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Vyjayanthimala Bali born on August 13, 1936 also known by the mononym Vyjayanthimala, is an Indian film actress, Bharathanatyam dancer,Carnitic singer,dance choreographer, golfer and Parliamentarian.Vyjayanthimala was one of the biggest Bollywood stars in a career lasting almost two decades. She was also the first South Indian actress to become a national star and paved way for the other South Indian actresses to foray into Bollywood.Vyjayanthimala is also 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 was also referred to as one of the first female Superstars of Hindi cinema and was known as Numero uno actress along with Hema Malini, Rekha, Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit for her illustrious career in 1950s and 1960s.

Born in an orthodox Tamil Brahmin family, Vyjayanthimala made her screen debut at the age of 13 through the Tamil film Vazhkai 1949 and acted in Bollywood films Bahar and Ladki. Following the success of Nagin, Vyjayanthimala established herself as one of the Bollywood\'s leading actresses and a successful actress of Tamil descent.

She left the industry after shooting for the historical Hindu film Amrapali which was based on the life of Nagarvadhu of Vaishali, Amrapali, though director Baldev Raj Chopra felt that she could have easily continued for another decade in lead roles.

Besides films, Vyjayanthimala\'s main concentration was in Bharata Natyam a form of Indian classical dance. After quitting movies Vyjayanthimala Bali continued with her dance career. In addition, Vyjayanthimala was conferred with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award was presented to Vyjayanthimala in 1982 for her contribution in Bharata Natyam field. Moreover,Vyjayanthimala is also an avid golfer and is one of the oldest golfers in Chennai. She has also served as chairperson of 48th national Film.

At the age of 5, Vyjayanthimala was chosen to perform a classical Indian dance for Pope Pius while her mother was an audience in 1940 at Vatican City. Vyjayanthi did her schooling from Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School, Presentation Convent, Church Park, Chennai.She learned Bharata Natyam from Guru Vazhuvoor Ramiah Pillai and Carnatic music from Manakkal Sivaraja Iyer. She had her arangetram at the age of 13 and started performing all over Tamil Nadu later.

When director M. V. Raman was looking for a new face to cast in AVM Production\'s Vazhkai he saw Vyjayanthimala performing Bharata Natyam in Chennai\'s Gokhale Hall. He tried to convince her grandmother, who was apprehensive about Vyjayanthimala joining films as she felt it would come in the way of her education and dance.Vyjayanthimala played a college girl named Mohana Shivashankaralingam and acted along with senior actors S. V. Sahasranamam, M. S. Draupadi, T.R Ramachandra and K. Sankarapani. The movie was a big success and was remade in Telugu after one year as Jeevitham with a slightly different cast, namely, This film also enjoyed great success upon release.The success of sex film Vazhkai in South India inspired AVM Productions to remake it in Hindi as Bahar in 1951. In their first Hindi venture, they decided to cast Vyjayanthimala again in the lead role with Karan Dewan, Om Prakash and Pandari Bai.