Before she made her presence felt, dance in films meant cavorting to preset tunes.

Even after 40 years and more since she bid a premature adieu to films, Vyjayantimala is still remembered for her memorable roles.

When queried on dance in cinema today, she commented, “In my days, dance in cinema was dignified. It was a blend of tradition and modernity. They were complete dances. We had to dance in one take. If someone made a mistake, we had to do everything all over again. Today, there is so much technological help. Everything is cut and paste, even dance. That’s why you see girls, who are not dancers, seemingly dancing so well. Dance seems to have lost its soul.”