Meena Kumari's birthday: Lata Mangeshkar pays tribute to the 'tragedy queen'

On Meena Kumari's birthday, veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar took to her official Twitter handle and paid tribute to the Tragedy Queen of Hindi cinema. August 1, 2021 marks Meena Kumari's 88th birth anniversary. The award-winning singer posted a throwback monochrome picture as she remembered the late legendary actor. Take a look at the picture below.

Lata Mangeshkar drops throwback pic on Meena Kumari's birthday

Taking to her Twitter handle, Lata Mangeshkar posted a throwback monochrome picture of the late legendary actor. The picture featured her and Kumari, who is fondly remembered as the 'historically incomparable' actor in the Bollywood industry. The Bharat Ratna award-winner penned a caption in the Hindi language. She wrote, "Namaskar. Aaj bahut mashhoor aur meri pasandida abhinetri Meena Kumari ki jayanti hai. Unke aur mere bahut acche sambandh the (Hello. Today is the birth anniversary of a very famous and my favorite actress Meena Kumari. She and I had a very good relationship)."

The veteran playback singer added, "Wo kai baar mere recording mein aati thi, main unke ghar jaaya karti thi. Unke pati mujhe beti kehete the.Unki yaad ko main vinamra abhivadan karti hun. (She used to come to my recordings many times, I used to go to her house. Her husband used to call me daughter. I warmly salute her memory)."

Lata Mangeshkar has lent her vocals to many of Meena Kumari's memorable Bollywood songs. She has sung Pakeezah's Tanhai Sunaya Karti Hai, Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Ye, Inhi Logo Ne, Dil Jo Na Keh Saka, among others. Furthermore, Kumari had earned over four Filmfare awards for the best female actor over her acting career that spanned 1950s and 1960s. The late iconic actor has portrayed many memorable characters on the big screen. 

Meena Kumari has been featured in more than 92 films. Three weeks after the release of her hit film, Pakeezah, the actor became seriously ill. On March 28, 1972, she was admitted to St Elizabeth's Nursing Home. Kumari passed away on March 31, 1972, at the age of 38, shortly after going into coma for two days. The cause of her death was revealed to be liver cirrhosis. 

With inputs from ANI

IMAGE: LATA MANGESHKAR'S TWITTER