‘Aham kills your inner beauty and joy’

It is not what happiness is. It is what happiness does,” declares Vyjayanthimala Bali, as she greets us, adding, “Being happy with your life, the way it is, makes you deal with it better.” At 83, Vyjayanthimala is enviably fit. Her big, beautiful, expressive eyes radiate an indescribable inner joy. And her smile is electric. Where does all this energy come from? “From simply being happy,” she beams. 

The reigning goddess of Indian cinema through the 50s and 60s, Vyjayanthimala was in the pantheon of female Hindi film actors – among Nargis, Meena Kumari, Madhubala and Nutan. And then she had a successful stint in politics (she has been a member of both the houses of the Parliament) in the 80s and 90s. Yet, she never clung on to either profession. Letting go off her ‘celebrity-hood’, wasn’t it difficult? “Not at all. Cinema and politics were mere opportunities that came my way. I liked them and so I took them up. But when I stopped enjoying them, I left them. My dance is who I am. It is as a dancer that I am the happiest. The only constant in my life is my dance,” says Vyjayanthimala. 

Over the last several years, Vyjayanthimala has been researching on ancient temple dance forms. She continues to stage productions each year. “This lifetime is like a drop in an ocean. I realise that I am no achiever, I am just a pursuer. I am a student. I am still learning. Apart from making me feel fulfilled, it also takes me closer to the divine. The wealth of knowledge in this vast universe makes me wonder why there is so much aham (ego) in people. Aham kills your inner beauty and joy,” she observes. 

But, hasn’t she too had to deal with challenges? “I have discovered that as long as there is life, you have to keep moving on. There are no full stops in life, there are only commas. That’s the best way to live,” she shares. 

In her hey days as a star, Vyjayanthimala was worshipped by her male co-stars and her audiences for her blemishless beauty and charisma. But the Vyjayanthimala we met is not the celebrity and yesteryear beauty. Here is someone who personifies what Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the former US First Lady said, “Beautiful young people are accidents of nature. Beautiful old people are works of art.”