MUTTERINGS #07: VYJAYANTHIMALA

As I have just reviewed the OST of Sangam and Jewel Thief, I thought a quick spill on the heroine of these movies would be most apt. I am talking about Vyjayanthimala, of course

Vyjayanthimala was born on 13 August 1936, in Madras (present day Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India. She studied bharatanatyam (one of the oldest form of classical Indian dance originating from Tamil Nadu, India which combines the art of expression, music and rhythm) from a young age and performed in front of the Pope when she was just four. She was ‘discovered’ when she was 15, during her final year at school, by family friend and Tamil film director M.V. Raman, for a role in the Tamil film 'Vazhkai'. This movie was successful at the box office and was re-made in Hindi and released as 'Bahaar' in 1951. She made around 62 movies, in both Hindi and Tamil languages.

Vyjayanthimala got her leading Hindi movie role in Nagin (1954). Her dance routine for the song ‘Man Dole, Mera Tan Dole’, in the movie made it a hit and Vyjayanthimala an overnight success. This lead to director Bimal Roy casting her as the role of Chandramukhi, opposite superstar Dilip Kumar in the critically acclaimed Devdas (1955). She subsequently starred in four successful films opposite him, two of which she received best actress awards: Naya Daur (1957), Madhumati (1958), Ganga Jamuna (1961) and Leader (1964). She received the Filmfare Best Actress Awards for Madhumati and Ganga Jamuna. She also received a Filmfare nomination as Best Actress for her role as a courtesan in Sadhna (1958) which she co-starred with Sunil Dutt.

She caused some controversy with the release of her next hit movie, Sangam (1964), which earned her another Filmfare Best Actress Award. She wore a fire-engine red swimsuit in the song ‘Bol Radha Bol’ and her attire in the song ‘Main Kya Karo Ram’ was considered quite risqué. It was also rumoured that she had an affair with co-star Raj Kapoor, which she dismissed, stating that it was a publicity stunt by Raj Kapoor to boost his waning image.

In 1966, she starred in the historical epic 'Amrapali', based on the life of the legendary Buddhist courtesan Amrapali. The movie was not a commercial success, and the failure disappointed her as she considered her efforts in the movie to be the pinnacle of her acting ability. She did however make many more hit movies such as Suraj (1966) with Rajendra Kumar, Jewel Thief (1967) and Duniya (1968) with Dev Anand and Prince (1969) with Shammi Kapoor, to name a few.

Vyjayanthimala fell in love with Raj Kapoor's personal physician, Dr. Chamanlal Bali, who treated her for pneumonia after she fell into a lake while shooting for a film. He was married at that time. The two grew close and later married after he divorced his first wife. Vyjayanthimala quit acting after her marriage and relocated to Chennai from Mumbai, where she took an active role in Indian politics and became a Member of Parliament. She however quit politics in 1999. The Balis have one son, Suchindra Bali.

Trivia: In 1956, Vyjayanthimala won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for her role as Chandramukhi in Devdas but did not accept the award as she felt that her role was not a supporting one - the strong-headed actress felt she was as much the heroine of the film as Suchitra Sen, who played Paro. That was the first time a person had declined to receive a Filmfare Award! You go girrrl!

NB: In time, I will be posting all the original vinyl soundtracks from the above listed movies….except Devdas – the album still eludes me, and Bahaar. At this point in time, the OST from Sangam (1964) and Jewel Thief (1967) are already up.

Watch this space!

MUTTERINGS #07: VYJAYANTHIMALA

MUTTERINGS #06: JEETENDRA - THE JUMPING JACK

Born Ravi Kapoor in Amritsar, Punjab in 1942, Jeetendra got his foot into the Hindi film industry whilst supplying imitation jewellery, from his family business, to director V. Shantaram. The filmaker offered him a role and cast him as a double for famous actress Sadhana, in the hit movie Navrang (1959). However, Jeetendra’s major break came when Shantaram cast him in two of Shantaram’s movie, Sehra in 1963 and Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne in 1964. He has since acted in over 200 movies. He last appearance (cameo) was in the hit movie Om Shanti Om, in 2007.

Jeetendra developed his own fashion and dancing style and this unique flair paid off in the movie Farz. Wearing a t-shirt, drain pipes and white shoes he picked up from a retail store, he started a fashion sensation within the male youth of India. The song "Mast Baharon Ka Main Aashiq", sung by Mohammad Rafi, became a superhit and his signature style. Also, his vigorous and extremely stylized dance routines in Farz, Banphool and Humjoli won him the epithet ‘Jumping Jack’. Jeetendra however never won an award, except for Lifetime Achievement Awards, due mainly because of the tough competition in Bollywood during his acting career.

He was frequently paired with actresses Mumtaz and Leena Chandravakar in the early 70’s, along with Hema Malini, Babita, Jaya Bhaduri, Saira Banu, Rekha, Neetu Singh and Moushumi Chatterjeej. Whilst most of his fellow male peers were aging quite quickly and putting on a lot of weight in their 30’s and 40’s, Jeetendra managed to maintain his youth into the 1980's, continued acting and was frequently paired with younger actresses (such as Sri Devi, Jaya Prada, Madhavi, Reena Roy and Anita Raaj) and in remakes of South Indian potboilers.

Jeetendra is married to childhood sweetheart Sobha, whom he met when she was only 14. She went on to college and became an Air Hostess with British Airways. It was not until the release of 'Bidaai" (opposite Leena Chandavarkar) on 18 October 1974, that Jeetendra and Shobha decided to get married. They have two children, daughter Ekta (a TV producer), and son Tusshar (also an actor).

He is one of the few Bollywood actors that have not been plagued with controversies in his acting career.

MUTTERINGS #06: JEETENDRA - THE JUMPING JACK

MUTTERINGS #03: PARVEEN BABI

I thought I’d do mini bios of celebrities of the movie and music world that I like….. Who better to start with than my namesake!

Born Parveen Wali Mohammad Khan Babi on 4 April 1949 (ironically, we share the same zodiac star and month too, but not year!) in Gujarat India, Ms Babi was the only child of Wali Mohammad Babi Babi and was born fourteen years after her parents’ marriage.

She was spotted by Hindi director/writer B.R. Ishara at Ahmedabad University where she was studying and he offered her a role his forthcoming movie, Charitraheen. And the rest is history. Parveen Babi went on to act in over 50 movies, with her last starring role in 1988 (Aakarshan). Movies in which she made famous and was fondly remembered for include Deewar, Namak Halaal, Amar Akbar Anthony, Shaan, Kaalia, Khud-daar and Kranti.

Parveen Babi did not marry but shared intimate relationships with married men such as director Mahesh Bhatt, actors Kabir Bedi and Danny Denzongpa (Amitabh Bachchan is also rumoured but the claim has not been substantiated). Mahesh Bhatt later wrote and directed Arth (1982), a semi-autobiographical film about his extra-marital relationship with Babi, and wrote and produced Woh Lamhe (2006) based on actual facts about his relationship with her.

His film Arth is said to have tipped her already fragile mental health (it was speculated that she was suffering from schizophrenia) and made her a recluse. She moved to the US in 1983, to seek treatment for her mental disorder (she did not trust Indian doctors) and also for substance abuse (she was known to be taking LSD, marijuana and also drinking excessively).

She returned to Mumbai in 2002 where she was unrecognizable as her former self after having put on a considerable amount of weight. She accused many foreign dignitaries and former co-star Amitabh Bachchan of conspiracy to kill her but her court petition was dismissed for lack of evidence.

Parveen Babi was found dead, alone in her Juhu residence on Sunday 22 January, 2005. The police was alerted when neighbours noticed that she had not collected her milk or her newspapers for three days.

She was found to have gangrene of the foot as a complication of her diabetic condition. It was later confirmed that her cause of death was due to complications from diabetes. Filmmakers Mahesh Bhatt and Ashok Pandit performed her last rites as she had no claimants to her body (her father died when she was young and her mother a few years previously). She was buried according to Muslim rites, next to her mother in Santa Cruz, Mumbai, on 23 January 2005.

From a revered and idolized movie star and the first Indian actress to have been featured on TIME magazine's cover (in March 1977), she was alone – in life and in death.

MUTTERINGS #03: PARVEEN BABI