From the confines of a broken home to the far corners of the world, from a life of total obscurity to the centre-stage in the firmament of dance and cinema and thereon to a successful albeit brief stint in politics, Vyjayantimala’s journey through life has all the ingredients of a fairy tale.

Her biography Bonding— A Memoir co-authored with seasoned journalist Jyoti Sabharwal aims to provide a vivid insight into the events that shaped her destiny and her rise to the very top in the field of classical dance and Hollywood.

An exquisite publication with excellent black and white pictures that trace the life of the celebrity from childhood to the present day, the book however suffers due to the extravagance of self-praise turning it almost into a hagiography.

Only a few people including the main protagonist, her svengali-cum-husband Dr Chaman Bali, the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister— MGR and the members of the Gandhi family come out smelling of roses while the rest get the rough end of the stick with the late Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao who apparently treated Vyjayantimala with disdain bordering on contempt but nevertheless okayed her Rajya Sabha nomination bearing the brunt of her rapier thrust.

The book has already stirred a hornet’s nest with Vyjayantimala pooh poohing all talk about her amour de coeur with the great showman of Hindi cinema Raj Kapoor, with whom she was said to have had a rollicking affair during the making of Sangam, and Raj’s son Rishi Kapoor calling her bluff by going on record that the affair had almost led to Raj’s family staging a walkout from the family home.

Raj’s fans might certainly not take kindly to her references to the late actor as a “flirt” and a “lady’s man” with a “glad eye” though she also grudgingly acknowledges his cinematic genius.

Vyjayantimala also finds little to appreciate in thespians like Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand though she had some of her biggest hits with the former and is quite catty about her contemporaries like Nargis and Madhubala.

Marriage and love

With her maternal grandmother-cum-mentor, Yadugiri Devi alias Yagamma, hovering around her all the time, like a mother hen guarding her brood, Vyjayantimala found it tough to break flee when smitten with love for Dr Chaman Bali.

But Doctor saab wins over the reticent grandma and the wedding bells toll for the lovers. Bali, it was who moulded her into a celebrity dancer and politician, guiding her at every step, a debt that she acknowledges with gratitude as his death leaves her bereft and inconsolable.

While Vyjayantimala’s association with her dance gurus and the towering titans of classical music, M S Subbulakshmi and D K Pattamal, make for poignant reading, the book could have done with quite a bit of editing as there is a surfeit of matter on her dancing days showcasing her prowess all the time which are repetitive and create a feeling of ennui.

The anguish, the angst, filmi intrigues and the political chicanery of her detractors have all been deliberately under-played with the focus remaining concentrated on her achievements in various spheres.

The warts, if any, have been concealed, something that any biographer worth his or her salt is wont to do, more so an accomplished classical dancer like Vyjayantimala whose expressive face alone can mask a thousand emotions.

Hers is however a life that demands a biography with objectivity as its core.

Bonding— A Memoir, Vyjayantimala Bali, (with Jyoti Sabharwal), Stellar Publications Pvt. Ltd. pp 410 Rs. 695.