Biography of Vyjayanthimala

(August 13, 1936)

Yvjayanthimala was born in 1936. She was the actress responsible for making it mandatory for every girl who enters the Hindi film industry to have dancing skills.

In the 1955 film 'Nagin', Vyjayanthimala proved to be the crowd puller when people thronged the halls only to see her dancing skills. But it was with the film ‘Devdas' that Vyjayanthimala achieved historic validity. When Bimal Roy first cast Vyjayanthi as the prostitute Chandramukhi, he was laughed at by his associates. But Vyjayanthi shut their mouths by her sensitive portrayal of the character and her emotive capabilities in the dance sequences which enthralled everyone.

In 1958, she won acclaim with two title roles ‘Madhumati' and 'Sadhana'. Her films ‘Ganga Jamuna' and 'Sangam' were blockbusters and she won the best actress award for both films. However, her favourite film, the magnum opus ‘Amrapali' failed at the box office. In the 1980's, she became an M.P. from Madras.