On Tuesday, Saira Banu took to Instagram to wish her 'akka (elder sister) Vyjayanthimala Bala on her 91st birthday. Sharing a series of throwbacks featuring the two along with Saira's late husband, legendary actor Dilip Kumar, the veteran actor recalled the time there was a 'misunderstanding' between Dilip and Vyjayanthimala.  

‘Dilip-Vyjayanthimala gave maximum hits together’

Saira opened up about how she played a role in patching things up between the two after it became frustrating for her to see them 'avoid' each other at social gatherings. 

She began her post by wishing the birthday girl, "Wishing my favourite, Padma Vibhushan, Vyjayantimalaji (Akka elder sister) a very happy birthday! As I write about her, you will come to know how she became Akka to me. My first memory of her is when I was visiting Mehboob Studios, with my mother, who was visiting her friend Mrs. Akhtar Mehboob Khan. I was thrilled to see such a spectacular song number of Radha Krishna, where Vyjayantimalaji was swirling in a beautiful ghagra choli."

Saira then spoke about meeting Vyjayantimala when she started working on her film Junglee, recalling she touched her cheek and called her beautiful at the film's premiere. Saira then wrote how she 'always loved the pairing' of Dilip Kumar with Vyjayantimala, writing, “The pair has given the maximum number of hits together, and my all-time favourite is the classic Gunga Jumna. She did a fabulous job as Dhanno, and Sahib worked very hard on her diction to record the Purbi dialogues on tape with the correct pronunciations and dialect.”

'Each of them would avoid meeting the other's gaze'

She added, "There was a certain understanding between Sahib and Akka, and the onscreen chemistry worked in their favour. Akka once quoted that she learned a lot working with Sahib... however, once there came an unfortunate misunderstanding between them, and somehow, after shooting for Ram Aur Shyam for a few days, she was replaced."

Saira went on to recall an incident involving Vyjayantimala, her husband, Dilip Kumar and herself. She wrote, "Sahib and Akka, along with her husband Dr Bali, would keep running into each other in Delhi at functions and celebration dinners. During one such meeting, the four of us met. Sahib and Dr. Bali sat together and chatted merrily, whereas Akka and I huddled and talked. This went on for a while, and each of them would avoid meeting the other's gaze until I got fed up and brought the two of them together to patch up as friends again. That was quite a feat!"

'Vyjayantimala labelled me as her angel’

Saira concluded her long caption by writing about how it was 'smooth sailing' thereafter and Vyjayantimala and her son Suchendra would always meet her and Dilip Kumar at their home in Mumbai whenever they visited from Chennai. 

She wrote, "Once, there was a complicated issue troubling both of them for a long time, and Sahib and I, with sheer good luck, managed to solve that complex situation completely. Ever since, Vyjayantimala labelled me as her 'angel,' and as for me, Vyjayantimala turned into Akka."

Earlier this year, at Padma Awards 2024, Vyjayanthimala was conferred the Padma Vibhushan, the nation's second-highest civilian award; Saira had then congratulated and lauded her. 

She had told ETimes, "I am so happy about this... the award is truly well deserved... I have grown up watching her films and she is 'akka (elder sister)' to me." Having made her Hindi debut in 1951, Vyjayanthimala first worked with Saira's husband, the late actor Dilip Kumar, in Bimal Roy's Devdas (1955). They went on to do more than half a dozen films together."

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