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Acting style and reception

In a 22-year-long career, Madhubala acted in almost every film genre, ranging from romantic musicals to slapstick comedies, and crime thrillers to historical dramas. The author of Celebrities: A Comprehensive Biographical Thesaurus of Important Men and Women in India (1952), Jagdish Bhatia noted that Madhubala turned her disadvantages into advantage and despite her non-filmy background "rose to be one of the most talented female stars of the industry." Baburao Patel, writing for Filmindia, called her "easily our most talented, most versatile and best-looking artiste." A number of her directors including Sharma, Shakti Samanta and Raj Khosla spoke highly of her acting talents on different occasions. Ashok Kumar described her as the finest actress he ever worked with, while Dilip Kumar wrote in his autobiography that she was "a vivacious artiste... so instantaneous in her responses that the scenes became riveting even when they were being filmed... she was an artiste who could keep pace and meet the level of involvement demanded by the script."

Writing retrospectively for The New York Times, Aisha Khan characterised Madhubala's acting style as "natural" and "understated", noting that she often portrayed roles of "modern young women testing the limits of traditions". Film critic Sukanya Verma felt that actresses like Madhubala "should be applauded for doing more than just looking good and crying buckets." Madhubala was acknowledged in the media for her unconventional roles, such as a flirtatious cabaret dancer in Howrah Bridge (1958) — which led Filmfare to compare her with Rita Hayworth and Ava Gardner — a rebellious and independent woman in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), and a fearless court dancer in Mughal-e-Azam (1960). Her roles in Amar (1954), Gateway of India (1957), and Barsaat Ki Raat (1960) have also been noted by modern-day critics for being offbeat and significantly different from the usual portrayals of female characters in Indian cinema. Madhubala has also been credited for introducing several modern styles, such as trousers (for females) and strapless dresses in Bollywood. Her distinctive wavy hairstyle was referred to as "the out-of-the-bed look" and further established her screen persona as a liberated and independent woman. David Cort summarized her as "the ideal of the free Indian woman or what India hopes the free Indian woman will be."

Madhubala had the shortest career among her contemporaries, but by the time she quit acting, she had already successfully featured in over 70 films. Her screen time in leading roles was always equal to her male co-stars — which has otherwise been a rarity — and she has also been credited for being one of the earliest personalities who, in the era of mass communication, took the position of Indian cinema to global standards. Moreover, with Bahut Din Huwe (1954), Madhubala became the first Hindi actress to have a career in south Indian cinema. Jerry Pinto has cited Madhubala as one of the earliest Bollywood actresses who created a 'distinct sex symbol ' by "merg" "the vamp and the virgin", and publications including Rediff.com and Hindustan Times mentioned her among the topmost sex symbols of Bollywood. A 2011 poll conducted by Rediff.com saw Madhubala receiving the third highest number of votes among "the hottest women who've ever scorched our screens"; the portal's writer commented, "In the end, I guess, it's about beauty. And there weren't many who could match up to the ethereal Madhubala."

Although Madhubala appeared in almost all film genres during her career, her most notable films included comedies. She gained recognition for her comic timing after her performance in Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955), which Iqbal Masud of India Today call "a marvellous piece of sexy-comic acting." However, despite her success and fame, she neither received any acting award nor critical acclaim. Several critics have stated that her perceived beauty was an impediment to her craft to be taken seriously. Madhubala wished to play more dramatic and author-backed roles, but was often discouraged. According to Dilip Kumar, audience "missed out on a lot of her other attributes." Biographer Sushila Kumari said that "people were so mesmerised by her beauty that they never cared for the actress", and Shammi Kapoor thought of her as "a highly underrated actress in spite of performing consistently well in her films."

Madhubala's talents were first acknowledged after the release of Mughal-e-Azam (1960), but it turned out to be one of her final films. Her dramatic portrayal of Anarkali — ranked amongst Bollywood's finest female performances by Upperstall.com and by Filmfare in general — established her as an enduring figure in Indian cinema. One of the romantic scenes from the film, in which Dilip Kumar brushes Madhubala's face with a plume, was declared the most erotic scene in Bollywood's history by Outlook in 2008, and by Hindustan Times in 2011. Her critical reception improved in the 21st century, with Khatija Akbar noting that Madhubala's "brand of acting had an underplayed and spontaneous quality. Anyone looking for heavy histrionics and laboured 'acting' missed the point". In 1999, M. L. Dhawan of The Tribune stated that Madhubala "could communicate more with her delicately raised eyebrows than most performers could with a raised voice" and "knew the knack of conveying her character's inner-most feelings." Priya Ramani of Mint added: "You only had to slip her into a wet sari, ask her to lean invitingly into the camera or hand her co-star a feather, and you could comfortably forecast that the cinematic sigh would resonate for at least a hundred years." Journalist Rauf Ahmed added Madhubala on his "Biggest stars in Hindi filmdom" list and noted: "Madhubala symbolised ultimate beauty. Which in a way undermined her merit as an actress. She imparted a lot of sizzle and impishness to her performances in films like Chalti Ka Naam Gadi and Mughal-e-Azam."