‘Unhone Baba Ka Kurta Phaad Diya’: Meena Kumari and Kamal Amrohi’s Troubled Marriage Revealed by Stepson Tajdar Amrohi |

Tajdar Amrohi, Meena Kumari’s stepson and Kamal Amrohi’s ward from his first marriage, revealed one of the ugliest fights of the former couple. (Image Credit: Instagram)

Meena Kumari, or as the world knows her, ‘The Tragedy Queen of Bollywood,’ was one of the most beautiful and talented actresses. She entered the film industry as a child artist, went on to be one of the biggest stars, and did around 90 movies. On the one hand, her professional career reached new heights; on the other hand, her personal life saw some of the hardest chapters. She was married to renowned writer and director Kamal Amrohi, who was already married and had three children. Though she accepted Kamal Amrohi’s family wholeheartedly, other things created big friction between the couple. There were times when the fights between Meena Kumari and Kamal Amrohi would turn to physical altercations. However, according to her stepson Tajdar Amrohi, Kamal Amrohi never raised his hand on Meena Kumari. On the contrary, in one of the arguments, it was Meena Kumari who tore Kamal Amrohi’s clothes.

When Meena Kumari tore her husband Kamal Amrohi’s kurta during an argument

Tajdar Amrohi, Kamal Amrohi’s son from his first marriage, was very young when his father married Meena Kumari. He was the first person from Kamal’s first marriage to meet Meena Kumari. Interestingly, blame it on his innocence or Meena Kumari’s pure love, they bonded beautifully and accepted each other as family in no time. Meena Kumari told young Tajdar she was her Chhoti Ammi. Soon he started living with her and Kamal Amrohi in Mumbai. He saw both their good and bad days. Revealing one of their ugliest fights, Tajdar, while speaking to Vickey Lalwani, mentioned, “Chhoti Ammi ne abortion kara liya tha. Chhoti Ammi pregnant hui thi aur unhone chupke se, Baba ko bataye bina apna bachcha abort kara liya tha. (Chhoti Ammi aborted her child, and she didn’t tell my father about it.)”Kamal Amrohi got to know about the abortion through one of the staff members. He continued, “Is par Baba bahut bhadak gaye aur dono ke beech kaafi bada jhagda hua. Meena ji ne kaha ki Baba chahte hi nahi the ki woh maa banein, kyunki isse unka figure kharab ho jaata aur woh filmon se bahar ho jaati. Baba unhe samjhate rahe, lekin jhagda itna badh gaya ki Chhoti Ammi ne Baba ka kurta tak phaad diya. (He got really furious, and they both had a huge fight. Meena ji said Baba wanted her to become a mother, destroy her figure, and she quit films. My father tried to explain to her, but the matter got so much out of hand that she tore his kurta.)”

Meena Kumari said hurtful things to Kamal Amrohi

Tajdar Amrohi continued, “Jhagde ke dauran Chhoti Ammi ne kuch aisi baatein keh di jo Baba ko bahut buri lagi. Unhone yeh bhi kaha ki shayad Baba unki kamyabi se jalte hain. Is par Baba ne kaha ki woh unki biwi hain aur woh aakhir unki success se kyun jalenge. Baba ke mutabik, unke liye aulaad hona ek bahut bada mukaam tha. (During their fight, Chhoti Ammi said very hurtful things to my father. She said perhaps he was jealous of her success. My father replied she was his wife; why would he be jealous of her work? According to my father, having a kid was a big thing.)”Tajdar said that despite their differences, Meena Kumari knew that Kamal Amrohi was a prominent personality. He said, “Chhoti Ammi yeh bhi maanti thi ki Baba ek bahut bade director the. Unhone baad mein kaha tha ki agar ‘Pakeezah’ unke bina nahi ban sakti, toh woh Baba ke bina bhi nahi ban sakti, kyunki uss film ko sirf Baba hi bana sakte the. (Chhoti Ammi also knew that my father was a great director. She even admitted that if people say ‘Pakeezah’ couldn’t have been made without her, it wouldn’t have been complete without him either.)”Meena Kumari’s marriage with Kamal Amrohi collapsed in 1964. Her last film ‘Pakeezah’ came out in 1972, and in the same year, in her late 30s, ‘The Tragedy Queen of Bollywood’ passed away.