'Devdas Made People Realise I Could Act'

I saw Bimal Roy's Devdas again a few years ago, almost 50 years after it had been made.' 'I found it very intelligently made; the scenes flowed so beautifully.' 'There is just one scene with both Suchitra Sen and me in the film, and it's beautiful.'

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Vyjayanthimala is not only an immensely talented danseuse (Hothon Pe Aisi Baat, Main Kya Karoon Ram, Man Dole Mera Tan Dole are emulated till date) but also a hugely popular star-actress in the 1950s and 1960s, thanks to a long string of hits like Nagin, Naya Daur, Madhumati, Ganga Jamuna, Sangam, Sooraj and Jewel Thief

We revisit a 2003 interview of Vyjayanthimala with Rediff Senior Contributor Dinesh Raheja where the movie legend reveals, “I didn’t befriend my contemporaries. What was the point?”

You started your career with South Indian films. Did you shift to Hindi films only after Nagin (1954) became a blockbuster?

S Mukherjee of Mumbai's Filmistan Studio sent Director Nandlal Jaswantlalji (who had just helmed the hit film Anarkali) to my hometown Madras to sign me for Nagin.

This was after my debut film, AVM's Bahar (1951), had become successful in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. Though I was brought up and educated in Madras, I had come to Bombay a few times for my dancing programmes and had found it a pleasant city.

After the shooting of Nagin wrapped, I went back to Madras. But Nagin became a blockbuster, and film offers poured in. My contract with AVM forbade me from doing films with other Madras producers but didn't restrict me from working in films made in Bombay.

Nagin’s success made you a major star in the Hindi film industry and turned your life around. What do you remember of the shoot?

Nagin’s director Nandlal Jaswantlal had been making films from Bollywood's silent era and he was fond of close-ups. He would tell me not to open my eyes wide because ‘you already have big eyes.’ In the struggle to keep my eyes half-closed, my eyelashes would begin to flatter. But he was happy as he wanted a dreamy look.

What recollections come to mind when you look back at those early days of your career?