Vyjayanthimala

Artist Bollywood Celebrity

Born: 13 August 1936

She is an Indian film actress, Bharathanatyam dancer, Carnatic singer, dance choreographer, and parliamentarian.
Regarded as the “first female superstar” of Indian cinema, She made her debut in the Tamil language film Vazhkai in 1949 and in the Telugu film Jeevitham in 1950.
She later became one of the most prominent actresses of South Indian cinema and in the golden era of Bollywood and was known as one of the iconic leading actresses of all time.
She was one of the biggest Bollywood stars with a career lasting almost two decades.
She was the first star to completely change the standard and style of dancing in Indian cinema.
It was because of her that Indian film actresses, later on, we’re expected to know the classical dance.
She was the first South Indian actress to become a Bollywood star and “paved a way” for other south Indian actresses to foray into Bollywood.
She is an accomplished dancer and was one of those who introduced semi-classical dance to Bollywood.
Her subsequent dance numbers in her films had earned her the title of “twinkle toes”.
She made her screen debut at the age of 13 through the Tamil film Vazhkai (1949) and Telugu film Jeevitham in 1950 and acted in Bollywood movies Bahar and Ladki.
Following the success of Nagin, she established herself as one of Bollywood’s leading actresses while making inroads in successful Tamil and Telugu films.
After successfully establishing herself as a commercial actress, she appeared in Devdas, playing Chandramukhi, the hooker with a heart of gold, in 1955.
In her first dramatic role, she received her first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 4th Filmfare Awards, where she refused to accept the award citing that hers was not a supporting role, being the first person to refuse a Filmfare Award.
Following that, she appeared in a series of blockbuster films such as New Delhi, Naya Daur, and Aasha.
She reached the pinnacle of her success in 1958 when two of her films — Sadhna and Madhumati — became huge critical and commercial hits.
She was nominated for two Filmfare Award for Best Actress Award for Sadhna and Madhumati and won the award for the former.