In a candid conversation with Ranee Kumar, Vyjayanthimala reflects on her sterling career on stage and silver screen.
The very mention of her name casts a spell over us to this day. Meet Vyjayanthimala, an artiste who reigned over the world of dance and cinema for decades, carving a niche for herself in the tinsel town as much as in the classical dance circuit. There is something so unique about her name that it conjures up an image of a ravishing dancer-actor even among the present generation who never got to see her movies. Her charm carried her through generations by sheer word of mouth.
Few know her as a politician, an ardent golfer and a musician. Her autobiography "Bonding" has it all. In the city for receiving a life-time achievement award in the field of art, Vyjayanthimala goes down memory lane sharing some of her memorable experiences.
You are here to perform on stage, what would you be doing, a full repertoire?
Good you didn’t express surprise that I’m dancing at this age; because this is a very common comment I encounter in Chennai whenever my name is put up for a performance. People try to remind me of my age but I’m not good with numbers, never was; all I know are my dance numbers where the rhythmic count cannot be missed even by a split second! (her eyes twinkle in mischievous glee). Yes, I will do the margam (traditional repertoire) in a shorter space of time.
Few know that you are musician as well. You were into formal classical music?
In my learning years, dance was not isolated from music; they had to go hand in hand. So my grounding in classical Carnatic music began under stalwarts like Gowriammal (temple dancer-musician), later D K Pattammal, KVS Narayanaswami not to talk of Hindustani bhajan repertoire by Purushottam Jalota (Anup’s father). I love music.
How do you view dance, since unlike other classical dancers, you had a long stint with movies?
Our arts are instruments of spiritual progress; they are like a prayer, hence divine. They are sans entertainment so unlike the Western art forms. We learn to perform for what I would say ‘atma tripti’ (soul satiation); public performance is like a by-product. I can today cross my hands on my heart and say, that I never allowed my cinema life and action to dent my dance in any manner. There was always this invisible straight line division in my mind that said: thus far and no further be it in my cinema costumes, my behaviour on sets or my mandatory social gatherings. There was never a single cinematic movement in my dance where a finger could be pointed out at me! I carried myself with dignity and discipline in public who adored me but never booed at me. I would go to sets accompanied by at least six personal relatives my grandma being the foremost followed by my cousins. That did not give others a chance to misbehave while I felt protected. Today, I’m surprised that some of the ‘classical conservationist’ dancers are playing to the galleries.
How did films happen in the life of someone who was cut out to be a classical performing artiste?
I was on stage as a Bharatanatyam dancer at a surprisingly young age. Films came much later. It so happened that AVM banner was in search of a new face to launch for its film "Vazhakai" (‘Zindagi’) and it fell into my lap. Believe me, I was just 15, a minor then. The movie became a super hit and was remade into multiple languages. AVM had a five-year bond with me which prevented me from taking up any other Tamil film though I was approached by many a producer. Chennai was and is always my home (as an after-thought).
How did you come into Hindi filmdom, more so being a non-Hindi speaking girl then?
And a South Indian Tamilian at that! (Laughs aloud in a tinkling voice). My ‘Vazhakai’ fame in a way created ripples in Bombay film circuit and I was offered a dance-based film "Bahaar". Unlike the run-of-the-mill movies, it was a pure dance sequenced film where I could show footwork, mudras (hand gestures) et al . I had this quality of being nimble on my toes and that was hugely appreciated and I was nick-named twinkle toes. "Nagin" was my next. It came to a stage where casting Vyjayanthi meant that the movie had to have dance in it.
You were a fine actress too going by movies like "Leader", "Sangam", etc?
"Devdas" transformed my image as a dancing doll. Bimal Roy explored my full potential as an actress in the role of Chandramukhi, a dancing girl who gives up her profession to serve the man she loves. This change of character also ironically changed the perception of my Hindi directors and producers. I got an award for "Devdas". I never found acting as a challenge because as a dancer there is so much of abhinaya to fulfil. The very word Natyam means dance, song and drama. From here, there was no looking back. I had a variety of roles each of which had an etched character that remained in audience memory for years to come unlike the present day movie roles. I had excellent co-stars, directors and musicians to work with. Every film was a learning experience rather than an income-generating vocation.
What is your most memorable performance?
There was this Tamil film "Vanzikottai Valiban" where Padmini ("Jis Desh Mey Ganga Behti Hai") and me had a dance competition where one of us had to emerge the winner. It was a jugalbandi. We moved forward together in pure dance, either of us not willing to give in to the other. We forgot that we were acting in a movie and went on totally involved with our dance. None on the sets were able to figure out which of us excelled the other and finally the there is a fall of a chandelier and we stop with the words – sariana potti (equal competence). Much later Padmini got on to the stage in the US where I was dancing and mentioned this incident to the audience praising me to the skies while I snatched the mike from her hands and told them that she was no less a Bharatanatyam maestro who was mesmerising. I don’t think we both could have repeated that animated performance for the same movie if we were stopped an asked to do it the next day. It was a one-only of its kind.
You were a Congress MP. Was politics one of your arenas?
Politics like films also happened by accident. Once Rajiv Gandhi had come to Chennai and Dr. Bali, my husband, and me met him since I knew the family from Panditji’s times. He suddenly asked me to contest and I was flabbergasted. It was my husband’s prodding that pushed me to file my papers and that’s when the real fever began. I won with a thumping majority against my opponent who was no less a man in that area. Like my dance, I gave my best to my constituency – my sincerity, my work and dedication, proving my critics wrong. But I had no inclination to continue. Now I’m happy that I’ve established a dance research institute where I have documented and performed some of the rare Tanjore Quartet compositions, made a ragam, tanam, pallavi dance which is the sine-quo-non of a sabha concert in music and also some solo thematic presentations like Sita Visleshatrayam (thrice separated Sita) and such others. I’ve been a celebrity, successful in life but never allowed my other professions to overshadow my dance. Dance is and will always be my yoga, my meditation, my spiritual path.
