But even though she died at 36, Madhubala left behind her an impressive volume of movies.

Without any formal acting training, Baby Mumtaz -- as she was first known -- took up acting when she was only eight, in Basant. She was rechristened Madhubala by actress Devika Rani.

Madhubala went on to do about 70 films before a heart ailment claimed her life on February 23, 1969.

rediff.com pays her a tribute, and looks at some of her memorable films.

Mughal-E-Azam

This love story between Prince Salim (Dilip Kumar) and danseuse Anarkali (Madhubala) during Emperor Akbar's time took a decade to get made. Today, it has become a classic.

Directed by K Asif, one of the highlights of the film is the song, Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya, rendered by Lata Mangeshkar.

It was while shooting for this film that Madhubala was detected with her fatal heart disease.

Madhubala's popularity is strong even today, as is evident from the fact that Mughal-e-Azam was re-released in colour in 2004, and audiences loved this film more than the other Diwali releases out at the same time, Veer-Zaara, Aitraaz and Naach.

Also read: Madhubala would have been 75

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