Mumbai : As legendary actor Vyjayanthimala is celebrating her 91st birthday today she received a special wish from veteran actor Saira Banu.
Taking to Instagram, Saira Banu shared throwback pictures featuring herself, her husband- late actor Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala along with a long note.
The note read, “Wishing my favourite, Padma Vibhushan, Vyjayantimalaji (Akka Elder Sister) a very happy birthday! As I write about her, you will come to know how she became Akka to me. My first memory of her is when I was visiting Mehboob Studios, with my mother, who was visiting her friend Mrs. Akhtar Mehboob Khan. I was thrilled to see such a spectacular song number of “Radha Krishna,” where Vyjayantimalaji was swirling in a beautiful Ghagra Choli.”
Saira Banu recalled meeting Vyjayanthimala while working in ‘Junglee’.
“Next, we met when I started working in “Junglee.” She saw me at a film premiere and fondly touched my cheek, saying ‘beautiful.’ I think I did not wash my face that week! I always loved the pairing of Sahib with Vyjayantimalaji; the pair has given the maximum number of hits together, and my all-time favourite is the classic “Gunga Jumna.” She did a fabulous job as Dhanno, and Sahib worked very hard on her diction to record the Purbi dialogues on tape with the correct pronunciations and dialect, she stated.
Banu also talked about the bond of legendary actor Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala.
She added, “There was a certain understanding between Sahib and Akka, and the onscreen chemistry worked in their favour. Akka once quoted that she learned a lot working with Sahib; it was amazing watching him sink into a character and become oblivious of all else.
However, once there came an unfortunate misunderstanding between them, and somehow, after shooting for “Ram Aur Shyam” for a few days, she was replaced. Sahib and Akka, along with her husband Dr. Bali, would keep running into each other in Delhi at functions and celebration dinners. During one such meeting, the four of us met. Sahib and Dr. Bali sat together and chatted merrily, whereas Akka and I huddled and talked. This went on for a while, and each of them would avoid meeting the other’s gaze until I got fed up and brought the two of them together to patch up as friends again. That was quite a feat!”
Concluding the post, Banu wrote, “After this smooth sailing, Akka and her son Suchendra would always visit us at home whenever travelling from Madras. Once, there was a complicated issue troubling both of them for a long time, and Sahib and I, with sheer good luck, managed to solve that complex situation completely. Ever since, Vyjayantimala labelled me as her ‘angel,’ and as for me, Vyjayantimala turned into Akka.”
Vyjayanthimala and Dilip Kumar worked together in classics like ‘Madhumati’, ‘Naya Daur’, ‘Devdas among others.
Recently, Vyjayanthimala Bali was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan award.
In May, Vyjayanthimala received the award in the field of art from President Droupadi Murmu during the Civil Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.
Vyjayanthimala made her screen debut at the age of 16 with the Tamil film Vaazhkai (1949). ‘Devdas’, ‘Sangam’, ‘Madhumanti’ and ‘Naya Daur’ are some of her iconic films.