Following successful re-entry in Tamil cinema , Vyjayanthimala then signed Dilip Kumar 's home production film '' Gunga Jumna '' . Having been inspired by the 1934 '' Manhattan Melodrama '' , the film was one of the first Bollywood films to deal with the theme based on two brothers on opposite sides of law . Directed by Nitin Bose , she co-starred with Kumar for the fifth time after '' Devdas '' , '' Naya Daur '' , '' Madhumati '' and '' Paigham '' . In this dacoit drama , she enacted the role of Dhanno , a washerwoman who falls for childhood friend Gunga , played by Kumar and eventually killed during a gun fight . To prepare herself for that role , Vyjayanthimala had to learn the Bhojpuri , a Hindi language dialect spoken by people in East India region . She was assisted by Kumar , who chose the shade of saree that Vyjayanthimala would wear in every scene . Upon release , the film opened to widespread critical acclaim from the critics . Her performance earned her rave reviews . Dinesh Raheja from '' Rediff '' said that : " Ganga Jamuna deployed several crowd-pleasing elements ... most of all , an enchanting relationship between Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala ... Their characterisation ran so deep , which helped Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala give magnetic performances . Dilip is of course a thespian , but Vyjayanthimala is a revelation " ; while K. K. Rai from '' Stardust '' applauded her performance by adding " Vyjayanthimala played the village woman with such simplicity and grace ; you ’d forget she was one of the most glamorous stars of her time . She also spoke the Bhojpuri dialect like a native " . Critics praised Vyjayanthimala for her ability to master the Bhojpuri dialect despite her South Indian upbringing . Subsequently , the film enjoyed huge success at the box office across India . At the end of its theatrical run , the film grossed around with a net gross of and a verdict of a blockbuster . The film was the Highest-grossing film of 1961 , and was the third highest grossing Hindi film of the decade behind '' Mughal-e-Azam '' and '' Sangam '' , another Kumar and Vyjayanthimala starrer respectively . The film was ranked second by Boxofficeindia.co.in behind '' Mughal-e-Azam '' in their list of " Top 50 Film of Last 50 Years " , which features all-time highest grossing Bollywood films by using the relative price of gold in different years to arrive at a hypothetical current value of box office collections of past films for its adjustment to inflation rate . . For her performance , Vyjayanthimala was awarded with the Filmfare Award for Best Actress trophy at the 9th Filmfare Awards . In addition to that , she also won her first ever Bengal Film Journalists ' Association Awards in the Best Actress category . In the same year , she starred in C. V. Sridhar 's '' Nazrana '' . In this remake of the highly successful 1959 Tamil film '' Kalyana Parisu '' , again directed by Sridhar , she acted alongside Raj Kapoor for the first time . She played the role of Vasanthi , wherein she replaced actress B. Saroja Devi who did not reprise her role from '' Kadhal Parisu '' and its Telugu remake '' Pelli Kanuka '' . The triangular love story received an average run at cinemas and ended up as the twelfth highest-grossing film of that year . The same year she did another film with Sridhar . Being the first Tamil film to be shot in Jammu and Kashmir , she acted alongside Gemini Ganesan after a long gap after '' Then Nilavu '' . The film and the soundtrack were widely appreciated by the audience , where it was a huge success . The film was followed by J. Om Prakash 's '' Aas Ka Panchhi '' with Rajendra Kumar . For her portrayal , Vyjayanthimala got some negative feedback from the critics ; '' The Hindu '' review said that : " Even the otherwise powerhouse of talent , Vyjayantimala , with many a sterling performance under her belt , barely passes muster , despite the usual dance and song sequence to showcase her formidable prowess as an accomplished dancer thrown in " . Despite some mixed reviews , the film was labelled as a hit at the box office and was declared the fourth highest-grossing film of 1961 where it had a silver jubilee run at the theatres
9th Filmfare Awards
9th Filmfare Awards
Vyjayanthimala Bali