Meet Bollywood's dance queen in the 80s who appeared in India's first Rs 100-crore hit.
Many Bollywood actresses like Namrata Shirodhkar, Udita Goswami, Shilpa Shirodhkar and more quit films even after a successful debut. Another actress who starred in India's first Rs 100-crore hit, left films after working with several superstars.
The actress we are talking about appeared in over 100 films, and is accredited for her performances in many popular dance numbers. She has worked with Salman Khan, Mithun Chakrborty and Shah Rukh Khan in hit films. She is none other than Kalpana Iyer.
Kalpana Iyer was the first runner-up at Miss India in 1978 and also epresented the country at the Miss World 1978 beauty pageant where she was a top 15 semi-finalist. The actress mostly appeared as a vamp in a number of Hindi films, continuing in the tradition of Bindu, Helen and Aruna Irani. Some of her famous dance numbers are Hari om Hari in Pyaara Dushman, Tu Mujhe Jaan in Wardat and Rambha Ho in Armaan.
She also appeared in India's first Rs 100-crore hit, Disco Dancer, which also starred Mithun Chakraborty. Not only this, the actress was also a part of Salman Khan's blockbuster Hum Saath Saath Hain. She was critically acclaimed for her performance as a cruel prison warden in Anjaam which also featured Bollywood superstars Madhuri Dixit and Shah Rukh Khan.
The actress, who was called the 80's item queen, talked about being misunderstood and said, "I was always misunderstood, you know, as the ‘it-girl’ personifying glamour and oomph. A Miss India, a model, an actress. Everyone assumed I was bold but I was actually very simple… God-fearing, always concerned about ruffling the feathers of my conservative Tam Bram family who were quiet and simple, and into Carnatic music… telling too many white lies to protect too many people."
The actress quit films after appearing in over 100 films and also dabbled in singing, and performed in shows. She is currently managing a restaurant in Dubai called The Moghul Room which is owned by former Bollywood actor Rajan Sippy.
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