International Dance Day: Vyjayanthimala on her favourite dance numbers

If it is Vyjayanthimala, there’s got to be dancing. Undoubtedly the most accomplished dancer of Indian cinema, she was the Dancing Queen long before ABBA wrote the ode.

Laughing heartily, the Dancing Diva shares, “There was a time when my dancing was written into the screenplay,or otherwise the audience felt cheated. There were films where there was no scope for dancing. But I still found myself dancing away.”

So which of her dances did Vyjayanthimala enjoy the most?

“Straight off I have to mention the dances in Lekh Tandon’s Amrapali. The whole film was written around the dances, and I had a grand time dancing to Lataji’s songs Neel gagan ki chaon mein and Jao re jogi tum jao re.”

She then mentions Nagin. “It was one my earliest Hindi films, and it had many lovely songs composed by Hemant Kumar and sung by Lataji, I enjoyed dancing to Man dole mora tan dole, Unchi unchi duniya ke deewaren , Sun rasiya, Jaugar saiyan….”

Ironically the world was recently dancing to Vyjayanthimala’s Mera dil yeh pukare aaja in Nagin which was not a dance song at all.

Says the mesmerizing Bharat Natyam dancer. “I think my most favourite dance number as far as far as the audience is concerned is Hothon mein aisi baat in Jewel Thief. It was challenging exhausting and finally very rewarding. To this day I’m remembered by this number. Of course, Sachin Dev Burman’s composition, Lataji’s singing and Master Sohanlal’s dance movements contributed tremendously to the impact.”

Vyjayanthimala singles out one other very interestingly choreographed dance of hers. “In the film Prince, there was the song Muqabla humse na karo where Helenji and I did a face-off. It was fun. She did the Western moves. I did the Indian.”

Even Vyjayanthimala’s western dance moves made the audience swoon.

“Are you speaking about Buddha mila gaya in Sangam? My God, what a furore that created! Lataji didn’t want to sing it. I wasn’t very sure of the dance steps. But eventually it became one of the highlights of the film.”