Dancers on Film

Trained as a Bharatnatyam dancer, a Vyjanthimala film implied the presence of well built dance sequences. She held considerable star power and received top billing in many of her films.

She danced largely classical and folk numbers, and is widely credited for having brought classical dance traditions to popular Hindi cinema. 

In her autobiography Bonding, she writes: "Bahar created history in the sense that owing to my dance I became a national star overnight as 'southern sensation'. This film became a trendsetter paving the way for dance with a definitive form in Hindi Cinema".

She wasn’t considered a serious actress, until her role as the courtesan Chandramukhi in Bimal Roy’s Devdas (1955), for which she won her first Filmfare award for best supporting actress.

Though she famously did not accept the award because she felt Chandramukhi was a lead character and not a supporting one.

Bimal Roy's Madhumati (1958) was a huge success and sealed Vyjayanthimala's star status.

She also danced more contemporary forms of Hindi film dances, like the shake and shimmy popular in the 1960s. While other actresses were also known for their dancing, none matched Vyjayanthimala's repertoire.

Waheeda Rahman, a trained Bharatnatyam dancer as well, did not play a dancer until well into her career with films like Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja, Guide, Teesri Kasam, and Mujhe Jeene Do.

Vijay Anand, director of Guide (1965) said in an interview, “Waheeda Rehman had a grace in her demeanor that only a dancer could have. But the world and she herself had forgotten that she was a dancer. I realized she needed a role of a dancer and hence Guide.”

Kamal Amrohi’s Pakeezah (1972)  was choreographed by Kathak guru Lachchu maharaj of the Lucknow gharana. The actress was suffering from various physical ailments and for the film’s final dance Teer-E-Nazar, a body double had to be used. 

The other dances in the film were not too demanding on the ailing actress. 

Much of the film’s legacy are its beautifully visualised song and dance sequences.

Madhubala trained for several years for the dances in Mughal E Azam. She had no formal training in classical dance, and due to a heart condition, was medically forbidden from dancing. For the song ‘Pyaar kiya toh darna kya (Why should I be afraid to love)’ the dance involved pirouetting which was performed by a professional danseuse.

The film’s other song and dance sequence ‘Mohe Panghat Pe Nandalal Ched Gayo Re (on my journey to the river, Nandalal or Krishna teases me)’, was rendered as a traditional thumri, which is an aspect of kathak, and was performed by the actress herself.

Helen acted in many films but her enduring legacy is that of Hindi cinema’s most popular dancer and vamp. 

Helen trained as a Manipuri dancer before joining films. PL Raj, her choreographer for many film dances, trained her in Kathak and Bharatnatyam as well.