Vyjanthimala was one of the best actresses in Indian cinema, known for her movies like ‘Naya Daur’, ‘Madhumati’, ‘Sangam’ and more. While she achieved a top position among actresses of those times along with others like Waheeda Rehman, Madhubala, her journey wasn’t easy. She faced a lot of body shaming and later was also in the news for rumours of her relationship with Raj Kapoor when he was already married to Krishna Kapoor. Her entry into films came at just 16, with the 1949 Tamil hit Vaazhkai. But her road to success wasn’t always smooth — she endured body shaming early in her career. In her memoir Bonding, she recalled how Nagin director Nandlal Jaswantlal would humiliate her in public: “You are too plump and still have a lot of baby fat. You have such a round face, that it fills the whole screen. Don’t look like an idli.” The taunts often left her with “tears shimmering in my eyes, all set to roll down.”Vyjayanthimala’s career choices were overseen by her grandmother, Yadugiri Devi, who mistrusted Raj Kapoor’s reputation with women. Even so, gossip linked the two actors, especially after Sangam. Vyjayanthimala denied any affair in her memoir, calling it a publicity stunt: “Manufacturing the romance because of his hunger for publicity.”But Rishi Kapoor’s autobiography Khullam Khulla told a different story. He wrote about moving out of the family home with his mother, Krishna Kapoor, during the alleged affair: “I remember moving into the Natraj Hotel on Marine Drive with my mom during the time papa was involved with Vyjayanthimala. From the hotel, we shifted for two months into an apartment in Chitrakoot. My father had bought the apartment for mom and us. He did all he could to woo her back, but my mother wouldn’t give in until he had ended that chapter of his life.”Vyjayanthimala and Raj Kapoor appeared together in just two films — Nazrana (1961) and Sangam (1964). Then, in 1968, at the height of her stardom, she stunned the industry by marrying the Kapoor family’s doctor, Dr. Chamanlal Bali, and stepping away from films. Dance, however, remained a constant in her life through stage performances. Reflecting on her decision, she wrote, “I made the wisest decision of my life, I left the films at the right time. I have no regrets because I worked with some of the best.”
