Divine danseuse, ACE ACTOR

Even at 70, Indian cinema’s original dream girl Hema Malini is bursting with energy, juggling a full life with politics, dance, and cinema, all occupying centrestage, finds Neeti Jaychander

- Neeti Jaychander

As we write this, news has just come in that actor-dancerpolitician Hema Malini will be contesting the polls from Mathura again for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, having been given the green signal from higher-ups in the ruling party.

Is it an enigma how the country’s most gorgeous grandmother got here? Born to a conservative Tamil Iyengar family in October 1948, she was the third child and only daughter of Jaya and VSR Chakravarti. Raised in Chennai, she attended school at the Andhra Mahila Sabha, and was interested in the performing arts since childhood.

Even though her upbringing was conservative, Malini’s mother recognised her talent and potential, and this very talent led her to her journey in showbiz. Initially, she was rejected by filmmakers in the south for being too skinny! A few supporting and character roles in Tamil films did come by, but didn’t do much for her career. Instead of losing hope, she decided to focus on dancing, which eventually became one of the key reasons for her appeal to filmmakers and audiences alike.

Making a mark

Barely out of her teens, Malini was launched opposite Raj Kapoor in Sapnon Ka Saudagar (1968). Tamil producer Anantaswami’s film made Bollywood and the critics sit up and take notice of her. In her biography, Hema Malini: Beyond The Dream Girl, authored by Ram Kamal Mukherjee, Malini recollects, “Ananthaswami had made it very clear to us right from the start that all the decisions for the film would be taken by Raj Kapoor. The film was being produced by a south Indian producer who had blocked bulk dates for Raj saab, right after Sangam. They were now very keen on casting a fresh south Indian face who could also dance well and match up to the status of Vyjayanthimala.”