Her presence goes beyond just Hindi films. Jaya Prada, an actor, a prolific dancer and now a politician, made her presence felt in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam film industries, among others. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2019, she joined the BJP after her associations with the Telugu Desam Party and Samajwadi Party. Jaya, who became a star at the age of just 17, celebrates her 67th birthday on Wednesday. 50 years is a long time, right? The actor is quite vocal about the realisations as well as perceptions that she has collected through all the past decades.
We just came across this older interview of Jaya Prada that has her regretting how 'dance' is depicted in new age Hindi songs. A passionate dancer herself, she clearly did not approve of too much 'Western Influence'. "I guess it is the western influence that is making them sing those songs and do those weird steps which don’t look like dance to me. For me, even today when I meet young children they talk about songs like ‘Dafli wale…’ Why? Because those songs and dances were memorable, and not embarrassing like today’s songs are becoming," she told Free Press Journal in a conversation. She didn't mince her words.
Item songs, that are almost a regular in Hindi films these days, are often at the receiving end of virtual backlash. And who doesn't know trolls can be mean. Actor Shilpa Shinde, who recently appeared in a Bhojpuri item song titled Maaro Line, was mercilessly trolled for looking 'fat'. Leading ladies such as Katrina Kaif (who stirred a storm with Sheila Ki Jawani) and Malaika Arora (Whose Munni Badnam is almost a cult now) were both time and again asked whether they felt objectified while performing an item song, and the answer was a no. Jaya, however, emphasises on the line between an actor and an item song performer as well.
"In our time there was a clear demarcation between the heroine and the item girl, today there is no such thing. Everyone is doing everything, and it might not suit all. I have immense respect for what Helen-ji did, she might have been what they call the ‘item girl’, but she was fabulous. She looked graceful and grand, she didn’t look like she was being cheap or doing something not-so-nice – that’s how it should be," she said.
Sonakshi Sinha recently recreated Helen's iconic track Mungada which she performed as a guest in Total Dhamaal, and the internet wasn't very kind of her. Probably bothered by the trolls, Sonakshi had to finally respond, saying there was no way the recreated version could be compared to the original one. Earlier, Sunny Leone also grooved to a new version of Helen's Laila O Laila and not everyone thought it was splendid enough.
Quite straightforward of a veteran; esp ecially at a time when everyone puts in a lot of effort to sound politically correct!
The actor is presently keeping busy with the upcoming election and will probably have a working birthday. She will be contesting from Rampur constituency and has been gearing up to give a tough battle to contenders. We wish her a happy birthday. And good wishes for the election as well!
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