Vimi

For the Slovak Olympic table tennis player, see Roland Vími. For the commune in the French department of Pas-de-Calais, see Vimy. For other uses, see Vimy (disambiguation).

Vimi (1943^[1] – 22 August 1977) was an Indian actress who acted in Indian films such as Hamraaz, Aabroo, Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai (Punjabi film), and Patanga. She starred with Sunil Dutt in Hamraaz and became notable. According to film expert Rajesh Subramanian, a fraud film broker named Jolly ruined her career and image, by posing as a fake boyfriend and forcing Vimi into prostitution.^[2]

Vimi
Vimi in 1968
Born	1943[1] Jalandhar, Punjab
Died	22 August 1977(1977-08-22) (aged 33–34) Mumbai
Nationality	Indian
Years active	1967–1974
Known for	Bollywood films

Career

Vimi debuted opposite Sunil Dutt in the B. R. Chopra-directed Hamraaz in 1967.^[3] The film was a hit but did not help her career. She appeared with Shashi Kapoor in Patanga (1971) and Vachan (1974). She was the leading lady in Aabroo (1968), opposite Deepak Kumar. She appeared in the Punjabi film Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai in 1969.^[4] Her last film was director Subhash Ghai’s Krodhi, released four years after she died in 1977.

Personal life

Vimi was born as Vimlesh Kaur Wadhavan in a Punjabi Sikh family. She married Shiv Agarwal, an industrialist's son, with whom she had a son and a daughter. It was a love marriage, against the wishes of her family. Due to her age and caste difference, her family opposed this marriage. Music Director Ravi was introduced to her at a party in Calcutta and later invited her and Shiv to Mumbai. He introduced them to B. R. Chopra and that is how Vimi got her first film.^[5] Even though her husband initially supported her decision, her parents and relatives were against Vimi joining the film industry.

As Sunil Dutt sang to her ("Na Sar Jhuka Ke Jeeyo, Na Muh Chhupake Jeeyo"), the enchanting image of Vimi won the viewers' hearts. She was called the most beautiful actress. Her famous Filmfare photoshoot, in which she wore a stylised swimsuit, made headlines. After the success of Humraaz, her next film Aabroo released in 1968, bombed at the box office.^[1] In 1969 Vimi acted in a Punjabi film Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai (which also starred Prithviraj Kapoor). Thereafter, things went spiralling downward. Patanga, her 1971 film with Shashi Kapoor, failed to strike a chord with the audience. After that she was reduced to posing for photoshoots in magazines and soon went into oblivion.^[6] The Dharmendra starrer Krodhi, where she was cast in a minuscule role as the mistress of a smuggler played by Amrish Puri was her last film.

In an obituary released after her death, several hostile details were revealed which included her being physically abused by her husband and their eventual divorce.^[7] Following her separation, she had started a textile business in Calcutta but that too had failed miserably, leaving her homeless. She had started a relationship with a film broker called Jolly but he had allegedly sold her into prostitution. Devastated by her professional and personal life, Vimi took refuge in alcohol.^[8][9] Vimi died on 22 August 1977 from liver disease caused by alcohol consumption in the general ward of the Nanavati hospital in Mumbai. Her body was dishonourably taken to the crematorium.^[10][11]

Filmography

Film

Year	Movies	Role	Notes
1967	Hamraaz	Meena Verma	Debut film
1968	Aabroo	Neena
1969	Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai	Channi	National Award winning Punjabi film[12]
1971	Patanga	Renu
1971	Guddi	Vimi	Cameo
1971	Kahin Aar Kahin Paar	Dancer princess
1973	Kahani Hum Sab Ki
1974	Vachan
1978	Premi Gangaram	Lila Teacher
1981	Krodhi	Madhavan's mistress

Songs

Songs picturised on her:

• "Tum Agar Saath Dene Ka Wada Karo" - Hamraaz (1967)
• "Na Muh Chhupaake Jiyo" - Hamraaz (1967)
• "Neele Gagan Ke Tale" - Hamraaz (1967)
• "Kisi Pathar Ki Moorat Se" - Hamraaz (1967)
• "Aap Se Pyar Hua" - Aabroo (1968)
• "Jinhe Hum Bhulna Chahe" - Aabroo (1968)
• "Thoda Ruk Jayegi To Tera Kya Jayega" - Patanga (1971)