Vyjayantimala Bali conferred Padma Vibhushan

Chennai, Jan 26: Noted actor and dancer Vyjayantimala Bali was conferred Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian order of the country, on the occasion of Republic Day 2024.

Born on August 13, 1933, she has acted in several iconic movies and won five Filmfare awards. She made her debut in tinsel world at the age of 16 in Tamil movie "Vaazhkai" in 1949 and made her debut in the Hindi films "Bahar: in 1951.

However, it was "Nagin" (1954) was a super hit paving the way for instant stardom. Her magnum opus was "Devdas" for which she won the first Filmfare Award.

She was conferred the Padma Shri in 1968 and also the Kalaimamani award, the highest civilian award of Tamil Nadu government. For her pioneering work in Bharata Natyam, she won the Sangeet Natak Academy award, the highest award for practicing art forms.

She was also a Member of the Lok Sabha from the Chennai South seat and later was a member of Rajya Sabha also.