. He was already married when he met Prabhawati. He composed music for small films like Shahi Lutere and also did some bit roles in films like Idd Ka Chand.

Once while returning from Mahableshwar in their Plymouth, Meena and her family met with a serious accident. And though three of them suffered injuries, Meena's were the worst. Her left hand was seriously injured, and doctors weren't sure if she would be able to use it again. No one knows how much damage was caused to her hand and how it looked after the surgery. Being very image conscious, Meena always hid her hand in her sari pallu, and viewers often tried spotting it. This only added to her charm.