Madhubala was in love with Premnath before falling for Dilip Kumar

Tuesday marks the 90th birth anniversary of yesteryear Bollywood actor Madhubala, who ruled the hearts of her fans since the late 1940s.

Her love for Dilip Kumar and marriage with Kishore Kumar are quite known, but it is a rarely known fact that she first fell in love with Premnath. She was also known as the tragedy queen of Bollywood, not just because of her onscreen image, but also her love life.

Born as Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi, Madhubala started working at a very early age – she made her debut as a child actor in the 1942 film Basant at the age of. Her first film as an adult came in 1947 when she featured in Neel Kamal that also featured Begum Para and Raj Kapoor.

Asked if Madhubala was in love with Premnath, before falling for Dilip Kumar, Madhubala’s sister Madhur Bhushan answered in the affirmative and told ETimes, “But in those days, Hindus and Muslims weren’t getting married. Today, times have changed. My father objected to their relationship, saying that he was answerable to the family.”

Elaborating on how the Bollywood star moved on from Premnath, she added, “It wasn’t difficult for her. It was a short-lived relationship. Both wanted to pursue their career. It was like boy meets girl and they start dreaming about a future together.”

This is not the first time Madhur has talked about Madhubala’s love for Premnath. In 2013, she had told Filmfare that the actor first fell in love with Premnath but the relationship only lasted for six months and broke “on grounds of religion”. Madhur had said that Premnath wanted Madhubala to convert but she refused.

Later, Madhubala came close to Dilip Kumar but that relationship could not go far. She tied the knot with Kishore Kumar in 1960 before they left for her treatment in London. They remained married till her death in 1969. Before she moved to London, doctors had told her that she only had two years to live, but she remained bedridden for nine years.

Madhubala is also known as the Marilyn Monroe of India. She has worked in some iconic Hindi films including, Mughal-e-Azam, Mr. & Mrs. ’55, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Half Ticket, Howrah Bridge, Kala Pani and Barsaat Ki Raat.