Though Sridevi, who was born Amma Yanger Ayyappan in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, ruled Bollywood like a colossus, there were a few more leading ladies from the South before her who had carved a niche for themselves in the Hindi film world with their charm and acting prowess. In fact, the trend began with Vyjayantimala Bali, who captivated the Hindi audience with her grounding in Bharathanatyam even as she was a name to reckon with in the Tamil film world. Padmini too had a stint in Hindi, while Hema Malini and Rekha, Tamils by origin, became heroines with considerable heft and fan following.
“My dances became an instant hit. The audience here had not seen those kinds of gestures, expressions, mudras, and graceful movements with classical or folk touch, or what could be defined as dance. Bahar created history in the sense that owing to my dance I became a national star overnight as a southern sensation,” said Vyjayantimala Bali, who was born in a house that faced the famous Parthasarathy Swamy temple in Triplicane, in her memoir Bonding .
Bahar was the Hindi version of the Tamil film Vaazhkai produced by AVM Studios [the film was also made in Telugu]. She won the Filmfare Best Actress award for Sadhan in 1959, for Gunga Jumna in 1962 and once again for Sangam in 1965. Dance also proved to be an asset in the case of Padmini who was cast in the Hindi film Kalpana . Though she acted in around 20 Hindi films, she is fondly remembered for two popular films: Mera Naam Joker and Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai . She acted opposite Raj Kapoor. Vyjayantimala and Padmini held the audience spellbound with their dancing abilities and the song in Vanjikottai Vaaliban continues to enthral audience even now.
Beyond the dream girl
Hema Malini, the dream girl of the Hindi film world, is also from Tamil Nadu, and was endowed with great talent as a dancer. “I guess I was just five years old, or may be younger, when I started learning Bharathanatyam under the tutelage of my first guru, Ramaswamy Pillai,” Ms. Hema Malini had recalled in her biography Beyond the Dream Girl . She was six when she performed before Jawaharlal Nehru.
Her father V.S.R. Chakravarti worked as a regional director in the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), and was posted in Delhi. Her mother Jaya was from Ammankudi village near Tiruchi. She studied at the Madras Educational Society School (MES) in Delhi. Later, she studied in Rosary Matriculation School as her father was transferred to Chennai in 1962.
According to her biographer Ram Kamal Mukherjee, her first-ever film offer was for a dance performance in the song Singara in Ithu Sathyam (1963) and then Naa Chandamama in Pandava Vamsam (1965). “She was interviewed by C.V. Sridhar for a film. But she rejected her,” said K. Venkatachalam, author of Bioscope , a book which gives details about outstanding films.
It was director K. Subrahmanyam who recommended Ms. Hema Malini to Raj Kapoor saying, “If this girl does not hit the headlines right from the start, I will sacrifice the prefix of Director from my name.” She was then made the heroine of the film Sapno Ka Saudagar.
Then came Rekha, one of the versatile and finest actors that the Hindi film world has ever seen. She is the daughter of Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan and Pushpavalli. “Her mother acted in the film Ms. Malini directed by Kothamangalam Subbu and the story was written by R.K. Narayan. Gemini Ganesan played a very minor role,” said Mr. Venkatachalam.
She started her career as a child artiste, before getting a break as a heroine in the Kannada film Operation Jackpot Nalli CID 999 . It was in 1969 and she launched her career in Hindi film Anjana Safar .
Sridevi also entered the Hindi film world as a child artiste in the film Julie . The remake of 16 Vayathiniley as Solva Sawan , opened the doors for her in Bollywood. She left for Mumbai after leaving her imprint in Tamil cinema.
