| Vyjayanthimala Bali |
File:Vyjayanthibahar.jpg
As the aspiring dancer Lata in Bahar |
| Born |
Vyjayanthimala Raman
(1936-08-13) 13 August 1936 (age 75)[1]
Triplicane, Madras Presidency, British India |
| Residence |
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Other names |
Vaijayanthimala, Vyjayanti Mala, Vyjantimala, Vaijayantimala Bali |
| Occupation |
Actress, Indian classical dancer, carnatic singer, golfer, politician |
| Years active |
1936–present |
| Spouse |
Chamanlal Bali (m. 1968–1986) «start: (1968)–end+1: (1987)»"Marriage: Chamanlal Bali to Vyjayanthimala" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Vyjayanthimala)(his death) |
| Children |
Suchindra Bali(born 1976) |
| Parents |
M. D. Ramaswamy (Father) (deceased)
Vasundhara Devi (Mother) (deceased) |
| Awards |
Padmashri, Kalaimamani, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
(See more) |
| Signature |
 |
Vyjayanthimala Bali (born on August 13, 1936),[1] also known by the mononym Vyjayanthimala, is an Indian film actress, Bharathanatyam dancer, carnatic singer, dance choreographer, golfer and a Parliamentarian.
Vyjayanthimala was one the biggest Bollywood stars in a career lasting almost two decades.[2][3][4] She was also the first South Indian actress to become a national star and "paved way" for the other South Indian actresses such as Waheeda Rehman, Hema Malini, Rekha, Sridevi, Jaya Prada, Meenakshi Seshadri, Aishwarya Rai, Vidya Balan and Asin to foray into Bollywood.[5][6] Vyjayanthimala is also an accomplished dancer and was one of those who introduced semi-classical dance to Bollywood.[7][8] Her subsequent dance numbers in her films had earned her the title of "twinkle toes".[9][10] She was also referred as one of the first female Superstars of Hindi cinema and was known as "Numero Uno actress" along with Hema Malini, Rekha, Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit for her "illustrious career in 1950s and 1960s".[4][11][12]
Born in an orthodox Tamil Brahmin family, Vyjayanthimala made her screen debut at the age of 13 through the Tamil film Vazhkai (1949) and acted in the Bollywood films Bahar and Ladki. Following the success of Nagin, Vyjayanthimala established herself as a one of the Bollywood's leading actress and a successful actress of Tamil descent.[7][13]
She left the industry after shooting for the historical Hindi film Amrapali which was based on life of the Nagarvadhu (royal courtesan) of Vaishali, Amrapali, though director Baldev Raj Chopra felt that she could have easily continued for another decade in lead roles.[7]
Besides film, Vyjayanthimala's main concentration was in Bharata Natyam a form of Indian classical dance. After quitting movies Vyjayanthimala Bali continued with her dance career. In addition, Vyjayanthimala was conferred with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists.[14] The award was presented to Vyjayanthimala in 1982 for her contribution in Bharata Natyam field. Moreover, Vyjayanthimala is also an avid golfer and is one of the oldest golfers in Chennai.[15] She has also served as chairperson of 48th National Film Awards.[16]
Born in Triplicane situated near Parthasarathy Temple in a orthodox and religious Tamil Brahmin Iyengar family to M. D. Raman and Vasundhara Devi.[17] Her mother was a leading actress in Tamil Cinema in 1940s where her film Mangama Sabatham was the first ever Tamil film to be declared a colossal hit at the box office.[17] She used to call her mother by her name as her mother was 16 years elder than her when she was born.[18] Similarly, she also calls her father as "Anna", means elder brother, as her father happened to be the eldest in their family and everyone called him as "Anna" which is common among Brahmin joint family.[18] During her childhood, she was raised primarily by her maternal grandmother, Yadugiri Devi, and her father, M.D. Raman. She was also known as mononym "Papakutty", which means little child.[19] Her ancestor are from Mysore (now Karnataka).[20] In 1938, her grandfather Gopalacharya, the late Mandayam Dhati, started a nursing home on Narayan Shastri Road, Mysore.[20]
At age 5, Vyjayanthimala was chosen to perform a classical Indian dance for Pope Pius XII while her mother shared the honor as an audience in 1940 at Vatican City.[21] Vyjayanthi did her schooling at Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School, Presentation Convent, Church Park, Chennai.[19] She learned Bharata Natyam from Guru Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai and Carnatic music from Manakkal Sivaraja Iyer. She had her arangetram at the age of 13 and started performing all over Tamil Nadu later.[19]
When director M. V. Raman was looking for a new face to cast in AVM Productions's Vazhkai, he saw Vyjayanthimala performing Bharata Natyam in Chennai Gokhale Hall.[22] Then he tried to convince her grandmother, who was apprehensive about Vyjayanthimala in joining films as she felt it would come in the way of her education and dance.[19] Vyjayanthimala played as college girl named Mohana Shivashankaralingam and acted along with senior actors S. V. Sahasranamam, M. S. Draupadi, T. R. Ramachandran and K. Sankarapani. The movie was a big success and was remade in Telugu after one year as Jeevitham with the slightly different cast, namely C. H. Narayana Rao, S. Varalakshmi and C. S. R. Anjaneyulu, the latter also enjoyed great success upon release.[19] For the Telugu version, Vyjayanthimala did her own voice dubbing with the assist of her father who knew Telugu well and coached her during the filming process.[19] Vyjayanthimala also did a guest appearance in the 1950 film Vijayakumari which had actress T. R. Rajakumari in dual role.[23] She danced for the song "laalu...laalu...laalu" which was choreographed by Vedantam Raghavaiah.[23] Though the film was not a commercial success but her western-style of dance becomes popular and was considered as one of the major highlights of the film.[23]
The success of Vazhkai in South India inspired AVM Productions to remake it in Hindi as Bahar in 1951. In their first Hindi venture, they decided to cast Vyjayanthimala again in the lead role with Karan Dewan, Om Prakash and Pandari Bai who was credited as Padmini in the film.[24] She learned Hindi at the Hindi Prachar Sabha in order to dub her own voice for her character in the film.[19] Upperstall.com in their review, wrote that "She does bring the film to life with her dances though, something which was new then for the North Indian audiences".[25] The film becomes sixth highest grossing film of 1951 with verdict hit.[26]
After the success of all her debut film in all three languages, Vyjayanthimala again acted in multilingual film which was produced by Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar of AVM Productions.[19] The first version was in Tamil as Penn where she was co-starred by actor Gemini Ganesan, S. Balachandran and Anjali Devi. The song "Kalyanam...venum" sung by J. P. Chandrababu for S. Balachandran becomes an instant hit.[27] The second version was in Telugu as Sangham which was released in the same year with N. T. Rama Rao,[28] Vyjayanthimala, S. Balachandran and Anjali Devi in the lead. The Tamil and the Telugu was a big success across the South India.[29][30] The film was once again remade in Hindi as Ladki starring Bharat Bhushan, Kishore Kumar while Vyjayanthimala with Anjali Devi reprises their role from the original film respectively. Her performance was described by Upperstall as, "Vyjayanthimala's dances that are the film's saving graces although it is unintentionally funny now to see how deliberate and obviously tacky the sequences are which lead into her dances[...]Ladki too makes no real demands on 'feminist' tomboy Vyjayanthimala histrionically".[31] The movie became second highest grossing film of 1953.[32]
In 1954, Vyjayanthimala acted in magnum opus film Nagin with Pradeep Kumar. The film got favorable responses from the audience and becomes the highest grossing movie of 1954 where it was labelled as blockbuster.[33] Her performance as the Nagi tribe's chief, Mala got her favourable review from the critic, where in 1955 a critic from Filmfare magazine had said that "Vyjayanthimala in the title role puts over a commendable performance besides looking ravishingly beautiful as the belle of the hills. Her dancing, too, is very graceful, specially in those eye-filling colour sequences and delightful ballets towards the finish" while in The Hindu review by Vijay Lokapally had similarly praised her portrayal "The ethereal Vyjayanthimala, barely 18, illuminates the screen with her stunning beauty, moving around daintily from one song to the other[...]The close-up shots of Vyjayanthimala highlight her ability to convey so much with so little effort[...]Nagin was a precursor to her rise in Hindi cinema as an iconic actor, who combined her talents, performing and dancing, to rule the screen on her terms[...]biggest recall values of Nagin are Vyjayanthimala".[34][35] Post Nagin Vyjayanthimala had established herself as one of the leading actress in Bollywood through the film's nationwide success.[35][36] Hemant Kumar's music and her dance accompanying the song, Man Dole, Mera tan dole, rendered by Lata Mangeshkar was one of the highlights of the film.[35] Then on the same year she also acted in Miss Mala with Kishore Kumar. Furthermore, Vyjayanthimala also debuted in Kannada cinema through a film called Asha Nirasha which was produce by G. D. Venkatram.[37] The film also had Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi as the playback singers,[37] but the movie was unreleased[38] though the producer's son Srikant Venkatram claimed that the film was released and flopped miserably at box office which made the film unrecognized.[37]
In 1955, Vyjayanthimala acted around 5 films in Bollywood. The first one is Pakistani director Abdur Rashid Kardar's Yasmin alongside Pakistani actor Suresh which won the Filmfare Best Cinematographer for Dwarka Divecha. Besides that, she also starred in three other films namely Pehli Jhalak with Kishore Kumar, Sitara with Pradeep Kumar and Jashan with Karan Dewan. Eventually all the films were failed at box office.
On the same year, Bimal Roy cast her as Chandramukhi opposite Dilip Kumar in the critically acclaimed Devdas which was the adaptation of the novel with same title by Sharat Chandra Chatterji. The industry initially was not in favor of this choice when they heard about Vyjayanthimala being casted in Bimal Roy's film, the response being: "Why don't you take comedian Kishore Kumar as Devdas?".[7] Initially Nargis was selected for Chandramukhi's role, as she refused to accept the role, the latter such as Bina Rai and Suraiya also follows her footstep as they wanted to essay the lead role of Paro, which earlier offered to Meena Kumari.[39] Subsequently, the film unit suffered with financial crisis and at this point where Vyjayanthimala offered herself for the role where she said to Bimal Roy, "I am ready if you think I can do it".[39] On the other hand, Nabendu Ghosh, the script writer of Devdas, said that, "I did not approve of Vyjayanthimala [as Chandramukhi], but we had no option --- no one wanted to play Chandramukhi, and we were committed to our distributors[...]She was, of course, a very good actress, but she was too young for Chandramukhi, as envisioned by Saratbabu".[39] On her performance, Rediff wrote, "Vyjayanthimala imbues Chandramukhi with true sympathy. Who better than Chandramukhi would know the pain of a hopeless love?[...]Vyjayanthimala, a star after the blockbuster Nagin, still had to establish her acting credentials when Roy went against the tide and cast her in the role of Chandramukhi"[40] while Upperstall.com describe her performance as, "Vyjayantimala's Chandramukhi is embellished with her graceful dance style that evolves with the evolution in her character within the film from a popular dancing woman to a woman, who, in love with Devdas, has unconsciously mutated to reflect the mainstream woman. For Vyjayantimala, the character marked a turning point from glamour to pure histrionics, offering her scope to explore her potential as a dramatic actress without taking away from her, the most outstanding gift she brought to cinema – her dance".[41] Subsequently, she won Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress but refused to accept it, stating that her role was a leading one—and in equal importance to the role essayed by Suchitra Sen--and not supporting.[41] In 2006, a poll conducted by Rediff ranked her role Chandramukhi as one of the best Tawaif character in Bollywood.[42] Subsequently, the same role was listed in The Times of India's "10 Celluloid Hookers You Loved" at number six by Nikhat Kazmi.[43] Though the film was critically successful but it did not garnered much expectation at box office and ended up as 10th highest grossing movie of 1955 with verdict average.[44]
After being recognized as a capable actress with Devdas, Vyjayanthimala acted in various movies in 1956, namely Taj, Patrani and Anjaan: Somewhere in Dehli with Pradeep Kumar and Kismet Ka Khel with Sunil Dutt. In the same year, she also acted in swashbuckler film Devta which was a remake of a hugely successful Tamil film Kanavaney Kankanda Deivam.[45] Surprisingly though, she accepted a supporting role as a vamp which was originally done by Lalitha in the Tamil version. However according to Upperstall.com, her role was very crucial in the film and her portrayal as the Naag Rani accompanied by her dance is the main attraction of the film.[46] Also starring in the movie, reprising their lead roles from the original, were Gemini Ganesan and Anjali Devi.[45] Vyjayanthimala then acted with Kishore Kumar again in the comedy film New Delhi which became the fifth highest grossing film of 1956 with verdict hit.[47] The film showcases a love that sprouts between a Punjabi boy, played Kishore Kumar, and Tamil girl, played by Vyjayanthimala. Her performance was applauded by fans and critics alike; a review on Upperstall.com regarding her performance in this movie states that, "Vyjayanthimala proves to be the perfect foil for Kishore Kumar[...]has always had the mandatory dance sequence in practically every film of hers evoking 'classical art' associations. She excels in the two main dances in New Delhi — the solo Bharatnatayam Aliruppu number and the Bhangra folk dance in her Punjabi avtaar and she is absolutely brilliant in the Bhangra folk dance[...]in her second avtar even Vyjayanthimala played a Punjabi girl and most successfully too".[48] Subsequently, she also did a Tamil film called Marma Veeran along with Sriram, Rajasulochana, M. N. Rajam, J. P. Chandrababu and Chittor V. Nagaiah. The film had some of the South Indian established actors such as N. T. Rama Rao, Sivaji Ganesan and Gemini Ganesan in guest appearance.
In 1957, director B. R. Chopra planned to make Naya Daur with Ashok Kumar in the lead. However, the actor refused to accept this role and it later went to Dilip Kumar.[49] For the female lead, the first choice of the director was the star-actress of those days, Madhubala. But, as fate would have it, after the 15 days of initial shooting at Mumbai, the director wanted the unit to travel to Bhopal for an extended outdoor shooting. However, Ataullah Khan, the father of Madhubala, objected to this and the role went to Vyjayanthimala. Chopra also sued Madhubala for the cash advance she received from him for the film, saying that she accepted the sum and now had no intention of completing it.[50] Vyjyanthimala had previously acted with Dilip Kumar in Devdas and the duo shared an easy chemistry on-screen. The new film, Naya Daur, had a theme of "man vs. machine" and Vyjanthi's portrayal of a village belle Rajni received positive reviews from critics. A review from Rediff says that, "Vyjayanthimala too is not your average petulant gaon ki gori. She ably projects a hands-on worker who comes up with ideas on how to ford a stream and risks her life to save the bridge[...]wonderful scene between two stars whose chemistry is undeniable"[51] while reviewer Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama mention that, "Commendable performances come in from Vyjayantimala [natural][...]The relationships [Dilip Kumar-Vyjayantimala] are so human and believable".[52] At the end of its theatrical run, the film had collected around 
5,40,00,000, thus becoming the second highest grossing film of 1957,[53] second only to the critically acclaimed Mother India which became the highest grossing Bollywood film ever at the time.[54] Following that, Vyjayanthimala almost signed for the lead role in Filmistan's Tumsa Nahin Dekha opposite Dev Anand in 1957, but due to the producer Sashadhar Mukherjee's promise to actor Shammi Kapoor, he replace Dev Anand with Shammi Kapoor.[55] However the director, Nasir Hussain was in a quandary as he had already read the script to Dev Anand and Vyjayanthimala but Mukerji prevailed and he also replaced Vyjayanthimala with Ameeta, who was the protégée of Filmistan Studios owner Tolaram Jalan.[55] Vyjayanthimala's next release was Kathputli in which she co-starred with actor Balraj Sahni for the first time.[56] This film was about a young girl named Pushpa who, on account of being a good dancer and singer, assists puppeteer Shivraj in his puppet show. This film was director Amiya Chakravarty's last film.[57] He died during the filming of Kathputli and the remaining project was completed by director Nitin Bose.[57] Kathputli remains as one of the memorable film of Vyjayanthimala which has an offbeat theme with a Pygmalion touch.[57] Vyjayanthimala then acted in Ek Jhalak with Rajendra Kumar and Pradeep Kumar which was produced by the latter with his home production company Deep & Pradeep Productions.[58] She returned to the screen again with Kishore Kumar in the 1957 partially colour-made film Aasha[59] which became a hit at the box office.[60] The story revolves around the central character Kishore, played by Kishore Kumar, who, despite being a Zamindaar, believes in helping the needy. Vyjayanthimala, as Nirmala, plays the lover of Kishore. The story suddenly goes from being light-hearted and humorous to a court-drama when Kishore is falsely accused for murder. The rest of the movie sees both the protagonists trying to prove Kishore's innocence. The movie is best known for its song Eena Meena Dekha sung by Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle, in two different versions[59] Aasha also introduced actress Asha Parekh, to the silver screen, in a song alongside Vyjayanthimala whom Parekh described as her matinee idol.[61]
The following year proved to be very successful for Vyjayanthimala where she signed opposite Dilip Kumar in Bimal Roy's Madhumati in the title role. Originally supposed to essay four roles, the director finally scaled it down to three, Madhumati, Madhavi and Radha.[62] The film was launched at in front of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Theatre in Czechoslovakia.[63] During the filming at the hills of Nainital, Vyjayanthimala was required to dance with barefoot where she tripped on a stone and fell while hurting herself badly causing the damage in her fibre tissues in the sole of her foot.[64] Roy who was terrified and in quandary over the incident as the shooting could not be stopped and insisted her to wear sandals which apparently make her difficult during running sequence.[65] Even after the completion of Madhumati, she still encounter the pain from the injury which always remind her of Madhumati's shooting experience.[64] Written by Ritwik Ghatak, the film is about Devendra, played by Dilip Kumar, takes shelter during a storm in an abandoned house. Here he discovers a painting of the owner of the house Raja Ugranarayan painted by him in his previous life when as Anand, also played by Dilip Kumar, he worked as a foreman on a plantation of Raja Ugranarayan. Devendra had been in love with Madhumati, played by Vyjayanthimala. She had committed suicide while trying to save herself from Ugranarayan’s advances. Madhumati’s ghost finally takes revenge on Ugranarayan.[66] The film was received well by critics and audience where it becomes highest grossing Bollywood film of 1958[67] where it was labelled as blockbuster at box office and ended up as fifth highest grossing film of the decade with its adjusted to inflation nett gross is about 58.64 crore.[68] Her performance as Madhavi, Radha and the ghost Madhumati earned her accoladates from critics, Shahid Khan from Planetbollywood.com said "Vyjayantimala has never been one of my most favourite actresses but this is one of the few performances where I am completely bowled over by her. Her expressions while playing both the main characters are perfect. With Madhumati, she brings the wonder, surprise and innocence needed in the person. With Madhavi, she brings the poise, the curiosity and pity for the grief that Anand is going through"[69] and Karan Bali from Upperstall.com wrote that "For the Vyjayanthimala, the film showcases both her acting as well as dancing abilities and the dizzying success of Madhumati took Vyjayanthimala to the highest rungs of stardom[...]to cap off an extremely successful year for her. Both, as an actress of considerable dramatic merit and as a star".[70] Madhumati was known as first film which dealt with theme of reincarnation and had a gothic noir feel to it.[71] The film later inspired films such as Milan (1967), The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975), Mehbooba (1976), Karz (1980), Karan Arjun (1995) and particularly Om Shanti Om (2007) which had also lifted the films climax which led to Rinki Bhattacharya, the late Roy's daughter accusing the film of plagiarism and threatening legal action against its producers.[72][73]
The same month she had another release, B. R. Chopra's Sadhna alongside Sunil Dutt. Vyjayanthimala was the second choice for the role of Champabhai, the prostitute, after actress Nimmi when she hesitated to play the role of a prostitute which led to the career decline of the latter.[74] The Filmfare award winning story by Mukhram Sharma which revolves around Rajini, enacted by Vyjayanthimala, a prostitute's love affair with a professor, played by Sunil Dutt.[75] Chopra who previously directed Vyjayanthimala in Naya Daur, had adapted the theme on the rehabilitation of prostitutes which was then a controversial topic in India.[76] Along with the film her performance receives universal acclaim for Vyjayanthimala, as told by Vijay Lokapally from The Hindu, "Among the great movies made on the subject of helpless women versus society, Sadhna holds its own for its realistic portrayal and treatment of a subject, so aesthetically documented by Chopra and Vyjayanthimala" and praised the latter "gorgeous when she entertains the clients at her kotha[...]stunningly restrained when she assumes the character of a prospective wife".[77] Similarly, the Rediff's critic Dinesh Raheja has commented that "But finally, the show belongs to Vyjayanthimala. Fetchingly frivolous in the first half, she is suitably serious in the second. She makes her need for acceptance palpable; her eyes emit twin lasers of anger and condemnation at those that exploit women".[78] Sadhna also performed well at the box office where it becomes fifth highest grossing film of 1958 with trade pundits declared the film as hit.[79] Subsequently, Vyjayanthimala receives two Filmfare nomination in Best actress category for Madhumati and Sadhna, where she won her first ever Filmfare trophy for the latter after being refused yo accept the Best Supporting Actress Award trophy for Devdas (1955) earlier. Her next subsequent release was Amar Deep where she was paired against Dev Anand for the first time.[80] A production of Sivaji Ganesan's Sivaji Productions, the film was a remake of 1956 Tamil film Amara Deepam which had Ganesan himself in the lead.[81][81] Along with Padmini who reprises her role from the original,[82] Vyjayanthimala plays the role of Aruna which was originally done by actress Savitri in Tamil.[83]
In 2011, in conjunction of actor Dev Anand's death, Vyjayanthimala recollect her memories during the filming in Madras where she remembers the actor calling her "Papa", the Tamil termed that use by her family and friends and will search for her throughout the sets while yelling "where is Papa, where is my heroine".[84] According to Subhash Chheda, when Amar Deep was released, the long-awaited airing of Vyjayanthimala and Dev Anand was compared to the Madhubala and Dev Anand pair, where the public verdicted that ""If Madhubala brooks no equality, Vyjayanthimala admits no superiority".[62] Unfortunately, the film fails to turn Vyjayanthimala and Dev Anand team into a hit pair.[62] The same year Vyjayanthimala was booked by M. G. Ramachandran for his second directorial venture Ponniyin Selvan.[85] One of the first screen adaptation of Kalki Krishnamurthy's Ponniyin Selvan the film has a huge cast who forms an ensemble cast consisting of Gemini Ganesan, Padmini, Savitri, Saroja Devi, M. N. Rajam and Nagesh along with Ramachandran and Vyjayanthimala.[86] In the film, she was given the role of Kundavai, the elder sister of Raja Raja Chola I, played by Ganesan and the wife of Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan, played by Ramachandran.[86] However, in the mid of 1958 the film was shelved for unknown reason.[85] The same year she did another Tamil film Gemini Pictures's Magnum opus Vanjikottai Valiban along with Gemini Ganesan and Padmini.[87] Written by Gemini Story Department which headed by Kothamangalam Subbu, the Black-and-white epic film was produced and directed by S. S. Vasan.[87] She played the role of Princess Mandakini, the beautiful princess of Ratna Island Kingdom. As a stubborn princess, she always wanted to achieve her ambition in any deed which lead to her ultimate death and forms the climax. The film had a great theatrical run where the film completes 100th days run at cinemas and was labelled as blockbuster at box office.[88][89] The film was still remembered for the dance of the Vyjayanthimala and Padmini in the "Kannum Kannum Kalanthu" song which was choreographed by Hiralal which was well received by critics and audience alike where the popularity of the song surpasses the popularity garnered by the film.[87] The song was still regarded as one of the best dance sequence in Indian cinema.[90] Vanjikottai Valiban was followed by its Hindi version titled as Raj Tilak. Screenplay by Ramanand Sagar, the film was also directed by S. S. Vasan with Ganesan, Vyjayanthimala and Padmini in the lead.[91] Within a week, the film sank at box office and unable to achieve the same box office success made by the Tamil version.[62] By the end of the year, The Indian Express named Vyjayanthimala as the most successful female star of 1958.[62] Similarly, Boxofficeindia.com also ranked Vyjayanthimala at top spot in their list of "Top Three Successful Box Office Actress of 1958".[36]
In 1959, Vyjayanthimala reunites again with Dilip Kumar for the forth time in bilingual Paigham. Produced and directed by S. S. Vasan, the film features the lead actors along with Raaj Kumar, B. Saroja Devi, Pandari Bai and Motilal.[92] Besides them, Vyjayanthimala's real life mother Vasunthara Devi also acted in a small role where she played the role of mother to her own daughter who died in vain.[93] Upon release Paigham becomes second highest grossing film of 1959 with verdict super-hit at box office.[94] The same year she also did a Tamil film, Athisaya Penn where she co-starred Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao for the first time. Athisaya Penn was a remake of Aasha which also directed by M. V. Raman.
In 1960, Vyjayanthimala mostly concentrated on Tamil films in order to keep in touch with the industry.[19] Her first release in 1960 was S. S. Vasan's Irumbu Thirai, the Tamil version of Paigham.[95] She starred opposite Sivaji Ganesan for the second time after the latter's cameo appearance in Marma Veeran (1956).[96] Along with Vyjayanthimala, all the female cast including B. Saroja Devi, Pandari Bai and Vasunthara Devi reprises their role from the original with S. V. Ranga Rao in Motilal's role and K. A. Thangavelu in Raaj Kumar's character.[92] The film was followed by Raja Bakthi again with Sivaji Ganesan. Raja Bakthi had huge ensemble cast featuring P. Bhanumathi, Padmini, T. S. Balaiah and E. V. Saroja. Her subsequent next release was D. Yoganand's magnum opus Parthiban Kanavu. Co-starring Gemini Ganesan for the third time and B. Saroja Devi for the second time, the film was based on Kalki Krishnamurthy's 1942 novel with the same name.[85] Additional to Tamil, the film was produced in Telugu and Sinhala languages.[97] Upon release the film met with positive response from the critics and was awarded the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil at the 8th National Film Awards.[98] However the film did not fare well at box office but Vyjayanthimala's performance was appreciated by critics.[99] She also acted opposite M. G. Ramachandran for the first time in Baghdad Thirudan.[100] Meanwhile, she also did a Hindi film titled College Girl opposite Shammi Kapoor which becomes average at box office where it was declared as eighteenth highest grossing film of the year.[101]
Following successful re-entry in Tamil cinema, Vyjayanthimala then signed Dilip Kumar's home production film Gunga Jumna. Having inspired by 1934 Manhattan Melodrama, the film was one of the first Bollywood film to dealt with the theme based on two brothers on the opposite sides of law.[102] Directed by Nitin Bose, she co-starred Kumar for the fifth time after Devdas, Naya Daur, Madhumati, Paigham and his brother Nasir Khan. In this dacoit drama, she enacted the role of Dhanno, a washerwoman who falls for childhood friend Gunga, played by Kumar and eventually killed during a gun fight. In order to prepare herself for that role, Vyjayanthimala had to learn the Bhojpuri, a Hindi language dialect spoken by people at East India region. She was assist by Kumar who also choose the shade of saree that Vyjayanthimala would wear in every scene. Upon release the film opened to widespread critical acclaim from the critics. Her performance earn her rave review, Dinesh Raheja from Rediff said that "Ganga Jamuna deployed several crowd-pleasing elements[...]most of all, an enchanting relationship between Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala[...]Their characterisation ran so deep, which helped Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala give magnetic performances. Dilip is of course a thespian but Vyjayanthimala is a revelation" while K. K. Rai from Stardust applauded her performance by adding "Vyjayanthimala played the village woman with such simplicity and grace; you’d forget she was one of the most glamorous stars of her time. She also spoke the Bhojpuri dialect like a native".[103][104] Critics also praised Vyjayanthimala for her ability ability in master the Bhojpuri dialect despite her South Indian upbringing. Subsequently, the film also enjoyed huge success at box office across India. At the end of its theatrical run, the film grossed around 7,00,00,000 with nett gross of 3,50,00,000 with verdict blockbuster.[105] The film was the Highest grossing film of 1961 and was third highest grossing Hindi film of the decade behind Mughal-e-Azam and Sangam, another Kumar and Vyjayanthimala starer respectively.[106] The film was also ranked at second by Boxofficeindia.co.in behind Mughal-e-Azam in their list of "Top 50 Film of Last 50 Years" which feature all-time highest grossing Bollywood film by using the relative price of gold in different years to arrive at a hypothetical current value of box-office collections of past films with its adjust to inflation gross is about 736 crore (US$146.83 million).[107] For her performance Vyjayanthimala was awarded with the Filmfare Award for Best Actress trophy at the 9th Filmfare Awards.[108] In addition to that, she also had bagged her first ever Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards in the Best Actress category.[109] In the same year, she starred in C. V. Sridhar's Nazrana. Remake of highly successful 1959 Tamil film Kalyana Parisu which also directed by Sridhar, she acted alongside Raj Kapoor for the first time. Vyjayanthimala played the role of Vasanthi where she replace actress B. Saroja Devi who yet to reprise her role from Kadhal Parisu and its Telugu remake Pelli Kanuka.[110] The triangular love story receives average run at the cinemas and ended as twelfth highest grossing film of that year.[105] The same year she did another film with Sridhar. Being the first Tamil film to be shot in Jammu and Kashmir, she acted alongside Gemini Ganesan after along gap in Then Nilavu.[111] The film and the soundtrack was widely appreciate by the audience where it was a huge hit.[112][113] The film was followed J. Om Prakash's Aas Ka Panchhi with Rajendra Kumar.[114] For her portrayal Vyjayanthimala got some negative feedback from the critics, The Hindu review said that "Even the otherwise powerhouse of talent, Vyjayantimala, with many a sterling performance under her belt, barely passes muster, despite the usual dance and song sequence to showcase her formidable prowess as an accomplished dancer thrown in".[115] Despite some mixed review, the film was labelled as hit at box office and was declared as the fourth highest grossing film of 1961 where it had a silver jubilee run at the theatres.[105][116]
Her career then struggle again with some box office duds in the following year. In 1962 she co-starred Manoj Kumar in Dr. Vidya which becomes average at box office.[117] Dr. Vidya was followed by two more box office disappointment, Rungoli with Kishore Kumar and Jhoola with Sunil Dutt.
1963 also saw a steady decline in her film career where she co-starred Sivaji Ganesan in Historical fiction Chittoor Rani Padmini. Written by C. V. Sridhar and directed by Chitrapu Narayana Rao, the film also proved to be a box office failure and mark the end of Vyjayanthimala's career in Tamil cinema. The same year Bimal Roy who earlier worked with her Devdas and Madhumati offered her the lead role in Bandini opposite Ashok Kumar and Dharmendra.[118] However Vyjayanthimala could not signed for the role due to her busy schedule.[119] The Boxofficeindia.com ranked Vyjayanthimala at Top spot in their list of "Top Three Successful Box Office Actress" of 1962 and 1963 respectively despite her box office failures.[36]
Following two years sabbatical, Vyjayanthimala re-attained her success in Bollywood through Raj Kapoor's first technicolor film Sangam. Termed as Kapoor's magnum opus, the film was produced at lavish budget by his production company R. K. Films. Earlier in 1940s, Kapoor planned to launch Sangam in the title of Gharonda with Dilip Kumar and Nargis and himself in the lead, however the film was delayed for several times until 1962.[120] Following Kumar and Dev Anand refusal to be a part of the film, Kapoor then fixed Rajendra Kumar and himself as the male leads.[121] Sangam was first Indian film shot at Europe and outside of Asia. It was also the longest running film in India when it was release at 288 minutes.[122] The film also create record by being the first film to have two cinema intervals.[123] Cinematography by Radhu Kamarkar, the Europe filming location includes Venice, Paris, Switzerland and London while the India location include Ooty and Kashmir Valley.[124] Upon release the film was well received by critics and was considered as Bollywood's greatest love triangle.[125] Vyjayanthimala's performance too was praised by critics. Dinesh Raheja of Rediff said that "to put it simply, radiant[...]the maturity with which she tackles her character, the insouciance as well as the agony" and call it as "one of commercial cinema's most unforgettable performances".[126] Similarly, the film was commercially successful throughout India and other country as well. On its overall theatrical run, Boxofficeindia.com reported that the film had grossed 8,00,00,000 and netted around 4,00,00,000 with its adjusted to inflation nett gross is about 843,900,000 (US$16,835,805).[127] Subsequently, the film was labelled as blockbuster where it was ranked as highest grossing film of 1964 and second highest grossing film of the decade.[128] The film was also ranked at fourth by Boxofficeindia.co.in in their list of "Top 50 Film of Last 50 Years" which feature all-time highest grossing Bollywood film with its adjust to inflation gross is about 7,173,154,362 (US$143,104,429.52).[107] Sangam also had great box office run outside of India where it was well received in countries such as China, Malaysia and Russia.[129][130] For her role Radha, who caught between her husband and her former lover, Vyjayanthimala was awarded with Filmfare Best Actress trophy. She then co-starred Dilip Kumar for the sixth time in Ram Mukherjee's Leader. The film was comeback film for Kumar whose last film was Gunga Jumna also with Vyjayanthimala.[131] Like most of Vyjayanthimala and Kumar's film, their screen chemistry receives praises from the critics, where Deepak Mahan from The Hindu said "What made the film even more enjoyable was the equally spirited response of doe-eyed Vyjayantimala, oozing oodles of impish charm in every frame. The pair carried the film on their shoulders, giving abundant joy and mirth to audiences with their outstanding histrionics. Their interactions make the film worth going miles to watch and it is certain that without their resolute shoulders".[132] However the film did not fare well at the box office where it was labelled as below average.[127] During the making of Leader, Rediff describe Vyjayanthimala as "recalcitrant" which annoyed Kumar.[133] The film was followed by Gemini Film's Zindagi directed by Ramanand Sagar. A female centric film, it features Vyjayanthimala alongside Rajendra Kumar, Raaj Kumar and Prithviraj Kapoor.[134] Zindagi becomes success at box office where it celebrated silver jubilee theatrical run and was fourth highest grossing film of that year with verdict hit.[127][135] Soon she signed for Anjali Pictures' Phoolon Ki Sej with Ashok Kumar and Manoj Kumar. Her last release in 1964 was Ishaara, in which she co-starred actor Joy Mukherjee for the first time.[136]
In 1965, Vyjayanthimala starred in two box office disappointing films Naya Kanoon with Ashok Kumar and Bharat Bhushan, Nam Iruvar with T. R. Mahalingam.
In 1966, Vyjayanthimala starred in Do Dilon Ki Dastaan which also becomes failure at box office. After some box office flops, Vyjayanthimala soon signed alongside Rajendra Kumar in the swashbuckler ruritanian romance Suraj. Directed by T. Prakash Rao, the film also had Mumtaz, Bharathi Vishnuvardhan and Neetu Singh. Suraj was huge box office success and was one of the popular costume drama in Bollywood.[137] Suraj was the last successful film of Rajendra Kumar and Shankar Jaikishan who introduced singer Sharda through this film.[138][139] According to Boxofficeindia.com, the film grossed around 50,000,000 with nett gross of 25,000,000 and becomes second highest grossing film of 1966 with verdict super hit at box office.[140] The film was also thirteenth highest grossing film of the decade with its adjust to inflation nett gross is about 511,800,000 (US$10,210,410).[128] While Ibosnetwork.com reported that the film 40,000,000 and its adjust to inflation gross is about 504,260,000 (US$10,059,987).[141] Following Suraj, Vyjayanthimala starred in the historical film Amrapali. Based on life of the Nagarvadhu (royal courtesan) of Vaishali, Amrapali, she played the title role along with Sunil Dutt who enacted the role of King Ajatasatru. Upon release the film was opened to widespread critical acclaim and was India's official submission for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 39th Academy Awards.
Vyjayanthimala's political career was initiated in 1984 when she was contested in 1984 Tamil Nadu general election for the South Chennai constituency as the nominee of the Indian National Congress opposite Era Sezhiyan, the leader of Janata Party and seasoned parliamentarian.[143] During the campaign, Sezhiyan took provoking quotes such as "Send me to the Lok Sabha. Send her to R.R. Sabha (an organisation promoting fine arts)"[143] in order to defeat Vyjayanthimala, ironically she won the election with margin of about 48,000 votes where she gained 313,848 with percentage of 51.92%.[143] Subsequently, she debuted in the Lok Sabha, the directly elected lower house of the Parliament of India by the end of January 1985 with Amitabh Bachchan.[144]
In 1989, Vyjayanthimala again had to face the 1989 Tamil Nadu general election, this time she was opposed by Aladi Aruna of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.[143] She again beat her opposition by nearly 125,844 lakh votes.[143]
Later on 1993, she was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India for a six-year term.[18]
In 1999, she has resigned from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress party.[145] In her letter to the party's president Sonia Gandhi, she included the reason for her resignation where she said that, "painfully watching the party drifting from its avowed principles after the death of Rajiv Gandhi. The party has lost touch with its grassroots and one can see day in and day out that sincere party workers are being steadily ignored", she adds more, "increasingly difficult to justify ourselves to the public and my conscience does not allow me to stay in the party any longer".[145][146] Later she joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on September 6, 1999.[147][148]
In her hey-days, Vyjayanthimala was speculated with many controversies without her knowledge.[149] Particularly her relationship with her co-stars was often the subject in topic. In the early 1960s, Vyjayanthimala was linked with Dilip Kumar, who has acted with her the most compared to any other actress which resulted great on-screen chemistry between them.[150] While working for his home production Gunga Jumna (1961), it is said that Kumar will even handpicked the shade of sari that Vyjayanthimala would wear in every scene.[133] In addition to that, film historians Bunny Reuben and Sanjit Narwekar have confirmed the Kumar-Vyjayanthimala's affair where they had said that Vyjayanthimala was Kumar's third love after Kamini Kaushal and Madhubala.[151] In early 1960s, actor Raj Kapoor had commenced the filming of Sangam with Vyjayanthimala playing the female lead along with Rajendra Kumar and Kapoor himself as male lead. The filming took four years to finish, during this time Vyjayanthimala is said had romantically involved with Kapoor and almost get married to him.[152][152] Initially, she was so vexed with him and kept him at a distance during the filming however Kapoor did not give up over her attitude.[153] This incident had made Kapoor's wife Krishna to move out of her husband’s house with her sons and daughters where they checked into Natraj Hotel in Mumbai and stayed there for four and a half months after being disgusted over the affair.[154]
She is married Chamanlal Bali. After marriage, she terminated her acting career and moved to Chennai. They have a son, Suchindra Bali. In 2007, she published her autobiography, titled Bonding, with Jyoti Sabarwal as co-writer.[155]
Vyjayanthimala is a Vaishnavite and a vegetarian.[18][156] She is a religious person and grew up listening to holy chants and devotional songs.[1] She is a devotee of Aandaal, one of the 12 Alvar saints of South India.[18] She used to invoke Aandaal before any public performance in order to gain her blessing.[18]
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| 1954-1960 |
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| 1961-1980 |
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| 1981-2000 |
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| 2001–present |
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| 1955–1960 |
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| 1961–1980 |
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| 1981–2000 |
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| 2001–present |
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| 1991 – 2000 |
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| 2001 – 2010 |
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| 2011 - present |
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| Persondata |
| Name |
Vyjayanthimala |
| Alternative names |
Bali, Vyjayanthimala |
| Short description |
Indian actress, politician & dancer |
| Date of birth |
13 August 1933 |
| Place of birth |
Madras, Madras Presidency, British India |
| Date of death |
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| Place of death |
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