My father named me Meena, after Meena Kumari, India's most iconic star. Like many Asians at the time she was his favourite actress. No one could say my name without saying "Kumari" at the end of it. (and If you're Indian and your names Meena, you can probably relate)
The glee and happiness as if I was their personal 'Meena Kumari' lead me to be fascinated by this very loved actress. Her enchanting looks, mesmerised by her hair and makeup, she looked magical and the twinkle she left in the viewers eye made me realise how special she was in the hearts of her fans.
For anyone in the western world who needs some measure to understand how huge Kumari was, she was the equivalent to India's Marilyn Monroe, who uncannily had similar troubled backgrounds, lead a similar path in life and demised under similar circumstances at a very young age.
Meena Kumari left a huge loss in Bollywood, almost a 100 films in her short time on earth. I guess she resonates the same feeling when people look back at Marilyn Monroe "if only we could have saved her". Thankfully we have the movies, (and Google) and many many "twinkly eyes" to remind us of the Iconic beauty that is Meena Kumari.