Kamal Amrohi Wiki, Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Kamal Amrohi (1918-1993) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and poet. He was the husband of the renowned Indian actress Meena Kumari. On 11 February 1993, he took his last breath in Bombay, Maharashtra, India.

Wiki/Biography

Kamal Amrohi aka Syed Amir Haider Kamal Naqvi was born on Thursday, 17 January 1918 (age 75 years; at the time of death) in Amroha, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, British India (now Uttar Pradesh, India). His zodiac sign is Capricorn. He did his schooling at a local school in Amroha. He did his graduation in Persian and Urdu at Oriental College Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 8″

Hair Colour: Salt & Pepper

Eye Colour: Brown

Family

Kamal Amrohi belonged to an affluent family of Shia Muslims.

Parents & Siblings

His brother Jamal Amrohi was an assistant director and production manager.

Wife & Children

Bilkis Bano

At a young age, he got married to Bilkis Bano, who used to work as a maid of Jaddan Bai; the mother of the Indian actress Nargis.

Mehmoodi ​

He then got married to one of his close cousins Sayeda Al-Zehra Mehmoodi, daughter of Jamal Hasan. Kamal and his second wife Mehmoodi were blessed with two sons named Shandaar Amrohi (film director) and Tajdar Amrohi (film director), and a daughter named Rukhsar Amrohi (author).

Meena Kumari

One day, on the set of a Hindi film, he was introduced to the Indian actress Meena Kumari by the actor Ashok Kumar. Kamal then offered Meena a role in one of his films, but before the project could begin, Meena Kumari met with a car accident on 21 May 1951. She was hospitalized for a long time and went through depression. During her time in the hospital, Kamal regularly visited her and they exchanged letters, which provided comfort to Meena during her difficult time. After spending four months in the hospital, Meena was finally discharged, and they started having long phone calls. Soon, they fell in love with each other. On 14 February 1952, Meena decided to get married to Kamal Amrohi in a secret nikah ceremony.

Only Meena’s sister, Mahliqa or Madhu, was present as Meena’s family was against her marriage to Kamal. After a few years of their marriage, Kamal became possessive of Meena and started imposing strict rules on her. He would ask her to come home by 6:30 in the evening, no one was allowed in her makeup room, and she had to use only the car that Kamal provided for her. There were also rumours of Meena facing domestic violence. However, Kamal denied these rumours. According to Meena Kumari’s biography written by Vinod Mehta, Vinod interviewed Kamal Amrohi and asked him about the rumours of physical violence. In the book, he wrote,

When her star start rising, his went down. I asked Kamal Amrohi if indeed he had hit her as per many rumours. He completely denied it, saying that such a thing was totally against his upbringing. But six different people told me that there was physical violence in their relationship. Those were the days when Meena Kumari would come back Rembrandt till late at night.”

Reportedly, Kamal divorced Meena by saying ‘talaq’ three times in a fit of anger. However, Kamal’s son Tajdar Amrohi, refuted the claim, considering it a false belief spread by ill-wishers. According to some other sources, Meena is said to have performed the Nikah Halala with Amanullah Khan (Zeenat Aman’s father) before returning to Kamal Amrohi. After returning to Kamal, she said,

Now, after this Nikah Halala, what is the difference between me and a prostitute?”

In 1964, Meena Kumari and Kamal Amrohi got officially divorced. During the mahurat of the film ‘Pinjre Ke Panchhi,’ Meena was in her makeup room when Kamal Amrohi’s assistant, Baqar Ali, slapped her. Meena had insisted that the lyricist Gulzar should be allowed into her makeup room, but Kamal had different rules for his wife, and for this, Baqar slapped her. After the incident, Meena Kumari told Baqar that she would not be going home that night. Meena Kumari felt burdened by many rules, constant surveillance of her whereabouts, and strict regulations. These factors contributed to her depression. Some sources claim that problems started arising between Meena Kumari and Kamal Amrohi due to her alleged extramarital affair with the Indian actor Dharmendra.

Deep Kaur

After the demise of Meena Kumari, he lived with his second wife Mehmoodi. After the death of Mehmoodi in 1982, he got married to his physician Deep Kaur; to avoid loneliness in his old age and not become a burden on his children. Earlier, he used to visit a hospital for minor ailments where he met his fourth wife. Soon, they became good friends and then decided to get married.

Other Relative(s)

He was the first cousin of the Pakistani writers Jaun Elia and Rais Amrohvi.

Autograph

Career

Film

Story Writer

In 1938, Kamal made his debut as a story writer with the Hindi film ‘Jailor.’

He then wrote the story of various Hindi films like ‘Pukar’ (1939), ‘Prem Ki Jyot’ (1939), ‘Main Hari’ (1939), ‘Mahal’ (1949), and ‘Pakeezah’ (1972).

Director

Kamal made his directorial debut with the Hindi film ‘Mahal’ (1949).

Some of his other Hindi films as a director are ‘Daaera’ (1953), ‘Pakeezah’ (1972), ‘Majnoon’ (1979; unreleased), and ‘Razia Sultan’ (1983).

Producer

In 1953, he made his debut as a producer with the Hindi film ‘Daaera.’

He worked as a producer in a few other Hindi films like ‘Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai’ (1960), ‘Pakeezah’ (1972), and ‘Majnoon’ (1979; unreleased).

Screenplay Writer

He made his screenplay writing debut with the Hindi film ‘Pukar’ (1939).

He wrote the screenplay of various Hindi films such as ‘Prem Ki Jyot’ (1939), ‘Main Hari’ (1940), ‘Mahal’ (1949), ‘Pakeezah’ (1972), and ‘Razia Sultan’ (1983).

Dialogue Writer

In 1938, he made his debut as a dialogue writer with the Hindi film ‘Chhalia.’

He has worked as a dialogue writer in a few other Hindi films like ‘Mazaaq’ (1943), ‘Phool’ (1945), ‘Saqi’ (1952), ‘Mughal-E-Azam’ (1960), and ‘Shankar Hussain’ (1977).