New Delhi: Meena Kumari, known for many iconic roles in Hindi cinema, passed away at the age of 39. Also known as the 'Tragedy Queen' of Hindi cinema, Meena Kumari was in a dire financial crisis during her last days. Such was the state of her finances that there wasn't even Rs. 3500 in the bank so that her body could be released from the hospital. Filmmaker Bimal Roy'a daughter Rinki Roy Bhattacharya opened up about the family's financial condition.
Rinki Roy Bhattacharya, in a piece in Rediff in 2014, wrote that the famous actor died in utter poverty. She shared, "When this actress of high calibre, the reigning Goddess of cinema breathed her last on the afternoon of March 31, 1972, at 3:25 pm in St Elizabeth’s nursing home, she did not have Rs 3,500 required to release her body.”
Rinki wrote that it was the physician who stepped in to make the payment. "It was a miracle when her physician bailed out the family,” she wrote.
Earlier in an interview with Filmfare, Saawan Kumar Tak, who saw her as a muse, shared that he paid a bill of Rs. 15,000 to the hospital during her last days. He also shared that he had shouldered her coffin upon her passing. "I once footed the bill of Rs 15,000. I sold my Standard car for this. She died a few weeks after that. I gave her kandha (shouldered her coffin). Meenaji faced much heartbreak in her life. Roses and handsome men could not take away her tragedies,” he said.
Meena Kumari was born on August 1, 1933. Today marks her birth anniversary. The veteran actor also holds several records of having won Best Actor awards in various capacities, Her career spanned some 33 years and she worked in over 90 films.
The actor dies from cirrhosis of the liver which was associated with her alcoholism.