If she would have been alive, the legendary Meena Kumari would have celebrated her 85th birthday today. Considered as one of the finest actresses of all time in Indian cinema, the yesteryear actress' life was as fascinating as the movies she had done, and ultimately as tragic as has her moniker the Tragedy Queen of Bollywood. Known for her epic roles in movies like Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Pakeezah, Baiju Bawra and Parineeta, Meena Kumari passed away at the mere age of 38 battling liver cirrhosis in her last days. It is no wonder that the actress' life looked like a fascinating subject for many film-makers. Like Tigmanshu Dhulia, for example.

The acclaimed director, known for making Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster series and Paan Singh Tomar, wanted to make a biopic on Meena Kumari. He had even finalised Kangana Ranaut for the lead role. Kangana had once claimed that she was compared to Meena Kumari at the start of her career. So we can sense she must have been quite excited about the movie.

Unfortunately, the biopic faced copyrights issue, as producer and stepson of the actress, Tajdar Amrohi, refused to share the rights with the director. Dhulia confirmed this with HT, as he revealed, "Yes, he did. He said we can’t make the film without permissions. As of now, we aren’t thinking actively about it. Once we get all the permissions, only then will the writing process start. I am hopeful that something will work out. Every film comes with its own destiny."

Tajdar Amrohi, in an interview to Mid-Day, had said that he had issues with Kangana playing his step-mother. He said, "She is anything but Meena Kumari. My chhoti ammi was traditional and had a very strong personality and Kangana is completely opposite of her and does not suit the role. Kangana in no way will be able to justify her character. She is too modern to play the role." Tajdar was also supposed to make a biopic on Meena Kumari that is still in works.

Later came the news that Dhulia had approached Vidya Balan instead to play the lead, perhaps respecting Tajdar's wishes. However, Vidya later confirmed that she is not doing the movie due to script issues. She had told DNA, "No, I’m not doing the Meena Kumari-biopic anymore. It didn’t quite work out. The script has to do justice. It can’t just be a sensational account of her life, even if she is not around. It has to present different episodes of her life and not just the ones that will grab eyeballs. So, I decided not to do it.”

As of now, the biopic is lying in the cold storage. But with the super success of Sanju, maybe someone should be encouraged to revive the project again.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 01, 2018 11:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).