51 Facts About Vyjayanthimala

Vyjayanthimala Bali, known mononymously as Vyjayanthimala, is an Indian parliamentarian, dancer and former actress.

Vyjayanthimala garnered widespread critical acclaim for her role in the period drama Devdas, where she played Chandramukhi, a tawaif with a heart of gold.

Vyjayanthimala went on to star in series of commercial successes, which include the romance New Delhi, the social drama Naya Daur and the comedy Aasha.

Vyjayanthimala won the award again for the musical romantic drama Sangam.

Vyjayanthimala went on reinvent her image, earning a mixed reception after notably appearing in a one-piece swimsuit in a film role.

Vyjayanthimala later achieved acclaim for her performance in the historical drama Amrapali which was based on the life of Nagarvadhu, royal courtesan of Vaishali, Amrapali.

Vyjayanthimala has since gained popularity for her dancing, particularly for her work in Bharata Natyam, a form of Indian classical dance, and was later given the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest Indian recognition given to practising artists.

Vyjayanthimala's mother was a leading actress in Tamil Cinema in the 1940s where her Mangama Sabatham was the first Tamil film to be declared a "colossal" hit at the box office.

At the age of 7, Vyjayanthimala was chosen to perform a classical Indian dance for Pope Pius XII while her mother was an audience in 1940 at Vatican City.

Vyjayanthimala attended Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School, Presentation Convent, Church Park, Chennai.

Vyjayanthimala had her arangetram at the age of 13 and started performing in all over Tamil Nadu later.

However, Vyjayanthimala in her autobiography mentioned that it was a publicity stunt by newspapers in North India to link her with Raj Kapoor and that she was never in any relationship with him.

Vyjayanthimala married the already married Chamanlal Bali, a Punjabi Hindu Arya Samaji from Delhi but lived in Anna Salai, Chennai in 1968.

Vyjayanthimala is an admirer of Aandaal, one of the 12 Alvar saints of Hinduism.

Vyjayanthimala prays to Goddess Saraswati before any public performance to gain her blessing.

Raman was looking for a new face to cast in AVM Productions's Vazhkai, he saw Vyjayanthimala performing Bharata Natyam in Chennai's Gokhale Hall.

Vyjayanthimala tried to convince her grandmother, who was apprehensive about Vyjayanthimala joining films as she felt her grand daughter was too young to act in the films and it would come in the way of her education and dance.

Vyjayanthimala did a guest appearance in the 1950 film Vijayakumari which had actress T R Rajakumari in a dual role.

Vyjayanthimala learned Hindi at the Hindi Prachar Sabha to dub her own voice for her character in the film.

In 1954, Vyjayanthimala acted in the romance Nagin with Pradeep Kumar.

Post Nagin, Vyjayanthimala had established herself as one of the leading actresses in Hindi films because of the film's nationwide success.

Vyjayanthimala debuted in Kannada cinema through a film called Asha Nirasha which was produced by G D Venkatram.

Subsequently, the film unit suffered with financial crisis and at this point Vyjayanthimala offered to do the role of Chandramukhi, where she said to Bimal Roy, "I am ready if you think I can do it".

Vyjayanthimala then acted with Kishore Kumar again in the romantic comedy New Delhi, which became the fifth highest-grossing film of 1956.

Vyjayanthimala's performance was applauded by fans and critics alike; a review on Upperstall.

Vyjayanthimala died during the filming of Kathputli and the remaining project was completed by director Nitin Bose.

Kathputli remains one of the memorable films of Vyjayanthimala which has an offbeat theme with a Pygmalion touch.

Vyjayanthimala returned to the screen again with Kishore Kumar in the 1957 partially colour-made film Aasha which became a hit at the box office.

Vyjayanthimala had committed suicide while trying to save herself from Ugranarayan's advances.

Vyjayanthimala was the second choice for the role of Champabai, the prostitute, after actress Nimmi who hesitated to play the role of a prostitute, which arguably led to her career decline.

Subsequently, Vyjayanthimala received two nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Madhumati and Sadhna, winning her first trophy for the latter, after having refused to accept the Best Supporting Actress trophy for Devdas earlier.

In 2011, in conjunction with actor Dev Anand's death, Vyjayanthimala recollected her memories during the filming in Madras, where she remembers the actor calling her "Papa", the Tamil termed that was used by her family and friends, and he would search for her throughout the sets while yelling "where is Papa, where is my heroine".

Vyjayanthimala played the role of Princess Mandakini, the beautiful princess of Ratna Island Kingdom.

In 1959, Vyjayanthimala reunited with Dilip Kumar for the fourth time in the bilingual Paigham.

Vyjayanthimala acted opposite Pradeep Kumar in the romantic film Jawani Ki Hawa in 1959.

In 1960, Vyjayanthimala mostly concentrated on Tamil films to keep in touch with the industry.

Vyjayanthimala starred opposite Sivaji Ganesan for the second time after the latter's cameo appearance in Marma Veeran.

However, the film did not fare well at the box office, but Vyjayanthimala's performance was appreciated by critics.

Vyjayanthimala acted opposite M G Ramachandran for the first time in Baghdad Thirudan.

Vyjayanthimala was assisted by Kumar, who chose the shade of saree that Vyjayanthimala would wear in every scene.

Vyjayanthimala played the role of Vasanthi, wherein she replaced actress B Saroja Devi who did not reprise her role from Kadhal Parisu and its Telugu remake Pelli Kanuka.

Vyjayanthimala's last release in 1964 was Ishaara, in which she co-starred with actor Joy Mukherjee for the first time, and her performance ensured that the film was a box office success.

In 1965, Vyjayanthimala starred in two commercial disappointments; Naya Kanoon, with Ashok Kumar and Bharat Bhushan and Nam Iruvar with T R Mahalingam, but both the films are considered masterpieces by critics.

In 1966, Vyjayanthimala starred in Do Dilon Ki Dastaan, which failed at the box office.

Three decades later, Vyjayanthimala was approached by Dev Anand for a role in the sequel of Jewel Thief; Return of Jewel Thief, but she refused to act in the film as she did not plan to make a comeback.

In 1968, Vyjayanthimala appeared in three big budget films with high-profile actors such as Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Rajendra Kumar.

However, in 1975, Vyjayanthimala was almost signed in Gulzar's Aandhi with Sanjeev Kumar but she backed out from the project as the role resembled Indira Gandhi's personal life.

Vyjayanthimala turned down the role of a mother for the lead actors, which later went to Nirupa Roy, who attained popularity through the success of the film and was later cast in similar roles.

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.

Vyjayanthimala is regarded as one of the greatest actresses of Indian cinema.

One of the highest paid actress of the 1950s and 1960s, Vyjayanthimala appeared in Box Office Indias "Top Actresses" list from 1954 to 1967, and topped the list for six years.