Some artists leave a legacy not only in the industry through their skills, but also by breaking all the barriers and redefined the meaning of being a star. Bollywood veteran actress Vyjayanthimala is also one of these actors. Vyjayanti Mala, who was the trend Bharatanatyam dancer, started an acting career with Tamil films and then she became the top actress of Hindi cinema.
Despite being born in a Chennai’s conservative Tamil Brahmin Iyengar family, Vyjayanthimala earned a lot of name in the Hindi film industry with his strong and impressive acting. He dominated his dominance in the 50s and 60s and gave a tough fight to veteran actresses like Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Nargis, Suchitra Sen, Waheeda Rehman. But do you know that Vyjayanti Mala was very angry with Dilip Kumar, while she was losing her heart on Raj Kapoor. However, their relationship was also broken.
Career started at the age of 16
Vyjayanthimala started her film career at the age of 16. She first appeared in the Tamil film ‘Wazakai’ in 1949. His journey to become a star was full of challenges and he also faced body shaming in the film industry. Once, Nandlal Jaswantlal, director of his Hindi film Naagin, made him cry as Idli. He has mentioned this incident in his book, “Bonding”.
From Devdas ,Dancing doll, Broke the image of
Although he played different characters in Ganga Jamuna, Amrapali and Sangam, he also received a lot of praise, but Vyjayanthimala was often limited to “dancing doll”, he himself accepted this. But the film Devdas (1955) with Dilip Kumar changed the opinion of people about him. She had said, “Till Devdas became, the critics kept saying that I am a dancer, not an actress. But after its release, I get a great review. It made me wonderful for me. I got a good offer with the praise of the critics. I accepted my reputation and mainstream.”
Why Vyjayanti Mala was mentored by Dilip Kumar
After Devdas, Vyjayanthimala acted in several films including Dilip Kumar, Naya Daur (1957), Madhumati (1958), Paigam (1959), Ganga Jamuna (1961), Leader (1964) and Sangharsh (1968). Their on-screen chemistry air to rumors of off-screen romance, but both denied it. However, his professional relationship came to an end when Dilip Kumar’s film Ram and Shyam were replaced by Waheeda Rehman. According to Vyjayanthimala, this happened due to a confrontation between Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor’s ego as Raj Kapoor’s film Sangam and Dilip Kumar’s leaders were colliding with each other.
He wrote in the book, “Leader’s dates were colliding with Sangam. Both wanted big dates … It was a professional competition. I got caught in the fight between the two.” Dilip Kumar’s move hurt him and the two did not talk to each other for years. Their differences were finally resolved by Dilip Kumar’s wife, actress Saira Bano, who had requested him to leave the past behind.
Was Vyjayanti Mala’s affair with Raj Kapoor?
Vyjayanthimala’s career was handled by his grandmother Yadugiri Devi very closely. She considered Raj Kapoor as a womanizer. Despite this, rumors of Vyjayanti and Raj Kapoor’s romance did not stop making headlines. However, Vyjayanthimala has denied this affair in her book, described it as a publicity stunt of camphor and accused them of “creating romance due to publicity hunger”.
Rishi Kapoor told Vyjayanti Mala’s claim
At the same time, Rishi Kapoor opened his biography openly: Rishi Kapoor had described Vyjayantimala’s claim in the unsafe as false. He wrote how Raj Kapoor was allegedly associated with Vyjayanthimala, how did his mother Krishna Kapoor go with him.
He wrote in the book, “I remember when Papa was with Vyjayanthimala, we went to stay with our mother in Natraj Hotel in Marine Drive. From the hotel, we went to live in an apartment in Chitrakoot for two months. My father bought the mother and that apartment for us. He did not return to every possible way to get them back, but my mother did not return until his life was left.” Let us know that Raj Kapoor and Vyjayanthimala worked together in two films – Nazrana (1961) and Sangam (1964).
Vyjayanti Mala left films on career peak
In 1968, Vyjayanthimala surprised everyone by marrying Dr. Chamanlal Bali, a doctor of the Kapoor family, on his career peak. He then left films to focus on personal life, although he continued to perform in live shows to keep his passion alive towards dance. In his book, he wrote, “I took the most sensible decision of my life, I left the films at the right time. I have no regrets because I have worked with some best artists.”
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