“Why should I retire?” she asked defiantly. “If I am doing better and better in every performance, why must I quit? I still have the passion to dance and I feel young. And I am the best judge to know when to stop!”
Vyjayanthimala Bali’s colourful attire and flamboyant posture tells everything. She will not be cowed down by public criticism. She is confident of her abilities. With 75 films under her belt, a voice that charms and a wit that makes her critics wilt, this ageless artist can hold her own in any situation.
She made audiences swoon in the fifties when she teamed up with iconic actors like Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar. She swept them off their feet decades later when she crashed into the arcane world of Bharatanatyam with her chaste rendering of the ancient Tanjore baani. She held her own in Parliament when she was roped into politics and fought ruthless battles with her male rivals in Tamil Nadu. She fought relentlessly for the cause of dancers and musicians in her new avatar. She made an indelible mark wherever she went and whatever she touched – cinema, music, dance or politics. Unrelenting, unbeatable and cool, Vyjayanthimala is a household name in India who can sway audiences even today with her courageous singing. Her gutsy 79 years sit lightly on her.
This amazing performer has many firsts to her credit. She was the first cinema star to turn down the Filmfare award with contempt in 1955 when she was offered that distinction for the best supporting actress, by stating that she was not a supporting actress but the main one! She was rewarded for this impudence three years later when she was nominated for two Filmfare awards for best leading actress, one of which she accepted. She was the first actress again to be given the Best Actress award a third time- this time for her role in Sangam .
Throughout her career, she reinvented herself in varied and mind boggling roles and acted opposite actors such as Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Gemini Ganeshan, Nageswara Rao and MGR. All that, however, ended abruptly in 1968 when she decided to marry. “Did your husband object to your acting in films?” I asked. She shook her head vigorously. “Of course not! It was my decision. I wanted to give myself wholeheartedly to marriage and make a success of it.” Perhaps, that is the secret of her success. She throws herself without reserve into whatever she does with astonishing single-mindedness. Whether it was theatre, cinema, music, dance, playing golf or even politics, there were no inhibitions. To my question as to how she managed the change from the camera, the footlights and the araimandis to sitting side by side with politicians, she answered: “It was not very different from the world of films. Politicians are better actors, you know!”
Quick witted with a genial sense of humour, Vyjayanthi makes an excellent conversationalist. However, she can be provoked easily too. “People were wondering how you manage to sing at your age,” I said. She exploded in genuine rage. “Who said so? Are you telling me to retire from performances? I will sing and dance as long as I can. If they don’t like that, it is their business!” Suddenly, she calmed down and said, “Age is only a number, you know?” and added mischievously, “In any case, I was never good at numbers!”
Vyjayanthimala is also a devout Vaishnavite who claims it is her favourite saint Andal who is performing and not she – these are the many roles that she can play to perfection. “Why should I go elsewhere for my inspiration when I have so much to gain from our own epics? I have choreographed “The confluence of religions” where I have portrayed other faiths like Christianity, Islam, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism. But, apart from that, in my personal life, why should I not be true to my birth, my surroundings, the influences that shaped my life? I am proud to be what I am.”
Vyjayanthimala has fulfilled all the roles she has donned with elan. As an MP for three terms in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, she pushed for better recognitionof the tanpura artists of AIR. She also fought for more travel concessions for performing artists and for making life saving drugs available to ailing theatre and stage artists. Through Natyalaya, her dance school, she helps young dancers with costumes and jewellery too. “My education stopped after school and I learnt speech making during elections,” she says. She has also courageously written and published her memoirs called “Bonding.” However, she confesses with childlike candour that her writing, like her speeches in Parliament is not great. “You just have to be honest,” is her motto for both. A maxim that has made this unbeatable woman a force to contend with.
