PICTURE TALK
From the day I saw her in Naya Daur during my childhood, Vyjayanthimala became my favorite actress. Madhubala being the other one, and according to me, the very best.
In the summer of 1982, I went to Madras (now Chennai) to cover an award function for Filmfare on the instructions of its editor, Bikram Singh.
After the function was over, I decided to stay back in the city for a few more days to renew my connections with the South Indian film industry. Whenever I used to land in Madras, I usually utilised the opportunity to network with the south stars, and that trip was no different.
On that trip I was desperate to meet Vyjayanthimala. In 1982, she had become a sort of recluse. I knew she hadn’t stepped out of her home for long, and I wasn’t sure if she would like to be photographed. So, I requested a journalist friend, who knew her personally, to help me out.
My friend called her, and surprisingly, she agreed. I remember taking a taxi that very afternoon to a huge bungalow in south Chennai.
When I reached there, Vyjayanthimala asked me to wait in the huge hall on the ground floor. Even though I had wanted to photograph her without any make-up, she wasn’t ready to face the camera without some paint on her face. She took a good one hour to finish her make-up and then came downstairs.
She gave a few beautiful expressions which I tried to capture on my black-and-white film. Most actresses of her generation used to emote through their eyes, and she was the best in the art.
I remember we had a brief conversation about her returning to acting, and she told me point-blank that she had retired for good. Those days, this was news. But at the same time, she mentioned that she wanted to pursue her dance career. Little did I know that two years later she would contest the Lok Sabha elections and win from south Chennai!
The views expressed here are the author’s own and The News Porter bears no responsibility for the same.
